A Vintage 2-Bedroom Duplex Down for $599,000 in Lincoln Park: 838 W. Wrightwood
This 2-bedroom duplex down at 838 W. Wrightwood in Lincoln Park came on the market in April 2023.
Built in 1894, this building has 15 units and outdoor parking behind the building.
This unit has some of its vintage features including custom millwork and exposed brick. It has two fireplaces including in the living room and in the lower level family room.
It has south facing windows and hardwood floors.
The kitchen is open to the living and dining rooms and has gray cabinets, a marble backsplash, quartz counter tops, stainless steel appliances and an island, with seating for two, with what looks like a wood counter top.
The listing says there is enough space for a dining table.
The primary bedroom is on the main level and has a walk-in-closet and renovated bathroom.
The second bedroom is in the lower level and doesn’t appear to have any windows. There’s also a family room, with built-in bookcases, and a laundry room along with a second full bath.
This unit has the features buyers look for including central air and “on site parking.”
It also has a large outdoor deck off the back of the unit.
This building is in central Lincoln Park near all the shops and restaurants of the neighborhood, near DePaul and near several subway stops and bus lines.
Listed at $599,000, will this sell quickly?
Sam Shaffer and Arlette Quinones at Chicago Properties Firm have the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #1: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1500 square feet, duplex down
- Sold in October 1992 for $240,000
- Sold in March 1994 for $219,000
- Sold in June 2001 for $399,000
- Sold in April 2004 for $455,000
- Sold in October 2017 for $494,000
- Currently listed at $599,000
- Assessments of $336 a month (includes scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $6569
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- 2 fireplaces
- On-site outdoor parking
- Bedroom #1: 13×18 (main level)
- Bedroom #2: 18×9 (lower level)
- Living/dining room: 18×18 (main level)
- Kitchen: 9×15 (main level)
- Family room: 27×17 (lower level)
- Laundry room: 15×6 (lower level)
- Walk-in-closet: 7×5 (main level)
- Deck: 22×8 (main level)
Good unit, excellent location, but I think a few things will hold this place back —
1.) Painted grey cabinets. Too trendy, look cheap (at least in the photos), and not on par with the age and traditional finishes of the unit.
2.) Staging of the upstairs front room. You could fit a proper living room AND dining set in this area, but I am not sure all buyers will be able to envision that given the way the area is currently set up.
3.) Price. Has this really appreciated $100K since 2017? I would argue not, especially as current owners don’t appear to have done many improvements.
Fun fact: This is the building where Ben Stiller and his wife “lived” in the movie Meet the Fockers.
Basement ceilings look about 6′ high
Agree with KK – The baby grand kills the upper LR. Way to shove the DR table against the bar.
6 Bills seems awfully optimistic.
“2.) Staging of the upstairs front room. You could fit a proper living room AND dining set in this area, but I am not sure all buyers will be able to envision that given the way the area is currently set up.”
Most people won’t have a piano so I agree KK that it makes it difficult for buyers to envision living there- with the living room having a couch or whatnot.
Anyone remember what is going on with the parking situation with this building? Is this one of those where it’s first come, first served in the parking lot and there’s no assigned spaces? I thought there was something unusual about it.
re: Parking
I had a friend that lived here up until a few years ago. There are like two fewer spots than there are units and it is first come first serve.
If you miss out, you have to park on the street. Street parking is not easy on this block.
I like the brick, molding, and beams in the bedroom. Bathrooms look nice. Agree re: the piano (and not sure it’s advisable for it to be positioned so close to the fireplace?). That cubby/coat rack/bench unit near the entry – I’ve been meaning to get one of those and have someone mount it on some sort of hinge in our entry, replacing bifold doors that lead to our cellar. Have you guys seen any houses in your areas with giant front doors hung on a hinge? They seem to be the trend now in my area for really nice houses.
“Have you guys seen any houses in your areas with giant front doors hung on a hinge? ”
Not to be a complete smart ass – Most doors are hung from hinges
The effects of using a wide-angle lens are really evident in pic 30, causing the toilet to look really weird.
“Has this really appreciated $100K since 2017?”
October 2017 for $494,000 + CPI = […wait for it…] $604,500.
It’s a real dollar loser at ask, before transaction costs.
“Not to be a complete smart ass – Most doors are hung from hinges”
Indeed. But these appear to be a rod – either one that runs through the entire length of the door or one at the top and one at the bottom, mounted vertically.
Neighbor is a prior CC feature:
https://cribchatter.com/get-a-3-bedroom-duplex-down-in-a-vintage-beauty-840-w-wrightwood-in-lincoln-park/
Sold for $525k in May-18, and again for $540k in May-21.
I like this one more, even with the $400 range, but it’s only one bedroom above ground.
“I’ve been meaning to get one of those and have someone mount it on some sort of hinge in our entry”
do you want to be able to sit on it, or just have cubbies/coat hooks?
Rather different stresses on whatever sort of pivot point, so rather important to be sure.
Not interested in duplex-down units, but what a fantastic building. I hope no developer gets their greedy hands on it trying to tear it down to build something generic. That happens way too often in LP and Lakeview.
First come, first served parking sounds like a great way to alienate neighbors from each other.
“I had a friend that lived here up until a few years ago. There are like two fewer spots than there are units and it is first come first serve.”
That is too stressful for me. I’m not coming home at midnight, already knowing there won’t be a spot and I’ll have to find one somewhere in that neighborhood. No thanks.
But I wonder if everyone even has a car?
“ But I wonder if everyone even has a car?”
At the time my friend lived there, there were at least a few more residents with cars than parking spots. She was fortunate to WFH before it was the norm and would run all errands while people were at work and rarely used her car at night, to not lose the spot.
it would make more sense to do a rotation that would guarantee certain units a spot for a year, and then others could just rent a spot elsewhere one year out of every six or seven.
We have friends living in a Lakeview vintage high rise with only a few spaces in its driveway. I believe they used an annual lottery to determine which residents got spaces. Everyone eventually would get turns, but it seems like a pain to not know if you’ll have a space in any given year.
“ but it seems like a pain to not know if you’ll have a space in any given year.”
I guess there’s always the hope that someone will give up their car.