A Vintage Beauty for Modern Living: A 3-Bedroom at 4300 N. Marine Drive in Buena Park
This 3-bedroom vintage unit at 4300 N. Marine Drive in the Buena Park neighborhood of Uptown just came on the market.
The listing says it has all the exposures, including South, which would be of the city, and the Lake.
Built in 1929, this property has the features you would expect from a vintage unit of that era including 9 foot ceilings, a formal foyer, Venetian plaster ceilings and crown molding.
But this unit has been renovated to modern standards.
The listing says it has a “chef’s kitchen” with honed marble brick floors, granite counter tops and luxury appliances including an oversized Wolf stove.
It also has a wine refrigerator.
The master bathroom is marble with an oversized shower.
It has central air but no laundry in the unit. There is coin laundry in the building.
There is also rental parking available in the building.
Given that this is a renovated unit, and therefore “new”, will this sell quickly?
Mario Greco at Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #804: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2200 square feet
- Sold in August 2003 for $565,000
- Currently listed for $482,500
- Assessments of $1334 a month (includes heat, doorman, cable, exterior maintenance)
- Taxes of $3626
- Central Air
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- Parking available to rent in the building
- Bedroom #1: 17×16
- Bedroom #2: 17×16
- Bedroom #3: 12×10
I love this building, and feel that this apartment is priced right. The HOA is pretty much inline for this type of building, and what it includes & the level of service provided.
However, even though this is a very nice place, it is rather sad the way the vintage details have been removed and the poor place “clean-walled” into blandness. What IS this clean-wall fad all about? The original millwork was beautiful, though not half as beautiful as what has been removed from grander Chicago vintage buildings? I’m sad that so many units in beloved old buildings have suffered this.
I was eagerly pouring over the beautiful coffee table book on famous old Chicago apartment buildings, which featured original photographs of the exteriors and interiors of famous old buildings in Hyde Park, Streeterville, and the near North Side. I was agog when I saw the original 1926 photos of units in the wonderful 5555 S Everett Bldg (Sabrina, you should feature some of the fab Hyde Park places sometime). You cannot believe the intricate plaster work with unbelievably complex, intricate details, and detailed millwork, that the duplexed units there had. I can’t imagine what that cost, and it might not be possible to duplicate it now. And it is all gone now. I see a number of apartments come on the market periodically in that place and they have all been clean-walled to death- you could never imagine how beautiful and fanciful they once were.
If you are fortunate enough to score a beautiful vintage unit with all the original millwork intact, PLEASE LEAVE IT ALONE. Same goes for an intact, perfect 20s vintage bath with the gorgeous Deco tile and fixtures- think before you rip that out to replace it with the fad de jour. If the millwork or plaster is damaged but still mostly intact, you can easily restore it. You can make plaster casts of the remaining fragments and reconstruct it. But once you’ve ripped it all out, it will never be restored because it cost a fortune to do it to begin with.
I love the doors with the rounded tops.
Limiting the pet weight at 35 pounds is a big turn off though. I don’t understand the weight limitations. Little dogs can be just as irritating as large dogs. Either allow all dogs or none.
This is a nice 2 bedroom. If you turn a bedroom into a living room, it’s not a bedroom any more. Either convert it back, or list it as the 2 bedroom that it is.
I’m always surprised that people in this price range are willing to settle for no laundry and pay extra for monthly parking. Then again, I drive every day and run the washer/dryer constantly!
This listing was also featured on Curbed. When that post appeared in the feed on Everyblock, someone who is apparently a resident here spoke up with a “Buyer Beware” message. That person said the condo association of this building is extremely strict about rules, and vigilantly looking to catch people in violations, especially regarding pets. They said the management and door staff are like this to the point of all kinds of inappropriate questioning of neighbors about other neighbors.
This points to the great unknown of condo buying. The unit may be beautiful, but how does one know before buying whether the people there can be lived with?
Lots of time architectural detail was lost or badly damaged long before current renovation occurred. Here, the living-dining room looks too spare, while the kitchen and bathrooms look upscale and appropriate.
In regards to condo association rules, some condo owners conveniently forget (or disregard) key element of communal living: respect and regard for other people’s quiet enjoyment of their homes, so compliance with rules established to ensure that enjoyment. If you’ve a big dog, then buy a unit in a building that allows big dogs – no excuses. (And certainly don’t let your dog relieve itself within the building, which was a problem at certain “dog buildings” this winter, where some dog owners let their little dogs relieve themselves in indoor lobby planters rather than venture out, or loading dock lobby.
And if you enjoy hosting boozy parties with loud music late nights, then a house on a large lot with neighbors not abutting your walls is prudent choice. Buildings are also dealing with unit-owners hosting AirBnB lodgers, despite rules against short-term rentals, renting to folks who want a weekend party location, who disregard building rules regarding noise, public drinking, late-night loud music, etc.
It’s only a matter of time before pot is legalized. At it stands now, it’s borderline accepted and more people are choosing to use it, and the pot is more potent than ever. The smell of the skunk is unmistakable in many hallways in Chicago seeping around doors. The smell lingers like a really bad, “silent-but-deadly” type fart.
I think its horseshit that condo associations are not allowing AirBnb’s, complete and utter horseshit
Random question – why do some agents feel the need to always use ALL CAPS IN THEIR LISTINGS? I’m not a fan except to HIGHLIGHT certain words/features in the description. It makes it much more difficult to read. I understand this may have made sense in old newspaper ads to stand out, but now that 99% of everything is done on the internet, this seems anachronistic. Is this something they teach as a good marketing strategy in real estate circles? Seems like poor form and detracts from the listing. You would think agents would be educated enough to know this.
Maybe the agents are holdovers from the Apple II era?
HH, a good association will not only prohibit AirBnb rentals, but ANY rentals, except in really exceptional situations that should be clearly defined by the Bylaws of the association.
Short term rentals have obvious security risks, the main one being that the unit owner renting out rooms or beds really has NO idea who she is renting to.
Regarding rules- as I’ve said before, if people behaved better, there wouldn’t need to be so many rule. The unfortunate fact is that too many dog owners are very careless and inconsiderate, letting the pet do its business inside the public areas- and the bigger the dog, the bigger the “business”. They also seem to have no idea of what constitutes a suitable pet for a city apartment, and extremely large dogs that require a lot of physical activity are not usually good apartment dwellers.
Why allow dogs at all then? Why not have cameras and punish those who behave badly?
I dread the day pot becomes completely legal. That smell is horrible. I’ve smelled it in my building and if I knew who it was, I would report that person to the police.
I wish my building would just ban smoking completely – in the units, on the balconies, within 15 feet in front of the entrance, etc. If such a building existed, I would pay extra to live there. It would be even better if they said no smokers allowed because they stink up the elevator with the smoke that clings to their clothing.
“I dread the day pot becomes completely legal. That smell is horrible. I’ve smelled it in my building and if I knew who it was, I would report that person to the police.”
Have you spent much time in the places were recreational use has been legalized? The inevitable decriminalization of recreational use in IL isn’t going to have much of an increased impact on you, at least as far as smells go.
“Short term rentals have obvious security risks, the main one being that the unit owner renting out rooms or beds really has NO idea who she is renting to. ”
thats crap, have you not used airbnb before?
sonies, I have never and will never, either as a guest or a host. I don’t want strangers in my house, don’t want to have to maintain the standard of housekeeping for that in any case, and don’t want to stay in a stranger’s home.. feel like an intruder even staying at a B&B.
I like a well-run, clean, attractive HOTEL that gets hundreds of good review on the review sites, and where I don’t feel like someone’s personal houseguest.
It is BS that this is called a 3 bedroom. The floorplan shows two bedrooms, then to say it is a 3 bedroom they call the family room that is open to the kitchen a bedroom. No one is going to sleep in that family room. Realtor failure!
Condo associations may be banning Airbnb but what about the in-home eating programs? Some are already doing this in Chicago. You can host a bunch of strangers in your home for a meal if you’re a foodie and like cooking. I don’t think they provide any alcohol, however.
http://www.eatwith.com/explore-dining-around-the-world/
“I wish my building would just ban smoking completely – in the units, on the balconies, within 15 feet in front of the entrance, etc. If such a building existed, I would pay extra to live there.”
I thought Chicago already had this?
No, residential buildings are not covered by the anti-smoking ordinance and I don’t believe they should be. However, if a super-majority of a condo or co-op association’s owners wish to make it happen, they most likely could.
About condo rentals- I know from experience that nothing ruins an association like too many rentals. A good association will either ban them altogether or limit them strictly, to less than 20% of the units, or better, less than 10%. Units in buildings with excessive investor ownership are more difficult to finance, and it is more difficult and expensive for an investor-owned building to obtain financing as an association for major repairs and improvements. It is more difficult, also, to manage an investor owned building, as investors tend to resist spending even for essential repair-replace, let alone upgrades and improvements, and they tend not to want to participate in the management and operation of a building. Getting them together is like herding cats- they don’t want to be bothered with the details of actually running the place, such as making sure the bills are paid, the halls are swept and cleaned, the boiler is serviced, the lawn is mowed- yet tend to resent spending money to pay others to do this.
If you are lucky enough to own in an association that is rental-free, you’d be wise to keep it that way.
“However, if a super-majority of a condo or co-op association’s owners wish to make it happen, they most likely could.”
This Lincoln Park high rise banned smoking, even in private residences, last year.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20140211/CRED0701/140219958/dont-smoke-em-if-youve-got-em-lincoln-park-condo-tower-bans-smoking
I read about that building. It makes me want to move!
One smoker on a floor can ruin the entire hallway. One smoker on a balcony means that no one else can be on their balconies without smelling smoke.
A super-majority of owners (2/3 majority) can vote to ban anything it wants. A non-smoking building might be a major selling point for many people…. though I submit that if you ban smoking, you perhaps ought to ban wood-burning fireplaces and surely ought to ban grilling on balconies, which are major fire hazards in any case. Burning biomass (that would be wood, kids) indoors is a major factor in respiratory illness world wide, yet I do not hear howls of protest at the wood burning fireplaces in so many restaurants and coffee houses.
Just please don’t include harmless e-cigs in the smoking ban. It’s not “smoke”, folks, it’s vapor. Unlike Burning Leaf cigs, they do not produce foul odors, they are not fire hazards, and they do not cause harm to others nearby. The FDA has been exerting itself to find provable harm, and can’t- all you hear to date is “may” and “might”, with no hard data. Yet our idiotic city council bans these things in public buildings, demotivating hard-core tobacco smokers who might otherwise front the $100 or so necessary to set yourself up and give it a try.
When I lived in a condo, one of the owners loved to light up the weed. The smell would permeate right out into the common hallway. I have no desire to live anywhere near smokers.
Banning wood burning fire places? Where did that one come from. I think any other form of fireplace is just ridiculous. Although I agree that it is not suited for a high rise.
miumiu, I was merely pointing out that burning wood or any other biomass indoors presents a hazard to your health that almost compares with cigarette smoke, especially if you breathe it as regularly as cig smokers inhale tobacco smoke. However, people are so sentimental about wood fires that a movement to ban them would get no traction in any case- one thinks of home and hearth and gathering ’round the campfire to roast marshmellows, on one hand; and desperate addicts, mostly not trendy or affluent, gathered ’round the ashcan in the 10 degree weather, greedily drawing on cigarettes clenched between chattering teeth, on the other, and it is our emotions that drive our lawmaking. And dope, of course, evokes even more unpleasant images.
Here is a short article on the hazards of wood-burning:https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/91br023.pdf
Thanks Laura. I skimmed though this, but I think wood smoke (mostly from poorly ventilated wood stove) is the culprit. I am not sure operating a well ventilated fireplace is the problem. If a fire place makes smoke, something is wrong with it anyways.
On both sides of my family and my laws, we have used wood burning fireplaces forever and we have quite impressive longevity so I think I am not worried about that for now 🙂
I would be happy if they banned anything that produces smoke and is able to get into another owner’s unit or the common elements. As long as e-cigarettes don’t produce an order, I am fine with them.
“I am not sure operating a well ventilated fireplace is the problem”
Another opportunity to link to this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/garden/20fire.html
“Now her husband scouts out any place they go in advance, to be sure it’s free of fireplaces, and she passes up countless dinners and parties.”
hahaha I love that article its hilarious!
Yeah… if not for all of those wood burning fireplaces, our climate issues would be solved!