A Vintage 2-Bedroom with a Private Deck in the Gold Coast: 1450 N. Dearborn Parkway
This 2-bedroom in 1450 N. Dearborn Parkway in the Gold Coast came on the market in August 2022.
Built in 1874, although the listing says 1890 but older listings I’ve covered have said it’s 1874, 1450 N. Dearborn has 6 units. There’s no parking with the building.
This unit has 12 foot ceilings, crown moldings and 2 decorative fireplaces, one in the living one and one in the primary bedroom.
It has designer lighting from RH.
The kitchen is “gourmet” and has white Shaker cabinets with soft close drawers, marble counter tops, a white subway tile backsplash, a Kohler farmhouse double bowl cast iron sink, a drinking water filtration system and a Viking refrigerator, dishwasher and induction cooktop range.
It also has a tin ceiling.
The unit has a “spa-like” guest bath with a walk-in-shower with body sprays and rainhead and detachable shower head.
The primary bedroom has crown moldings and big windows that overlook the private deck. It has an en suite bathroom which has a jacuzzi tub and rainhead shower head with tumbled marble surround. It also has a walk-in-closet.
The second bedroom looks like it was added on later. It does not have the crown molding or other vintage features.
It is accessed from the “den” which has skylights.
The listing says the private deck, which is big enough for a table and chairs and lounge area, was replaced in 2022.
The unit has features buyers look for including central air and a front load Samsung washer/dryer with smart app.
There’s no parking but it’s available to rent in the neighborhood.
This building is just steps away from Lincoln Park and the shops and restaurants of Old Town as well as Lake Michigan.
Listed at $789,900, is this perfect Gold Coast living?
Arlyn Tratt at NextHome Elite has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #2B: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in September 1995 for $275,000
- Sold in June 1997 for $281,000
- Sold in June 2003 for $439,500
- Sold in November 2006 for $575,000
- Sold in December 2016 for $585,000
- Sold in June 2019 for $667,500
- Currently listed at $789,900
- Assessments of $616 a month (includes heat, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $10,582
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- No parking but it’s available for rent nearby
- 2 decorative fireplaces
- Bedroom #1: 15×16
- Bedroom #2: 13×13
- Living/dining combo: 16×18
- Kitchen: 10×11
- Den: 6×18
- Laundry room: 3×3
- Deck: 13×25
“June 2003 for $439,500” + CPI = $708k.
Back out the improvements (beyond expected maintenance and wear and tear replacements), this is down a bit from trend. I’d say largely bc the GC is, relative to other parts of the GZ (eg, west loop), less desirable than 20 years ago, even though I think the GC is objectively better than it was 20 years ago–given the changes on Division, especially the replacement of the Jewel.
The deck is a nice feature in this location. For a couple of empty nesters without a car, this could be a great fit.
Nice outdoor area. Would make a nice PaT
Sad dining room table is sad
“DESIGNER LIGHTING FROM RESTORATION HARDWARE” – LOL
Current owners havent done improvements, not sure that holding for 3 years has increased the value $120k
I was outbid on this place back in 2019 (sellers got over asking). It’s a beautiful condo on a nice block. $120K over 2019 sale for repainting and a new deck would be a pretty decent return.
“$120K over 2019 sale for repainting and a new deck would be a pretty decent return.”
I’d heard somewhere that a deck this size might well be $100k.
And it’s obvious why they didn’t add a pergola anywhere, as that would be another $100k.
That was before lumber prices escalated. Might be a Quarter-Mil to build a pergola these days
“And it’s obvious why they didn’t add a pergola anywhere, as that would be another $100k.”
Is this a rooftop deck? Does it have a pergola, landscaping, electricity, water, an outdoor kitchen?
Do you have ANY clue anon(tfo) how much it costs to add all those features? No? I didn’t think so.
I really wish some of the commenters on this blog actually owned a house or condo and actually had to do things like put in a new driveway, add space pac cooling, add a washer/dryer to a condo unit where it didn’t exist before, actually build out a new kitchen or bath or landscape a backyard or a patio.
Then we’d have some decent insights on this blog instead of all this stupid nonsense by those who have no experience.
Sigh.
Maybe? The decking looks to be pressure treated wood boards and railings which is cheaper than composite. I redid my roof deck at the beginning of summer (half the size of the listing) with composite and aluminum railings for $17K but had quotes for wood for $15K and composite at $30K.
Composite is more expensive but lumber prices soared earlier this year so I heard from friends that the quotes they were getting on both were almost equal so they went with the composite.
Now that lumber prices have tanked again, composite is going to look pricier.
Will a lack of a true dining room hurt this unit?
Apparently it didn’t matter in 2019 as Eric said he put in an offer and it sold fast.
“Is this a rooftop deck?”
If it isn’t, what’s underneath? Looks like a roof.
“put in a new driveway”
Why in the world would I put in a new driveway? Do you mean “repave the alley?” Only people who would have that first on their list live someplace like Muncie.
It’s your sandbox, so you will continue with your habit of saying “you’re wrong” without any suggestion of what is “right”, and that’s fine.
If you think about it, tho, over the years here I’ve challenged many a pollyanna estimate of what a project would cost (at least if you aren’t DIY’ing it).
“Why in the world would I put in a new driveway? Do you mean “repave the alley?” Only people who would have that first on their list live someplace like Muncie.”
Not this stupid bullshit again about how Chicago doesn’t have driveways. My god.
“Maybe?”
Old joke that some insane, self-proclaimed expert person thought that a basic deck would run you $100k and you couldnt build a pergola for less than $125k
“It’s your sandbox, so you will continue with your habit of saying “you’re wrong” without any suggestion of what is “right”, and that’s fine.”
You are always way off about what it costs to put on a rooftop deck with all the amenities anon(tfo). Heck, Eric just said it was $15k to $30k to put on a deck half this size and the rooftop decks that are built out are double or triple this one.
And instead you choose to mock me for saying it costs $100k.
It’s old now.
I know someone who just paid $35,000 to redo a condo kitchen that is about the size of this unit’s. It wasn’t a big kitchen. And he didn’t even buy new appliances. It’s just very expensive to do any of these projects. Way more than what everyone on this site assumes.
And yes, a big rooftop deck that has all the top features including landscaping, is going to run you close to $100k.
At the time it was just me so no dining room didn’t bother me. The sellers in 2019 used it as a PaT and the buyers were a couple. Glad I ended up with a 3×2 as now it’s me, my partner, a tween and a dog (pandemic coupling lol).
“Not this stupid bullshit again about how Chicago doesn’t have driveways.”
There are about 42* driveways on SFH in the greenzone that are under $3m.
WHY would a typical UMC Chicago homeowner ever deal with a driveway?
*yes, that’s a 100% fact-free estimate.
“Way more than what everyone on this site assumes.”
“$35,000 to redo a condo kitchen”
That’s not ‘way more than I would assume’.
“a big rooftop deck that has all the top features including landscaping, is going to run you close to $100k.”
An actually big rooftop deck–say 1200 sf–that has ‘all the top features’ could *easily* run you $200k. It’s hella easy to spend $100k just on the outdoor kitchen fixtures. And that’s assuming that the roof was built for it, there is existing legal access, and the utilities are stubbed in. If you need to pull up water and sanitary and electric and gas, and add 2d egress, that’s 10s of thousands more.
My last deck–pre-covid, and not on a roof, but with nicer composite decking and aluminum railing–was over $50 psf. That’d be (deducting for no railing–assuming the parapet wall is tall enough) ~$50k for a single level, 1200 sf, composite roofdeck. Which is the baseline for “top features”, imo.
“What’s putting in a new drive way?
And, in Chicago, if it’s less than a full truck worth of concrete, you’ll usually have to pay for the whole 8 yard truck, anyway. Which jacks ups the cost psf.
“And, in Chicago, if it’s less than a full truck worth of concrete, you’ll usually have to pay for the whole 8 yard truck, anyway. Which jacks ups the cost ps”
You always pay for short loads, even in East Ft Wayne
You dont have a 1500sf driveway? (5″ slab – Nothing but the best for TFO)
So Sabrina, since you’re an expert – Whats your preferred W/C ratio? Minimum Cement content, preferred slump – before or after adding admix? What kind of agg gradation do you like? Tooled joints or sawcutting? what are you doing for curing?
Please enlighten us with your wisdom
This is a lovely unit. A couple of functional things that bother me. You go down to enter the building, you have to go through the bedroom and up steps to reach the deck, the “gym” is up a step up. Nice floors, except for all the nails!
Beautiful unit in a beautiful building. It would make a great pied-a-terre.
Not enough storage for a fulltime residence. I would not imagine the type of person that can both afford and like this, would own so little. I suppose you could turn the second bedroom into a closet and use the “gym” as an office/greenhouse. Where is the laundry room? Did I miss it in the tour? That would take away another of the tiny closets.
Sabrina said: “I know someone who just paid $35,000 to redo a condo kitchen that is about the size of this unit’s. It wasn’t a big kitchen. And he didn’t even buy new appliances. It’s just very expensive to do any of these projects. Way more than what everyone on this site assumes.”
I renovated my kitchen with a third more cabinets as this unit in March. My cheaper, Italian-made cabinets were still $35K and according to the contractor, have gone up in price 20% since last September when I signed the contract. Appliances, which have also gone up, were another $16K. In total, I spent about $80K for a new kitchen in a 17-year-old highrise that was just ugly and had nothing wrong with it (beyond its hideousness).
“I renovated my kitchen with a third more cabinets as this unit in March. My cheaper, Italian-made cabinets were still $35K and according to the contractor, have gone up in price 20% since last September when I signed the contract. Appliances, which have also gone up, were another $16K. In total, I spent about $80K for a new kitchen in a 17-year-old highrise that was just ugly and had nothing wrong with it (beyond its hideousness).”
Wow. Gulp. Thanks for the first hand update on the costs Lauren. Looks like my friend got away with his kitchen renovation on the cheap.
I love the look and feel of this unit. I can see why the asking price is high, because this is a unique space. So light and airy, with the high ceilings a nice touch. Good outdoor space, too. And whoever designed this made good use of the space, particularly the oddly-shaped area that’s a gym/office.
Two things struck me on the negative side: There’s basically no real place to eat. The kitchen isn’t eat-in, so you’re stuck eating on the side of the living room. There’s no way around this, so either you can live with it or you can’t, but not ideal for entertaining. Or for someone like me, who likes to keep food out of the living room.
Also, why no photos of the roof deck?
No parking is obviously a major negative, though I’m sure it’s easy to get a garage space in one of the many bland 1960s high rises nearby. Still not ideal.
“What’s putting in a new drive way?”
We had ours done back in the spring. Quite the learning experience.
“why no photos of the roof deck?”
Sabrina had a related question!
“Is this a rooftop deck?”
As Dan helpfully notes (having seemingly read the ALLCAPS listing), the listing says that it is a roof deck, which, by the general rules of CC, makes it a roof deck.
Guess *everyone* here is surprised by home much home reno costs.
“We had ours done back in the spring.”
Did you keep it under $10 psf?
“Did you keep it under $10 psf?”
$8.25 psf for the driveway (710 sq ft) (same psf rate for a walkway along the side of the house and trash can area). $13 psf for stamped (72 sq ft entry and 615 sq ft back patio).
“WHY would a typical UMC Chicago homeowner ever deal with a driveway”
I know I’m not in the GZ, but I love my driveway (wouldn’t want to redo it though). Doesn’t everyone want a driveway? You never have to drive in the alley, your guests don’t have to park on the street (although honestly I do not like it when guest just presume to park on my driveway), and you can can put in a half pickleball court.
Do GZ SFH listings for the UMC that have driveways cite that in the description?
It’s crazy how expensive it is with smaller jobs. Mobilization is a killer.
I shocked the neighbors once years ago with $8 psf for ~350 sf of sidewalk–but what are you going to do?
Looks like even the City’s Shared Cost Sidewalk program was at $5 psf for ’22. When we had it done, it was something like $2.25 or $2.50.
“Doesn’t everyone want a driveway?”
Nope. Would like a side yard, but give me a double lot and reasonable GZ budget, I’m either building a house on one lot, with alley facing garage on the other, or doing something laid out a little like this one:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3637-N-Leavitt-St-60618/home/13389673
“and you can can put in a half pickleball court.”
I feel like I’d heard few people talking about their pickleball hobby starting around maybe 2010. It suddenly seems like I’m one of the only people left in the world for whom it is not an absolute obsession, let alone never tried. But I think I’m going to give it a whirl this weekend.
I don’t care what it’s called. It doesn’t look like a rooftop deck to me. For that to be the case, it would need to be on top of the building. Case closed.
Honest question Dan:
what do you call a deck on top of a garage? Just a “garage deck”?
I think that no one not on CC calls them Gator Decks, but if you do actually say that irl, I’ll buy you lunch sometime.
“what do you call a deck on top of a garage? Just a “garage deck”?”
I have mostly seen them called simply “a deck on top of the garage.”
“what do you call a deck on top of a garage? Just a “garage deck”?”
yep. I don’t know anyone that refers to their garage deck as a rooftop deck.
Just putting this here:
https://chicagoroofdeck.com/project/heavenly-garage-roof-deck/
I don’t really care for them, hence calling theme Gator Decks way back when, but it is:
a Deck,
on the Roof,
of a Garage.
Less misleading than calling so very many condo units, in buildings as short as 3 stories, “penthouses”.
A few of the late 60s/early 70s models throughout our neighborhood are the dreck you’ve seen a million times, where there’s a two car attached garage but nothing above the garage except a pitched roof. A few nearby houses have removed the garage roof and installed a deck above all of the garage (accessed via an upstairs bedroom). Those, I wouldn’t call a roof deck. But there are a few other nearby houses, where they’ve expanded the bedroom level out over anywhere from half to nearly all of the garage, with some sort of deck installed. Those, I’m inclined to call a roof deck.
So, roof decks in nonny’s hood are like criminal obscenity.
Or perhaps are criminal obscenities.
“I think that no one not on CC calls them Gator Decks, but if you do actually say that irl, I’ll buy you lunch sometime.”
I found myself at dinner on a gator deck with 2 biglawers and whatev a schiff hardin (or whatev it is now) lawyer qualifies as. Actually there was another just barely practicing lawyer from firm I dunno. (that was a really long night.). I tried to popularize the terminology but didn’t get any takers, esp the guy whose gator deck it was.
Closed for 770K
June 2019 for $667,500 + CPI (Oct-22) = $776k.
So a bit behind inflation, ignoring the update costs.
Solid sale based on the ask, tho.