A Penthouse Duplex Mansion in the Sky: 3500 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview
This 4-bedroom duplex penthouse at 3500 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview just came on the market.
This is one of the grand dames of vintage buildings on Lake Shore Drive. Built in 1926, it has 63 units but no parking.
The listing says this penthouse has been remodeled.
It calls it a “penthouse duplex mansion in the sky.”
It has 360 degree views of Lake Michigan, the city and Lincoln Park.
There’s an elevator which opens into the private marble entry.
It has many vintage features that have been updated including 12 to 14 inch moldings, 2 custom antique fireplaces featuring English polished iron and French marble as well as coiffured ceilings.
There’s a sun room with views of the lake, a library and a huge laundry room.
3 of the 4 bedrooms are on the main floor.
The master bath has custom cabinets, mosaic tile and marble finishes.
The listing says there are 3 outdoor spaces but there’s only one actual deck shown in the listing. The other decks are shown clearly in the pictures from the 2015 listing. Did they have to remove the larger decks for some reason? (roof repairs???) The fencing is still visible.
The kitchen is dine-in with custom white lacquer cabinetry, a bowl farm sink, all new appliances and marble countertops and floors.
There’s central air and parking is leased nearby.
This is a co-op building and the assessment includes the taxes, although they are also listed separately in the listing.
Originally listed in January 2018 for $4.4 million, it has been reduced $101,000 to $4.299 million.
Is this the perfect family home in the sky?
Julie Harron at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures here.
#17PH: 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, duplex, 5,196 square feet, co-op
- Sold in June 2015 for $2.3 million
- Originally listed in January 2018 for $4.4 million
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $4.299 million
- Assessments of $5,933 a month (includes heat, a/c, electric, gas, taxes, doorman, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $13,949
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- Parking is rental for $275-$350 a month
- 2 fireplaces (in living room and master bedroom)
- Bedroom #1: 23×14 (main floor)
- Bedroom #2: 17×10 (main floor)
- Bedroom #3: 17×12 (main floor)
- Bedroom #4: 19×18 (second floor)
- Laundry room: 14×10 (main floor)
- Library: 14×10 (main floor)
- Sun room: 16×14 (main floor)
- Foyer: 17×10 (main floor)
- Family room: 25×16 (main floor)
I see many more price drops in this place’s future, and the fact that they didn’t replace the decks while asking a couple million more since the rehab makes me wonder what other compromises were made. This place is so whitewashed in a generic contemporary manner it’s about as free of character as a 1920s LSD penthouse could be, even apart from the money I am shocked how little I like this place, since in theory a property like this is more or less my dreamhome.
I definitely like the double shower with the Chicago flag star in it in picture #26 but this place is soooo not my style so I can’t really comment on it, at least the whole place isn’t grey’d out they did try to pop a bunch of colors in there. I had to laugh at the 6k a month in assessments… even though those include taxes… OUCH! Also isn’t it quarter sewn not ‘sawn’ floors?
and isn’t it coffered ceilings not coiffered? lol quality work for a 4 million dollar listing there
http://www.hardwooddistributors.org/blog/postings/what-is-quarter-sawn-wood/
Well, its a lot better than that $4MM POS from a few days earlier. Its beautiful if a bit dowdy in decor – but it’s decor. To each his own. If you can’t change a bath or some wallcoverings, then you shouldn’t be looking in the price range. My question: What portion of that assessment is tax? If anything, the monthly seems low given a $4MM market value. Let’s say $4,000 a month are tax. That’s only $2K for the “usuals.” Still low.
Ooops, I see you’ve got taxes listed. WTF? I admit, I don’t know much about co-ops, but…. WTF?
“and the fact that they didn’t replace the decks while asking a couple million more since the rehab makes me wonder what other compromises were made.”
while i agree this place is over priced, the current owners put some decent money in into this place. while the kitchen looks similar to previous listing, it’s new. the master bathroom is also new. add in all the carpentry, wall coverings, marble flooring, lighting, it adds up.
I think the place is fantastic. It’s just a matter of price and monthly costs, which should be separated from what it is. Renovate the things you don’t like.
…
“and the fact that they didn’t replace the decks while asking a couple million more since the rehab makes me wonder what other compromises were made.”
the current owners put a decent amount of money into this place after it was already rehabbed. the kitchen may look similar to the previous listing but it’s new. the master bathroom is new as well. add in all the carpentry, wall coverings, lighting, marble flooring, etc., it adds up.
“Also isn’t it quarter sewn not ‘sawn’ floors?”
No, sawn–it refers to the angle of the cut from the log. So, the wood itself, not the installation.
“isn’t it coffered ceilings not coiffered?””
Yes, the ceiling did not have its hair done.
A number of the rooms would “require” fairly expensive redecoration if you did not want to use a similar style of furnishings. And the furnishings are certainly of a particular style, while undeniably quite nice/expensive.
They need to cut the price in half. Why? Not because this isn’t a great penthouse, because it is. It’s because of certain issues: Parking “nearby.” Assessments of $5,000 a month (Yeah, I want to spend $60,000 a year for a doorman and snow removal -right).
Obviously it’s possible they’ll find someone rich enough to drop $4 million and not care about these issues if they wait long enough. They’ve been patient so far. The fact that they recently dropped the asking price means patience might be dissipating.
I actually don’t know if anyone would ever pay even as much as $2 million for a place with no parking, even if it is leased nearby. I certainly love this building and would pay $600,000 for a 3 bedroom and deal with high assessments and lack of parking, but not in the millions, no matter how jaw dropping the unit.
OK I’m confused – maybe the assessments include taxes, maybe not. I see taxes as a separate $13,000 line item in the listing. Assuming taxes are included, the $5,000 or $6,000 a month seems more feasible, certainly for someone who could afford to spend millions on an apartment.
This would be my dream home, though it needs some renovation to get it back to its former glory. And I agree with the other person that it beats the pants off of that $4 million plain vanilla Streeterville condo on CC the other day. Even with the issues it has on parking and maintenance costs.
I think the taxes may have been split out to disclose the annual amount, but they appear to be included in the monthly assessment. The last listing (from old sale) didn’t have them split out and the assessments are similar. Where could you live in a 5,100 sq ft duplex apartment with killer views and outside space – that INCLUDES taxes, heat, gas, electric and all maintenance for $5,000 a month? Drive 2 miles south on Lake Shore Drive and taxes would be 3X this amount PLUS assessments and NO outside space. I understand it’s a lot of money each month, but it’s 5,100 sq ft and one of the few penthouses on LSD. Also agree that parking is an inconvenience, but you can rent a heated parking spot at 3470 – right across the street. Anyone buying at this price point is going to redecorate…
$6k assessments are actually very low for a unit like this and of course as a coop they include this units portion of the building’s taxes. What I don’t understand is how the taxes are so low. Similar coops have taxes 3 -4x what these are.
I’d love to know what firm is appealing 3500’s taxes. They’ve been much more successful than our building’s attorneys have.
These photos are so bad. Why not take some of the excess clutter out of the photo. And whynot take summer photos of the lakefront with sailboats, joggers, bikes instead of a frozen lake with brown trees? This is the kind of place you sell a lifestyle, lakefront living at its finest…instead the pictures show a mismatched chair museum overlooking a dead in winter freezing lake.
I’d agree that they need to replace the ourdoor winter photos with some warm weather options. That shows a lazy realtor.
If there was ever a place that could benefit from staging, this is one. Other than the foyer wallpaper and a couple of paint colors, all the other finishes and fixtures are great as is. But the furniture and decor from “Dynasty” days make the place look horribly dated. Forget staging – just removing every stick of furniture (including that bar!) from every room would make this place more sellable!
Btw, for those wondering about the separate property tax shown, I notice that is the usual way that co-ops are listed. The description states that the HOA includes the property tax, but then the actual amount that is the property tax is also given in another section.
Vissi, thanks for clearing that up about property taxes listed separately. They really should make it more clear in the listing for people like me who aren’t co-op experts.
I’ve considered more reasonably priced units in this building and I’ve dreamed of living there. If a $2,000 HOA includes taxes, for say, a $600,000 unit in the building, it isn’t necessarily far out of reach for me someday.
The parking will always be an inconvenience, though. And where do your guests park? Not everyone walks or takes public transit. There’s a public garage next to Treasure Island, which may be the best option, though it won’t be pleasant to walk there in sub-zero weather.