Estate Owned 1-Bedroom for $219,000 in Milton Schwartz’s 320 W. Oakdale in Lakeview
This 1-bedroom in 320 W. Oakdale in Lakeview came on the market in November 2022.
The building was designed by Milton Schwartz in 1956 and has 51 units and covered parking. It has many mid-century modern fans.
This is from Wikipedia about the building’s history:
The building at 320 West Oakdale is representative of the apartment building boom in Chicago, Illinois in the 1950s and 1960s. Milton M. Schwartz served as the building’s architect, contractor, and developer, and the building was his first major design. As such, he had complete control over the creative direction of the building, and so was able to tailor it to his interests.
Schwartz intended the building to serve as luxury apartments for the city elite. The apartment was designed so that residences had windows in three or four directions. Rooms were designed to resemble single-story ranch homes. The building was one of the first completely air conditioned all-glass apartments in Chicago.
Stark in its repetition and simplicity, it is a good example of the International Style. The building was highlighted in a 1955 Architectural Forum article about recent Chicago apartment buildings. In the article, it was compared favorably to nearby works by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. On April 23, 2013, the building was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
This unit is on the third floor and has floor to ceiling windows with carpeting.
The listing says it is being sold “as-is” and is “estate owned.”
It packs a lot into its 900 square feet including an eat-in kitchen, a dining space, a walk-in-pantry and a walk-in-closet.
The kitchen has wood cabinets which look like they may be original. (?)
The unit also has what appear to be the original accordion-style wood door leading to the walk-in-closet in the bedroom. Would you keep it?
It is on the third floor, which the listing says is the same floor as the building’s laundry room.
The building has an on-site manager.
The unit has central air and parking is available for rent a half a block away.
Redfin says it last sold in 1997 for $85,000. It is listed at $219,000.
The listing says the building does not allow airbnbs or short term rentals. However, it does allow rentals but has a rental cap of 10 units. The listing says just 2 are rented.
Who’s the buyer for this unit: a renovator to live in it or a possible landlord?
Mary Hinard at @Properties Christie’s has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #304: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 900 square feet
- Sold in February 1997 for $85,000 (per Redfin. The CCRD doesn’t have any records older than 1998)
- Originally listed in November 2022 for $219,000
- Currently still listed at $219,000
- Assessments of $787 a month (includes heat, a/c, cable, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal, Internet)
- Taxes of $4076
- Sold “as-is”
- Estate owned
- No washer/dryer in the unit- but laundry in the building
- Central Air
- Parking is available to rent half a block away
- Bedroom: 16×13
- Living room: 24×12
- Pantry: 10×5
- Walk-in-closet: 10×6
- Foyer: 6×8
Carpet in the kitchen, where do I sign up! lol
WHY DO REALTORS PERSIST IN WRITING THEIR LISTING COPY IN ALL CAPS? DO THEY HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT MAKES IT TO READ? I MIGHT WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS CHEAP MID-CENTURY PAD, INSTEAD I QUIT READING BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I’M GETTING YELLED AT! I GET YELLED AT ENOUGH AT WORK!
The only question is why
We looked at a condo in this building. A lot of positives, but what turned me off was the condition of the overhangs. The overhangs were not in perfect shape and I’m not sure that is possible. The fins were very visible from inside.
View sucks balls for a high rise. Can’t renovate that.
I lived in a Milton Schwartz building http://1555ndearborn.com/home.html for a time. Our small unit had been beautifully updated by an architect with a love of midcentury modern. Sadly, like this building, the building was about 70 years old and hadn’t been maintained over the years. Most of the units were small and the owners weren’t wealthy. Many rentals. Point is: I’d want to take a hard look at the financials and the building maintenance/condition before buying here.
“Carpet in the kitchen, where do I sign up! lol”
You’re not going to live in it like that, right? They’re not trying to hide what it is. It is estate owned and being sold as is. It’s expected someone is going to renovate it.
But it does show you how times have changed. Why do we have wall to wall carpet at all? In ANY room?
“Point is: I’d want to take a hard look at the financials and the building maintenance/condition before buying here.”
This is true of ANY condo or co-op building, isn’t it? Including new construction.
I love that accordion door in the bedroom. Such a great touch. I’d have to see it in person to see if it can be kept but I love touches like that.
Would anyone else keep the pink tub and toilet? Could be cool with the right tile and vanity.
There are a lot of fans of this building. I’ll be interested to see what this ultimately sells for.
Unit is gross period
Totally overpriced considering unit 301 sold last fall for $172,500 and was completely renovated….cheaply renovated but all new nonetheless.
It’s an estate and folks are hoping for a little windfall so they have to shoot for the moon. Can’t blame them, but only an idiot would pay anything close to this considering it needs $100K of work and still won’t have in-unit laundry, parking or private outdoor space.
I would keep the accordion door if salvageable and would be tempted to keep the pink tub but everything else would have to go…thought I do like the wallpaper accent wall in the living room and clearly this was “lightly” lived in.
I like the fact that the association is taking a hard line on air bnb and other short term rentals. That is key for me if I were to consider buying a condo…
I will add: This could be the perfect pied a terre, particularly for a Dr. working at St. Josephs.
These uppers are the cats pajamas – https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/320-W-Oakdale-Ave-APT-1003-Chicago-IL-60657/3722601_zpid/?mmlb=g,6
Nice to see not everyone in Chicago is a complete chud and values some architectural integrity
Here’s another
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/320-W-Oakdale-Ave-APT-1203-Chicago-IL-60657/3722607_zpid/?mmlb=g,8
IMO they did a nice job integrating the New with the uppers
If that was the cats pajamas what is this? Recall when this came up on the market. Really cool former architect/developers penthouse.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/320-W-Oakdale-Ave-60657/unit-2102/home/13370727
That would have been a bit of a white elephant. An overpriced and oversized unit in a mediocre but cool building. But it was interesting none the less. Made me think about being the retirement pad in the city down the line a few years. But that only lasted for a moment or two.
“If that was the cats pajamas what is this? Recall when this came up on the market. Really cool former architect/developers penthouse.”
Layout is great and the deck/sunroom is really awesome. Kitchen is good design but my preference would really, really require as much original as I could get (Maybe not the pink tub/sink)
Agree that it would be difficult to drop $1MM in this building but this is a really cool and unique space. Would love to see this place in its original glory
Also looked back at the previous CC on this bldg, why do chuds keep trying to fit a square peg in a round hole updating this without keeping any of the design intent. The chuds that try and go “on-trend” just create shitty living spaces
Its a shame
Love this building and have been inside a unit here (in the 1990’s) that was large, open, and delightful. Unfortunately any unit on the east side stares right into the old folks’ high rise next door. Best units are high floor west views. But agree it wouldn’t make tons of sense to invest big-time in a building that’s unusual but interesting, along with few amenities.