Are Retro Kitchens Back In? You Can Have One In This Marina Towers 1-Bedroom: 300 N. State in River North
This bank owned 1-bedroom in Marina Towers at 300 N. State in River North has been on the market since January 13, 2012.
In that time, it has been reduced $18,100 to $168,900.
There are only a few pictures of the interior of the unit.
It appears to have carpeting.
The unit has northeast views.
The kitchen has white cabinets and a yellow stove and dishwasher.
Yes – yellow.
Could those be the original 1960 appliances?
The unit doesn’t have central air (only wall units), no in-unit washer/dryer and parking is valet in the building.
How low will this go?
[Also notice, the bank has owned this unit since December 2010.]
Elizabeth Lita at R.E.I.T. Homes has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #2128: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 800 square feet
- Sold in July 1998 for $93,000
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in February 2009
- Bank owned in December 2010
- Originally listed in January 2012 for $187,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $168,900
- Assessments of $362 a month (includes doorman and cable)
- Taxes of $2296
- No central air- only wall units
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- Parking is valet
- Bedroom: 14×11
Ha, they look original! These are probably worth around 200 fully remodeled. I’ve been in a number of them….low ceilings and odd room shapes (pie slices) are hard to get over but it is a landmark!
Oh my! That kitchen made me want to puke all over the place (and I didn’t even drink last night).
It’s hilarious: $550/month before the mortgage, and the owner is trying to double their money after 14 years despite seemingly not invested a dime into updating the place. This may well be a litmus test of non-improved properties.
The kitchen is org. and the unit needs updating. $30-40K and I think you have a nice place. $168k is a pretty good starting point and this is a buy under $162K and a steel under $158K
This is not a deal, but I think it would be a cool to live in such an inconic building with a great location. I certainly prefer it to McCondos.
I kind of love the yellow appliances, if only for the kitsch factor and not a practical one. But I’ve been on a mid-century kick lately (don’t ask why) — mostly pink/sea foam green/powder blue bathtubs, accent tiles, and toilets.
But there’s no way that opinion constitutes the majority. GUT GUT GUT.
” and the owner is trying to double their money after 14 years”
Well, it is bank owned, so the owner isn’t doubling their money.
I was about to write how does someone own this for 14 years and not have the ability to price it to sell. Now I wonder how long it was delinquent before the bank took it back. Think someone rented it for years and pocked the cash, along with not paying a mortgage too?
“Well, it is bank owned, so the owner isn’t doubling their money.”
Those Republic Steel cabinets are original, but have been painted white. Originally they were a bright lemon yellow. See http://savethepinkbathrooms.com/ for some info on the popularity of these mid-century details.
“Now I wonder how long it was delinquent before the bank took it back. Think someone rented it for years and pocked the cash, along with not paying a mortgage too?”
I wondered too Icarus. The ccrd site is back up and running this morning so I updated the post with the lis pendens info. 2006 mortgage was for $208,250.
Deutsche Bank has owned this one for quite some time. This unit is the “shadow inventory” everyone is always talking about.
Joe T. – Could a buyer resell those cabinets and appliances? Are they worth it to a collector or someone with an affinity for this era?
I don’t believe this building allows dogs.. strike one among many strikes. I would rather live at Plaza 440 and get parking included with a more updated kitchen.
My guess is $125k max.
(It’s rather amazing those appliances lasted so long. I recently had to get rid of an 8-year-old refrigerator and am about to replace the same age washer/dryer.)
They neglected to post a picture of the best feature of living here… the rooftop deck.
“Could a buyer resell those cabinets and appliances? Are they worth it to a collector or someone with an affinity for this era?”
Yep. They’re often sold on ebay, and often traded and sold via another website run by the woman who does the other site I posted– http://www.retrorenovation.com. We’ve got the same cabinets in our in-town, but with higher-end stainless and chrome gas appliances of similar vintage. My wife thought that we’d have to gut our kitchen, but I said two magic words that changed her mind– “Mad Men.” So we did the place with a mid-century modern feel.
I like to say that ovens and cooktops of this era are as simple as a hammer– there are only a couple of things that can go wrong with them, and are easily fixed if they do break down, and parts are usually readily available.
The cabinets are very heavy, as they’re steel, after all, but can be refinished/repainted/re-enamled, if you know what you’re doing. Some auto body places will do it for you, if you don’t know what you’re doing. I stripped and re-enamled ours myself.
Nate Berkus kept his original mid-century steel cabinets in his place a couple of blocks from ours. His however, were made be a company called St. Charles, which is considered by many to be the top of line for steel cabinets of this era.
A neighbor should buy this and put it out of its misery
“My guess is $125k max”
This is your guess of sale price or your opinion of value?
No 1bed units have sold for under $137k here in the last year. Check your comps and you will see even the retro untouched originals on low floors are going for around the ask…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/300-N-State-St-60654/unit-2210/home/14101025
Even if you gut the unit the buildings are both filthy. They have been destroyed in all kinds of ways. No central air, no washer/dryer, no parking available…How many deterrents do you need? Not much investment upside here. 200k when your done with rehab, many better options for a 1bed. Film another movie there and just blow the place up completely.
“This is your guess of sale price or your opinion of value?”
Rule of thumb: Take Jenny’s prices and add 15-20%. She’s taken over HD’s job.
I’m all for retro kitchens, in general. I’m very hopeful, as I’m looking for a place right now, to find one. I’m confident in a few years everyone will be tired of Ikea junk, and most especially the mid-shade wood oak (or whatever it is – you’ve seen it a million times) that is the most common kitchen in the world from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Thanks for the links and the info about where to buy them. I’ve been on some of the sites, but I might need them. There’s an 80’s remodel kitchen, that isn’t retro, that was put into a lot of 20/30s places and mid-century places that I’d have to tear out immediately if that’s what I end up with. 🙂 Let’s all appreciate retro kitchens. (I know, never going to happen) This building has some good ones. And, the Mies buildings on LSD have a few left, too.
pic 4 — the stairway to hell.
“My wife thought that we’d have to gut our kitchen, but I said two magic words that changed her mind– “Mad Men.” ”
for this place, you’d need 3 magic words: sanford and son.
Just looked at the photos – that kitchen is my speed, totally. Love the metal cabinets. This isn’t a bad price for the 21st floor. We’ve looked in the building. It could go a little lower, but you wouldn’t be in bad shape if you paid close to this. Your resell wouldn’t be far off the mark, one day…
Joe T’s comments are spot on.
Very interesting to check out the photo exhibit that accompanies the Goldberg retrospective at the Art Institute. Somehow the photos of the Marina Towers residents all contain a TV remote. I’m guessing that was the photographer’s commentary on the social engineering aspects of Goldberg’s work.
“for this place, you’d need 3 magic words: sanford and son.”
So you’ve been to my dad’s house then?
Lisa-also check out craigslist. These go cheap from bungalows in places like Berwyn. I got an entire Lyons kitchen w/ original cast iron sink for $600. These were made here, so there are still lots of them around. My cabinets are actually light, the sink is another matter entirely. But disassembling, sanding, priming, painting and re-assembling took a solid week of 12 hour days for two people. But totally worth it. The local shops that do anodizing aren’t too unreasonable, but the price for prep work is.
Actually this whole building makes me want to puke.
“Oh my! That kitchen made me want to puke all over the place (and I didn’t even drink last night).”
This guy has a ton of old original prints from Marina City and every few years puts them on display. If you go to his studio and he has time he’ll pull the prints and show them. If you consider the buildings a work of art then you would truly enjoy this collection…
http://www.architechgallery.com/arch_info/exhibit_docs/exhibits_2009/marina_towers_2009.html
I used to hate these buildings, but after seeing them every work day the last few years, they’ve grown on me. I like to imagine that they’re all full-floor units, each of which enjoys a boat dock, so based on the comments thus far, I’ll decline to look at this listing.
“So you’ve been to my dad’s house then?”
Lamont?
“Lamont?”
Believe it or not, a lot of people call me that.
On another note, I know a number of people who’ve lived in Marina Towers at one point, and all of them loved it. Of course they were all in their mid to late 20s at the time, and that was back in the 80s and early 90s.
I lived here for awhile in a high-floor 1-bed and thought it was great. Our kitchen had the old cabinets, painted white, but appliances were new… big problem was difficult cooking ventilation so roasts etc. would reliably set off the fire alarm.
We had some awesome parties on the huge balcony and the roof deck is great too. North views are newly constrained in recent years, even from high floors, by 353 Clark and probably the new hotel going up there too.
Rooms are funny shaped but not difficult to arrange/furnish; the confined narrow end of the triangle is taken up with closets so that your living spaces are spacious and well lit. Ceilings are low.
It’s a low-amenity building in a great location. 1-beds would make very nice in-towns; harder to justify long-term residence in one of these small low-floor apartments.
This is also the lowest floor in the building with the worst view. Units start on 21 and this one looks directly into the HOB hotel.
“But I’ve been on a mid-century kick lately (don’t ask why) — mostly pink/sea foam green/powder blue bathtubs, accent tiles, and toilets.”
Boi –
There is a TON of this on the Southside.
All unironic too.
I like it as well – especially the square bath and kitchen wall tiles in shades of pink and yellow.
I don’t know why.
They just make me happy!
I like the old tiled bathrooms and kitchens (as long as the counters aren’t tiled anyway). I hate the kitchen in this place though. The cabinets don’t bother me as much as the counter and appliances. It has a dingy look to it.
Cabinets can be professionally repainted using electrostatic paint machine and automobile paint. Don’t use paint brush or roller! Once had a kitchen w/St Charles metal cabinets, painted a lovely shade of Mercedes pearl grey. These cabinets, if not dented or rusted, are high-quality/high-design fixtures.
Question for Architect or others who might have some ideas: Is there any way to alter the surface of countertops? For instance, if one has formica (or the like), can they be electrostatically painted or glazed, or can a stone-like surface be applied, i.e., without having to remove the countertops?
Bertrand Goldberg says Mies van der Rohe didn’t like his Marina City design:
“Mies was very good to me. He was interested in what I was doing and he used to look at my work when he came here to this country. He came up to my office and looked at my designs and gave me crits as to what he would have done instead of what I had done. I am given to understand that once he said I was among the most imaginative of his students. On the other hand, I am given to understand that when I designed Marina City he said, ‘Well, everybody has to do such a thing once.’ ”
Bertrand Goldberg interview, pp. 43.
http://digital-libraries.saic.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/caohp&CISOPTR=3933&REC=1
Vintage yellow kitchen appliances! *gasp*!
Back when this was first built, pastel bathrooms were all the rage, as were kitchens with avocado or harvest gold appliances. Homeowners have become very color-phobic for some reason in the ensuring decades, and our culture is all the poorer for it.
Am I the only one who remembers when you could buy color-coordinated Kleenex and ScotTissue for your baby-pink or mint-green bathroom? Colored tissue products were wildly popular until the eco-freaks from the late 60s started giving us scare stories that the dyes were poisoning the drinking water and killing us all (cue the “Psycho” strings here).
“Colored tissue products were wildly popular until the eco-freaks from the late 60s started giving us scare stories that the dyes were poisoning the drinking water and killing us all (cue the “Psycho” strings here).”
I hate the holier than thou eco-freaks. They act so smug with their Priuses and Obama stickers on them, I really want to encounter one in conversation so I can act smugger-than-thou and inform them my car actually emits less co2 than theirs (my bin-2 vs. their bin-3). I never purchased it knowing this and don’t act holier-than-thou nor feel that way, but I get a kick out of putting smug assholes in their place.
Check out this listing of a Southside 3 Flat for the mid-century modern kitchens and baths:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/5501-S-Komensky-Ave-60629/home/14006377?utm_source=myredfin&utm_campaign=listings_update&utm_medium=email
I think it’s AMAZING, omg…