Does It Matter if Nate Berkus Lived Here? 1325 N. Astor in the Gold Coast
The Tribune’s Elite Street column is reporting that Nate Berkus has put his 3-bedroom vintage unit at 1325 N. Astor in the Gold Coast on the market.
“Renovated in the 1940s by architect Samuel Marx, Berkus’ three- bedroom condo has been the subject of spreads in Elle Décor and Chicago magazine. One notable feature is its original St. Charles kitchen with metal cabinets, which Berkus has preserved.
Berkus also has retained the original fireplace and paneling that Marx had installed. Other renovations include installing new hardwood floors, fully rehabbing the master bath with a custom English tub and reconfiguring the master suite. In addition, Berkus updated the kitchen with a backsplash and new appliances, and installed a two-zone air-conditioning system and a new electrical system.
“He’s put some of the comforts into the condo, but he’s kept the things that are interesting,” Chez said.
The unit also comes with one garage parking space, which “is highly unusual for a building of this vintage,” Chez said.
Berkus has been spending more and more time in New York, and while he plans to “keep a presence” in Chicago, it’s “more sensible for him to move some of his assets to New York,” Chez said.”
Nate Berkus lists Gold Coast condo for $2.65 million [Chicago Tribune, January 19, 2011]
The Tribune said he bought it in 2003 for $500,000 but it looks to be a typo in the public records given the mortgage amounts and what the Tribune’s own records show. The actual purchase price appears to be $1.5 million.
At 3,980 square feet, it also has an in-unit washer/dryer.
We’ve chattered before about properties where Nate Berkus apparently designed the interiors.
Does it matter if he both designed, and then lived, in the property?
And will he get anywhere close to his asking?
The last unit to sell in the building was Unit #6 in January 2007 for $2.1 million.
Unit #2 is also on the market and has been since May 2010. It is currently listed at $2.9 million and has so far been reduced $300,000.
Katherine Chez at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the listing here (no interior pics).
But you can see the interior from when it was featured in Elle Decor. See the interior shots on Apartment Therapy here.
Unit #8: 3 bedrooms, 4 baths, 3980 square feet, 1 car parking
- Sold in June 2003 for $1.5 million
- Currently listed for $2.65 million
- Assessments of $3816 a month (includes heat and doorman)
- Taxes of $29162
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 14×20
- Bedroom #2: 14×11
- Bedroom #3: 17×12
How could you possibly live anywhere else? It would be so…un-Karl Farbman-like.
Nate who…?
HOLY Assessments!
No.
Actually like the decorating of this one but the other featured units weren’t anything to write home about imho. Those assessments are a beast. That is like paying an extra $750k mortgage payment!
Nate Berkus is not going to be able to flee to the West Village and unload this property for anywhere near what he thinks. Nate Berkus will be lucky to get what he paid for this place in 2003.
Nate’ decor is nothing special, and neither is the apartment. Have seen many better apartments featured on this site for the same money or less.
Too bad about the 1940 reno- it wrecked the place.
methinks he’s a bit NYC-dazzled, thinking how cheap this is by Manhattan standards. I’d think right around $2mm probably moves it soonish, while “the one” might show up if he’s willing to keep rolling the $75k/year + whatever loan there might be for a weekend place.
Must be nice to be one of Teh O’s chosen ones.
What building(s) in Chicago has the highest avg. assessment? This has got to be up there.
“What building(s) in Chicago has the highest avg. assessment? This has got to be up there.”
Don’t think we’ve had a higher one here on cc that wasn’t a co-op, and thus not really comparable.
Someone correct me by finding the two that were higher.
“Assessments of $3816 a month (includes heat and doorman)”
is this a co-op or is the facade crumbling maybe da mayor with his green made them replace 17000 window does this building have a historic elevator does $2000 of the assessment go to Oprah 2012 (oops i mean BO 2012)?
“is this a co-op or is the facade crumbling maybe da mayor with his green made them replace 17000 window does this building have a historic elevator does $2000 of the assessment go to Oprah 2012 (oops i mean BO 2012)?”
12 units. Doorman (24/7??). Do the math.
“12 units. Doorman (24/7??). Do the math.”
union on site engineer too would be a killer. still is it worth those ass fee’s plus being out 2.6mil? not my lifestyle so i wouldnt know.
regarding assessments: Bldg has only 12 units (all full-floor); assuming assessments are equal (it’s possible that higher floors have larger ownership share & pay a bit extra), that sounds about right … 3800/month equals 46K per year, times 12 units = 550K, which goes to pay for round the clock doormen (4 shifts, salary plus benefits equals 250K + ), full time engineer, elevator(s), heat & utilities, snow removal, insurance, building maintenance and reserves, etc. This may also cover the garage operations, unless there’s a separate assessment for that!
On a per square foot basis, this assessment is comparable to many listings on this site; it’s just a “suburban home” sized unit!
unless you are some kind of oprah stalker, I don’t see this going for over $2 million. Again, he’s a designer, not an architect. Hell, even the furnishings seem dull to me as well.
Hah, i live next door to here. I love the neighborhood, the park, and the access to the lake..it’s a beautful street. A lot of the buildings in this area have high assessments..my landlord pays nearly 700 bucks for a 1 bedroom, and 100 bucks of assesments for his parking spot…on a side note, this place is too pricey.
Then again, 4000 sq. feet on a prime block in the gold coast, a few houses down from the dimon mansion and not far from where the pritzkers stay..the price may not be entirely too insane. again, people need to understand – old buildings in rich area = high assesments. Rich people buying places like this = not worried so much about assesments..
Who is Nate Berkus?
Does It Matter if Nate Berkus Lived Here?
No
Aren’t most Oprah fans…well poor and lowly educated….not the type who would be paying this kind of price.
$2.8MM = no interior pics or floorplan.
Offtopic: does anyone have information on Agassiz Elementary. I get the impression that it isn’t exactly a top school, but it has been trending in the right direction. Any info at all would be appreciated.
Some answers on Agassiz from a prior thread: http://cribchatter.com/?p=8938
I don’t know who Nate Berkus is, but I really hate his decorating style
Seems you hate a lot of things Sonies….thats…wait, that’s why u, err I mean you, are a HATER!
Yes it matters. Everything must be steam cleaned.
The only real estate that interest me because of the prior celebrity inhabitant is Jerry Garcia’s old home in Marin County, CA. It is amazing, with both ocean and mountain views.
It is currently for sale:
http://www.zillow.com/blog/jerry-garcias-former-home-for-sale/2010/09/17/
The only thing this location has is a CVS at State & Division, that’s it.
“I love the neighborhood, the park, and the access to the lake..it’s a beautful street.”
“The only thing this location has is a CVS at State & Division, that’s it.”
There is also a large jewel on lasalle and division. You are also very close to the underpass for the beach.
“The only thing this location has is a CVS at State & Division, that’s it”
Yeah, that’s all it has. What, do you measure a neighborhood’s desirability by the number of pharmacies that are available in a 3 block radius? where do you live? carol stream? I think it’s hard to deny the desirability of location here.
It has direct underpass access to the lake, is a few blocks from rush/division, a few blocks from mag mile, and is walking distance to pretty much anything within the gold coast. ( Barnes and noble, Feast, the elysian, barneys,and bloomingdales are all walking distance. ) it’s also on a historic block with big trees and beautiful homes. it’s also really close to north ave if you’re looking to get out towards the park..
Another problem with this location is that no real Chicagoans ever come to visit you there, since parking is a pain/hassle and traffic blows and people don’t like dealing with getting there.
Dan – really? I thought most people take cabs wherever they go – so parking or proximity to a train/bus station shouldn’t be a huge issue
You are correct Riz.
No, Clio, people/families who live in, for instance, Lake View, Sauganash, Jefferson Park, Andersonville, etc. are not going to deal with getting to the 1300 N block of Astor, they’ll find some excuse to not make it. You’d be lucky to get these people there twice a year. People who live in this location will soon find out they will have to visit people in those neighborhoods, not the other way around.
Actually, Dan – that is perfect. Think about it- you wouldn’t have to host any parties, clean up after anyone or bother with food prep. I actually think that is a HUGE advantage.
I dunno Dan, i live at 1300 n astor..most of my friends live in the loop or northside, and they are over almost every weekend. In the summer more often to hang and lay out on the rooftop..
I’d rather live in the unit in Contemporaine or the Case Study units. They are better architecture and better interior design. Amazing places. I bought a PowerBall lotto ticket… it’s at $110Million. That’s more than enough.
It is an interesting building. Great location, beautiful block. I would say, this is one of the few, better executed modern buildings in the entire Parkway/Astor street blocks. Unfortunately whoever planned things out in those years, they have done a lot of damage to the general landscape both on LSD and in these beautiful historic blocks by building a lot of very very ugly buildings in 50’s through the 70’s and on top of it all, they are aging terribly…
Not too familiar with the building specifics, however, I don’t think the price is justified in view of the comparables. Streeterville and East Gold Coast today are mostly targeted by “in-towners” rather than “real” Chicagoans, and those people, they tend to look at the “new construction” alternatives near by, and they’ll find today a good amount of selections in that price range.
The only way, he can pull this price point off will be due to his celebrity status.
Geez if that guy can pull off this price more power to him, im certainly not an oprah fanatic, but I could certainly see one (and there are millions out there!) putting extra value on this
@JasonM
Contemporaine is an amazing building. Probably the best sample of a multi-unit modern architecture in the city. I hope it’s as well built as it looks. Although, with $110M on the line, you can build your own modern building! 🙂
I’m glad to see there are people of good taste here.
This closed for $1.6M on 1/16/2013:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1325-N-Astor-St-60610/unit-8/home/14126497
“This closed for $1.6M on 1/16/2013:”
what thats a 1mil haircut!!!!!!!!!!!!!
here is the updated CC post
http://cribchatter.com/?p=10249