Don’t Settle For an Ordinary Loft: 616 W. Fulton in the West Loop
This 1-bedroom loft at the China Club Lofts at 616 W. Fulton in the West Loop just came on the market.
You don’t see these finishes every day.
It has been rebuilt with a new modern kitchen and bath with luxury finishes such as Poliform, Boffi and Subzero.
The loft has 14 foot timber ceilings with exposed brick and a south exposure.
It has central air, an in-unit washer/dryer and parking is available for $25,000.
The loft is listed for $5,000 more than the 2006 sales price (but it’s been renovated.)
Will these finishes get them the higher price?
Chris McComas at @Properties has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #612: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 920 square feet
- Sold in February 1997 for $148,000
- Sold in November 1999 for $225,000
- Sold in June 2006 for $320,000
- Currently listed for $300,000 (with parking $25,000 extra)
- Assessments of $297 a month (includes doorman)
- Taxes of $3715
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom: 17×10
- Den: 10×10
Real question: What would this sell for in the village or in soho?
Wow, you have to be joking. At 325 with parking, this is outlandishly overpriced compared to other one bedrooms in the west loop. I am looking to buy a 1 or 2 bedroom loft in the west loop and have looked at a lot of the inventory, and this is quite of base in pricing. The bathroom is also reminiscent of the Ace hotel chains (hipster meets prison). It looks like they are suggesting it’s a 2 bedroom, so maybe it will have some more cache, but at 920 sq ft it is the size of a one bed. Even if one liked the fixtures (which I feel are very niche to begin with), they’d be much wiser to buy a cheaper space and buy their own upgraded appliances.
pricing aside, how many people out there actually want a place like this? The finishes are interesting and all but I feel like it’s cool in theory until you actually have to live there.
I don’t really get this floorplan, but I think this aesthetic is just too antiseptic for a timber loft. You need a bit more warmth.
And I do not understand this floor plan.
And L – this is outlandishly overpriced even compared to other one bedrooms in the same building.
Way overpriced. I like the finishes, but think they would go better in a concrete loft. If they find the “right” buyer, they would propbably get $275K (parking included).
the floor plan makes perfect sense. The developers needed to cram as many 1 bed lofts as possible into a former industrial building. As a result, you end up with these small, awkward, cramped units with one, maybe two smallish windows in the entire unit. If this were a real loft it would be twice the size and far more open. This is a developer’s ‘loft lite’ for profit’s sake.
I like the finishes too, but I would kinda hate to live somewhere where I was nervous to touch anything. This looks like it was owned by an interior designer who used his/her own place as a showpiece. Amazing space, but I don’t have the discipline or the will to live in something so antiseptic.
It also looks like you have to walk through the (totally open) closet to go to the bathroom? And I cannot figure out where that tub is living. Just in some nook? So confusing!
Also, given the earlier sales price, I think that this place was renovated before the 2006 sale, not after. 320k would have been way high for a one bedroom in this building, I think.
I love comtemporary….but holy crap that bathroom looks like it should be in a YMCA circa 1950, it’s stunning in it’s awfulness. and wow, that tub looks all kind of comfortable.
My guess is that tub has to be in the den and the “2nd bedroom” is really the master. My guess also is that not only does someone have to go through your closet but also your bedroom to go to the bathroom which even using it to wash hands/go to the bathroom it is like inviting someone to take a shower. Also, the bathroom looks like it is lacking a door. The place screams bachelor pad to me.
” that tub looks all kind of comfortable.”
Espeically since it appears to be in the dining room, or something.
“looks like they are suggesting it’s a 2 bedroom”
That just appears to be a mislabeled pic–there’s no “master bedroom” pic.
I don’t think calling this place a bachelor pad really does justice to how bizarre it is to have a wood bathtub in your dining room. Might be a boxer dropper to some people, though.
That’s one of the worst bathrooms I have ever seen. It looks like the type of place people would be stabbed to death.
“It looks like the type of place people would be stabbed to death.”
I rarely laugh outloud at things I read on the internet, but that made me laugh. you are twisted.
finishes, high ceiling, brick wall and timber rock, layout sucks though IMHO.
“It looks like the type of place people would be stabbed to death.”
I’d say gassed or sexually abused (based on the earlier prison comments) before stabbed to death….
“That’s one of the worst bathrooms I have ever seen. It looks like the type of place people would be stabbed to death.”
At least it would be easy to clean up.
I can only describe that bathroom as a place to be murdered or raped. Maybe a serial killer will buy this place.
jenny, how many times in teh last few months have you described a dark, confined place as a ‘kill room’? aka dexter? LOL
“It looks like the type of place people would be stabbed to death.”
I rarely laugh outloud at things I read on the internet, but that made me laugh. you are twisted.”
Challenge excepted.
serious question: is the West Loop that much better than the South Loop such that a 1/1 could get anywhere in the neighborhood of this asking price?
I like the updates and this will definitely sell to a hipster daughter just out of college (parents buy it). When all that hipster chic coolness is out of style in 5 years and she wants to sell it—much different story.
west loop way better than south loop
These buildings, in my opinion, are very ugly. I think it is the porches I don’t like
Icarus, personally, I would place the west loop premium to south loop at $30K.
And that premium is for a low end one-bedroom… basically 15-20% premium.
“west loop way better than south loop”
Sure, if you like being further from the L and having far fewer day-to-day needs within walking distance.
“day-to-day needs within walking distance”
What’s this list?
Also:
“Sure, if you like being further from the L”
How far do you think the Clinton stop is from here? And the Morgan stop is opening shortly, for points further west in the West Loop.
btw, do we all think of Greektown as “west loop” or as “greektown”?
I look at Greektown is it’s own little niche in the WL.
Wife still has a condo that we rent out in the Sloop that is in a nice location. I’d say that where we live in the WL has more amenities in close proximity. In addition the safety and ease of commute to the loop is better when walking down Madison or Randolph than coming up south Michigan Ave. I’d bet that the new el stop at Morgan, Target, and Mariano’s will help change peoples opinions of great amenities located in the WL. As for dining spots WL wins hands down. Not even in the same league!
Oh and for the loft I like the look but think that the island was too big for the space. It blocks the passage to the LR. There is no room for stools and it is just plain awkward. Finally the LR seems small. Sorry that I did not see all the horrible things that you saw in the bathroom. Kinda liked it but just a bit…
boxer dropper – hilarious!
“What’s this list?”
Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Jewel, Movie Theater, Best Buy, Home Depot, Grant Park, Soldier Field,… do you need me to go on? All of those are walking distance in the South Loop. West Loop has a Dominick’s. And a Jewel if you want to walk farther north. The rest of those things are nowhere near as convenient as they are to the South Loop.
“How far do you think the Clinton stop is from here? And the Morgan stop is opening shortly, for points further west in the West Loop.
The Clinton stop has Green and Pink Line trains.
Meanwhile from the South Loop you can walk to the all lines without much issue. Green, Orange, and Red at Roosevelt. Blue at La Salle and Congress. And it’s just a slight additional walk to get on any train at Wabash and Adams. If you don’t want to walk, you can take green and transfer. You can transfer from the West Loop too, but there are considerably fewer trains within a short walk without a transfer.
“btw, do we all think of Greektown as “west loop” or as “greektown”?”
A particular part of the West Loop.
“Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Jewel, Movie Theater, Best Buy, Home Depot, Grant Park, Soldier Field,… do you need me to go on? All of those are walking distance in the South Loop. West Loop has a Dominick’s. And a Jewel if you want to walk farther north. The rest of those things are nowhere near as convenient as they are to the South Loop.”
1. You said *daily*. NO ONE goes to Soldier Field or Best Buy daily, and few the movies or Home Depot.
2. We’re discussing WL in the context of this place, which is a block and a half from Jewel, and 4 from Dominicks. The equivalent balanced location to two mainline groceries pretty much leaves one living within a block of Target, which then *does* get you close to Target, whcih even with the G’town Target won’t be the case for much of the WLoop. Most of the comparable-to-this-place Sloop units are further east, making the WF/Dom/HD/BB-plex much more likely to be driven to, anyway, as I don’t see tons of people crossing the river on foot at Roosevelt.
3. The park is a big, big difference, is you’re an anonny-type who would use it (nearly) daily. No comparison there. Clear Sloop advantage.
4. You like multi-line el access; many others (most likely including the probable buyer of this place) would prefer greater drinking/dining options within stumbling distance. Clear WLoop advantage.
My parents currently rent in this building, I’ve stayed in here a few times and to put it nicely, the location by far trumps the quality of the building. I can hear the neighbor coughing next door to me, the woman in the unit above who just HAS to walk back and forth on high-heels for hours on end, creaky pipe/plumbing noises after someone drops a deuce, and hear whatever movie the other neighbor is playing at 120dB. Exercise room is tiny and cramped, typically reeks of BO if you’re unfortunate to get sloppy seconds on the treadmill, and depending on the parking spot you have, it can be a nightmare getting in and out of your space/the garage. Only thing going for this unit is that there would be no one above you and you’ve got some inconsistent CB2 inspired upgrades that will probably be out of style within 3-5 years.
Location is pretty awesome though, walking distance to Jewel and the Halsted/Grand/Milwaukee nightlife, Fulton Mkt artsy stuff, overpriced Randolph restaurants, a new Gastropub called “The Point” just opened up on Milwaukee+Desplaines, and like other posters have said, excellent proximity to Clinton/Morgan Green Line el stops. Much more desirable than the south loop. The new high rise being built behind the Jewel will also bring in a slew of yuppies to the area.
For $325k w/parking it makes more economical sense to buy a 2bd/2bth in this building. Ideal candidate for this unit is a single guy, slightly overweight and balding in his mid-late 30’s who will be ordering bottle service at The Mid while trying to bring home some tail to his luxurious hip pad. If he actually succeeds in doing so, I hope he’s kind enough to buy his neighbors some noise-cancellation headphones.
Sure, it’s nice to live within walking distance to BBY, HD, Target, but most of the stuff you’re going to buy there you’re not going to want to walk home with anyway.
Elliot’s post above has got to be one of the most spot on and hilarious posts I’ve ever read in my life.
“Sure, it’s nice to live within walking distance to BBY, HD, Target,”
I do not live in teh West Loop
“I don’t see tons of people crossing the river on foot at Roosevelt.”
As someone who has thought seriously about living in s loop (and in dearborn park, which would be closer walking distance to a lot of retail than elsewere in s loop) that’s the part that gave me pause about walkability. Hard to see walking across river. Even the walk to target doesn’t seem that appealing. Then again, I will say that from logan, the walk to the elston target, movies, etc. doesn’t seem that great either, as you have to go under the kennedy underpass, but we do walk that regularly (in part b/c the part of the walk on logan is v nice).
Slooper, do you or your neighbors actually walk across there if not day to day, at least on a regularish basis, year roundish?
slooper, that’s all well and good, but the reality is that walkability only matters so much when you’re talking about places like Home Depot, Target, Whole Foods, etc…sure, some people walk, but often when you go to the home depot/grocery store you’d much rather not hoof it back with all your bags. at least anyone married with kids to feed.
even so, with a new Target and Mariano’s going in the West Loop this difference really doesn’t exist anymore.
best things to walk to are:
restaurants
work
parks
with Greektown, all that is on Randolph, bars on Madison, and even nice restaurants on Taylor street all walkable…i think west loop wins the restaurant category hands down. really not even close.
work is a draw.
parks South Loop has the edge. but it’s not like us west loopers can’t enjoy the lake, too. and there are additional parks that can be enjoyed as well.
you guys have Soldier Field for 8 games/year. we’ve got the United Center for over 80.
bus/train access, well i’d give you guys the edge there, but this really isn’t a big deal.
matter of preference obviously…but to act as if the south loop is definitely better is just being a bit too defensive.
and, to answer your question Greektown = West Loop. imho. don’t think there should be any debate.
This is also a particular part of the West Loop called the Fulton River District. I work in the area and walk here from my place in River North.
In terms of public transit, you are about 2 blocks from the Clinton CTA stop, the Grand blue line stop is a couple blocks northwest, but what you would likely use most is the 56 Milwaukee bus that stops directly next to the building. It’s a straight shot up/down the 8 Halsted to get to all shopping you could ever want (Roosevelt corridor, North/Clybourn corridor). Or you could just go out to eat every single night as restaurant row is just southwest of here.
This area seems to have continued to grow even while other areas such as the sloop have not. The French Market is right there, the K Station development continues, Wally World just opened up a small format store nearby in Presidential Towers. I predict there will be a Trader Joe’s in the area in the next few years to serve both Fulton River and Greektown. If you want an area that has continued to boom during the bust, this is a far better option than the south loop.
Sloop, WL, RN, LP, BT, LS, WP all have pluses and minuses. We could debate all day and night on why one person believes that his or her hood is better than the other ones. That just means that for that individual they have chosen a great place to live.
Eliott – you were just slightly off with “a single guy, slightly overweight and balding in his mid-late 30?s”
I’d say that he is in his late 40’s, recently divorced, and is trying to repeat the “good old days” when he and his buds used to party at the real China Club back in the early 90’s!
I suppose it depends on your willingness to walk. I walk across the river all the time to go to Whole Foods or PetSmart. Sure, I could drive, but why bother when it’s a 15 minute walk? My point is, when you compare apples to apples, there are more things in walking distance to South Loop. If you’re the type that loves to hop in the car to go anywhere, by all means, buy in the West Loop.
Personally, if I wanted to drive everywhere I’d just move to the suburbs and get even more square footage for my money over moving to the West Loop, but to each his own.
I lived in unit 212 in this building directly underneath his unit and I still can’t figure out the floorplan. It looks similar to mine but I think this guy put his shower in the storage room (which is normally accessible from inside the unit and from the common hallway in these units) and flipped the bedroom around so it’s right *IN* the area that shoudl be the foyer.
LOVE the finishes. HATE the layout. It’s just too small for what he’s trying to do.
And I’ve gone on and on about the lack of sound suppression in this building here before. You can literally hear EVERYTHING your neighbors do.
I cannot for the life of me figure out what is that big silver metal box with the sliding top….what is it?
“big silver metal box with the sliding top”
Kitchen island with hideaway sink.
“btw, do we all think of Greektown as “west loop” or as “greektown”?
how do you call or think anything other than greek town?
“I cannot for the life of me figure out what is that big silver metal box with the sliding top….what is it?”
That’s where you hide the body. duhhh.
“That’s where you hide the body. duhhh”
I thought the tub + Paul Allen + acid was the right way.
“a new Gastropub called “The Point” just opened up on Milwaukee+Desplaines”
Paramount room is there already, and probably better but I will have to check that out just for shits, I was wondering when that place was going to open up. Don’t forget Richards bar, and all the rest of the Italian restaurant awesomeness at grand/milwaukee
Sonies – good shout out on Richards. I truly love that they still allow people to smoke cigarettes there and I’m not even a smoker. Just get a kick out of their arrogance to that law.
Bradford – I looked and looked but can not figure out that layout either. Very odd. It looks like the bathroom sink was spliced to create that bathtub. You can clearly see the pipes going around the shower area and then punching thru the wall to what appears to be the same height as the tub. The tub however seems to be up against a curtain wall with a reflection of the headboard lights in the background. Very confusing indeed.
“I cannot for the life of me figure out what is that big silver metal box with the sliding top….what is it?”
The kitchen sink.
I think you walk in and the kitchen is in front of you with the living room beyond it. To the left of the front door is the dining room and my guess is behind the kitchen between the dining room and living room is the bedroom/bathroom and den aka the tub room.
“I suppose it depends on your willingness to walk. I walk across the river all the time to go to Whole Foods or PetSmart. Sure, I could drive, but why bother when it’s a 15 minute walk? My point is, when you compare apples to apples, there are more things in walking distance to South Loop. If you’re the type that loves to hop in the car to go anywhere, by all means, buy in the West Loop.”
who in their right mind would want to voluntarily engage in a 15 minute walk to grocery store (or anywhere for that matter) ? amirite?
This area is far more desirable than the SLoop. You guys forgot to mention the Wal-Mart grocery store a few blocks away and the French Market, which does actually have some good meat and produce. So, there are currently 3.5 grocery stores in walking distance of this place and a fourth (Mariano’s) opening later this year, I think. If you want to get down the the SLoop to go to a big box, it’s a straight shot down Desplaines to Roosevelt by car, and the big boxes/theater all have free parking. If you’re carless, you can also take the Green Line down there, but you don’t have to deal with the clusterf**** traffic in that area on a daily basis, which is nice. The WLoop wins on amenities in every area except parks, but you can easily hop a bus over to Millennium/Grant Park if you’re so inclined.
As far as the price goes, I can see this place selling in 2006 for over $300k. Is it worth more than that now? Probably not. However, I’m someone will probably make an offer in the $250k+ range (parking included) that will get it done if the seller is smart.
“who in their right mind would want to voluntarily engage in a 15 minute walk to grocery store (or anywhere for that matter) ? amirite?”
Those of us who aren’t completely lazy and enjoy the city.
“who in their right mind would want to voluntarily engage in a 15 minute walk to grocery store (or anywhere for that matter) ? emirate?”
Wife loves the walk home from work in the loop. She often stops off at the store or market on the way. I kid her that it is only a matter of time until I buy her one of those old lady pull behind grocery carts on wheels!
“Wife loves the walk home from work in the loop. She often stops off at the store or market on the way. I kid her that it is only a matter of time until I buy her one of those old lady pull behind grocery carts on wheels!
Just give in to the dark side!!! Different neighborhood than you, but it rocks to scoot out with the cart. Yes, we even do it in the winter. We appear to be outliers in the CC world, but I just don’t get the desire to live in the city but spend one’s life in a hermetically sealed bubble, running back and forth from the house to a preheated car.
““who in their right mind would want to voluntarily engage in a 15 minute walk to grocery store (or anywhere for that matter) ? emirate?”
Ze loves wandering around aimlessly… I could walk all day… Today I will put gas in my car, for first time since November…
“one of those old lady pull behind grocery carts on wheels!”
They have supersized ones at Costco (along with liner “bags” so you can carry small stuff). And the folding wagon things, too. Get her one of each.