Can You Sell a Single Family Home for Nearly $4 Million in Lakeview? 1010 W. George

Some of you were recently chattering about singer R. Kelly’s former house at 1010 W. George in Lakeview that sits next to the same Enterprise Rental Car agency as does another property we chattered about at 2910 N. Sheffield.

1010-w-george-approved.jpg

See our prior chatter on the 2-flat on Sheffield here.

Nearly every major media agency/housing website in Chicago has covered the house at 1010 W. George so I figured we might as well join in now that it’s been on the market awhile.

It came on the market in June 2010 for $3.89 million. It has not had any reductions since the original listing.

The house is unique as it was originally a 1885 church.

Bought from the bank in 2008 and, according to other media reports, extensively renovated, it has lofted ceilings, a knotty pine spa room, an elevator, a 1500 square foot roof top terrace and an indoor pool.

Not only is it the most expensive home on the block, but it is the most expensive completed home currently on the market in Lakeview.

(There are two others listed for more than this one- but both are new construction spec homes- which haven’t yet been built.)

Does Lakeview support housing prices at this level?

Will this house find a buyer in 2011?

Ed Jelinek at Coldwell Banker has the listing (which has now gotten over 4,000 views on the Coldwell Banker website).

See the pictures, virtual tour and floor plan here.

1010 W. George: 4 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, 2 car garage

  • Sold in December 2001 for $225,000
  • Sold in April 2005 for $2.4 million
  • Sold in January 2006 for $3 million
  • Lis pendens filed in December 2006
  • Bank owned in October 2007
  • Sold in October 2008 for $1 million
  • Originally listed in June 2010 for $3.89 million
  • Currently still listed for $3.89 million
  • Taxes of $44,428
  • Spa room
  • Indoor pool
  • 1500 square foot rooftop deck with outdoor kitchen

45 Responses to “Can You Sell a Single Family Home for Nearly $4 Million in Lakeview? 1010 W. George”

  1. this place is awesome with a capital A. i want it.

    oh, to have a pool like that. i don’t care what the maintenance would be i’d do laps in it 5 times/week, minimum.

    0
    0
  2. Now that’s a rooftop deck.

    And very convenient from a car rental standpoint.

    0
    0
  3. Hello MTV “Real World” producers……

    Pretty interesting space. I am a bit confused with the north woods lodge room in picture 17. That room seems to be a bit out of place for this otherwise modern look.

    Someone sure picked up an awesome deal at $1M although it is not likely they are going to flip that into an almost $4M sale in the short term regardless of what they invested. Could they have expanded the kitchen? Sure it will be caterers using the room but it seems small for the type of parties that will happen here.

    BTW since it was a church did they leave the confessional? That seems appropriate considering the former owner.

    0
    0
  4. p.s. obvious detraction is the rental lot, and perhaps it is geared a bit too much towards the wealthy couples who are either DINKs or empty-nesters…this shrinks the buyer pool, but man i’d love to have this place.

    if i was at the right point in life and could afford it, i’d buy it in a heart beat. i’d get too much enjoyment from the pool to care if i overpaid by one million or not.

    0
    0
  5. what is the school situation for this home?

    0
    0
  6. “what is the school situation for this home?”

    Parker’s a pretty easy commute for Philip driving the town car.

    0
    0
  7. maybe you could pay someone who works at enterprise to “pick your kids up”

    I dunno about this place, I mean its super nice and all, but it reminds me of the W hotel or something and I don’t think this particular styling will age well

    and even if I had this kind of FU money, there’s no way I’d have a house this big. no way!

    0
    0
  8. What is the history of this home?? R Kelly sold it in 2005. Right??
    Next buyer sold it the next year??? Next buyer must not have made hardly any mortgage payments because it was bank owned by the next year!
    Maybe its cursed???!!!!

    0
    0
  9. ““what is the school situation for this home?”

    Parker’s a pretty easy commute for Philip driving the town car.”

    so for 4mil i can even get a decent public school?
    there is no grass where are the kids going to play?
    whats with the 80’s miami vice hand rails?
    and 4mil for the wahts with the wooden clock work orange sauna room?

    0
    0
  10. I’m with Sonies, looks like a hotel lobby crossed with an office layout, with some inspiration from the hospital from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It’s obviously a cool place, but commenting on this place in January makes me wonder how drafty and cold that place must be in the wintertime. Who would ever use those couches, cover oneself in a blanket, sit there and listen to the echoes?

    0
    0
  11. “What is the history of this home?? R Kelly sold it in 2005. Right??
    Next buyer sold it the next year??? Next buyer must not have made hardly any mortgage payments because it was bank owned by the next year!
    Maybe its cursed???!!!!”

    Ahem. Maybe they can’t get all of R Kelly’s pee stains out of the floor.

    0
    0
  12. Hideous exterior, beautiful interior.

    0
    0
  13. “so for 4mil i can even get a decent public school?”

    Not “a” $4mm home; *this* $4mm home–someone who buys this and has kids ain’t sending them to CPS willingly, unless it’s Payton/Northside for HS. You want a $4mm house and a public school option, you’re buying in ELP or NT.

    0
    0
  14. http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articles/you-dont-turn-down-an-invitation-to-r-kellys-house,30654/

    by David Wolinsky July 22, 2009

    * No longer trapped in the closet: items allegedly belonging to R. Kelly on Craigslist

    Back in May, we told you about items allegedly belonging to R. Kelly suddenly cropping up for sale on Craigslist. The ad was tersely worded, but it was hard to believe that a bar adorned with Looney Tunes characters and a glass-backboard basketball hoop could belong to anyone but a Space Jam-era Kells. The day after our story went online, I got a friendly e-mail back from Casey Owca, the woman who placed the ad. Owca explained that she was selling these items for Ilene Greenblatt, a former Chicago dentist who now flips properties for profit as a hobby.

    * * * * * * * * * * * *

    0
    0
  15. It’s also for rent at $25K/mo I think. Try before you buy. One year will set you back $300,000, cost of a normal home in the USA, and you won’t have any equity.

    My guess $2.9MM sells it.

    0
    0
  16. Better home with a better pool at 645 W Hutchinson, but I believe it just rented (for $12,500).

    0
    0
  17. Again this is limited to ‘star’ sub-market:

    the R&B, sports, rock or movie.

    At this price or any price above $1.5 mil the ‘star’ is better off building their own Taj Mahal.

    0
    0
  18. And there’s always this one:

    http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1804-W-Eddy-St-60657/home/13386894

    Which I think is a more livable space that R.Kell’s, for somewhat less $$.

    0
    0
  19. Were I a celeb and for this kind of money, I’d want some doorman/security presence, killer views, and closer proximity to the bars/clubs/cool dining spots. This place might make sense if it were on a coast, in a ski village, or some other vacation destination, not Lakeview. I could maybe see this in RN or BT, but even that’s a stretch.

    0
    0
  20. I know some people who live on this block. George is a nice street, but this one is way out of whack with the neighborhood.

    0
    0
  21. I agree with anon…his listing is more like a home…granted a fancy crib, but the decor is more cohesive and its in a quieter residential block close to family amenities. Anonny is right the place screams party life but is in sleepy suburbia part of the city. If this place were in the River North warehouse district, it would sell.

    0
    0
  22. Perfect home for Larry Flynt

    0
    0
  23. b, yes, knowing what went on in that “knotty pine spa,” I could never live there. I’d feel bad every time I walked in the door.

    0
    0
  24. drip drip drip

    0
    0
  25. Wicked awesome place. It’s a world unto itself. I love it, never saw anything quite like it. It even has its own indoor pool.

    I also like the ugly exterior because it throws people off. No casual passerby would ever suspect the wealth behind it. I have walked past this place many times and never suspected that the stodgy facade sheltered a dwelling like this.

    0
    0
  26. I still think the price is ridiculous; I have no idea why someone would want this facade at this price-point in that location (George between an alley and Enterprise).

    There are plenty SFHs — new and vintage — in ELP at this price point that are in a better SD and include green space. Heck, go all out and buy that massive, ridiculous block-dominator on Geneva Terrace for $4.7 mil.

    And the taxes on this place? Gah.

    0
    0
  27. “Not “a” $4mm home; *this* $4mm home–someone who buys this and has kids ain’t sending them to CPS willingly, unless it’s Payton/Northside for HS. You want a $4mm house and a public school option, you’re buying in ELP or NT.”

    anon (ufo), of all my crib chatter friends i would think you would get the groove sarcasm. albeit i kind of do get most of the stuff i say and i am the one saying it.

    0
    0
  28. “anon (ufo), of all my crib chatter friends i would think you would get the groove sarcasm. albeit i kind of do get most of the stuff i say and i am the one saying it.”

    Yeah, I know you weren’t serious, but if I skip the earnest responses–especially on CPS stuff–what do I have left?

    0
    0
  29. groove: I, for one, laughed at your school comment. But that may have more to do with the fact that I get a temptation to post that in any of the ultra high end properties for similar reasons.

    0
    0
  30. “Yeah, I know you weren’t serious, but if I skip the earnest responses–especially on CPS stuff–what do I have left?”

    pointing out minute discrepancies? (rim-shot heard in background).

    but true if dropping 4mil on a this place when you have kids under 17 has a bit of a creepy, ewwwwey kind of irony. and if you get past that part of it i cant see latin even being a option because if you have kids and purchase this place you kind of already checked out on your little ones.

    0
    0
  31. “groove: I, for one, laughed at your school comment.”

    i want going for the comedic effect but i will take it. honestly i for got were i was going with it. i was hungry and it was before lunch on my first day back to work. it all was a yellow salty misted haze.

    0
    0
  32. other than that rooftop area,the whole thing just creeped me out.i agree that this is something that is not going to age well.

    0
    0
  33. Agree. R. Kelly was once in contract to purchase a penthouse in my building. I’m so glad the developer pulled the contract….

    0
    0
  34. Lakeviewteacher on January 3rd, 2011 at 11:20 pm

    This was on LXTV Open House and possibly the Chicago edition with a tour of the home.

    0
    0
  35. Lakeviewteacher on January 3rd, 2011 at 11:23 pm

    Here is the LXTV video: http://lxtv.com/openhousechicago/video/10754

    0
    0
  36. I believe the local grade school is either Prescott or Burley, right? And the high school would be Lincoln Park?

    0
    0
  37. “I believe the local grade school is either Prescott or Burley, right? And the high school would be Lincoln Park?”

    Agassiz and LPHS.

    0
    0
  38. I walked through this place in 08 during an open house when it was on the market. At the time, it was in extremely rough shape, with a hole in the roof and very strong stench of mold. Since the power was off, everyone got flashlights to use to tour the building (the agent stayed outside). The place was pretty cool (an indoor pool and an indoor basketball court) despite being almost condemnable.

    The story I heard from the agent: R Kelly sold in 06 to an event promoter, who apparently did not pay the mortgage, but still held house parties/raves in the place every weekend, until the bank took it back. Neither promoter nor bank maintained the property, hence the roof and other issues.

    I hope the current owners got professional help with mold remediation, it would be my number one concern with this place.

    0
    0
  39. You have got to be kidding me, 4.0???? The owners are completely out of their minds! They took an eccentric property to begin with (rental car lot directly adjacent & old church) and turned it into Guido the killer pimp’s stabb’n cabin. The pool of buyers who want/can afford something like this in this location is maybe 1. Not worth the powder to blow this up considering the supposed mold remeadiation that would be needed for the adjacent properties to keep the EPA at bay. You heard it here first, it will not sell for a penny over $1.5 and most likely will never sell.

    For all you new agents, this is what they call a white elephant!

    0
    0
  40. the owner of this place owns an option trading firm downtown….the price is out of this world, he’s crazy to expect that number. Although he certainly doesn’t need the money, and doesn’t need to sell – – -I wouldn’t be surprised to see the price closer to 3m before too long

    0
    0
  41. Lowered to $3.5mm.

    0
    0
  42. Sale pending

    0
    0
  43. http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/luxury/chi-elite-street-former-r-kelly-home-in-lakeview-sells-for-264m-20110819,0,52677.story

    0
    0
  44. so how much you think that lady made out with

    buy for 1mm, renovate 1mm worth? sell for 2.64?

    not too shabby

    0
    0

Leave a Reply