Forget the SFH, Get a 3000 Sq. Ft. Duplex Up Instead: 2150 W. Addison in North Center
This 3-bedroom at 2150 W. Addison in North Center is a rare duplex condo that is duplex up (and NOT duplex down.)
At 3000 square feet, it has more square footage than many nearby single family homes in this price range.
It has Brazilian hardwood floors throughout with a first floor living room and family room.
The kitchen has cherry cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances as well as a butler’s pantry.
All three bedrooms are on the second floor and all have their own private baths.
The master suite has a fireplace and the master bath has a marble steam shower.
For outdoor space, you can enjoy two balconies as well as a private rooftop deck.
Originally listed in June 2011, it has been reduced $25,000.
Is this a good single family home alternative in this neighborhood?
Shannon Williams at Keller Williams Preferred Realty has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #2: 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3000 square feet, 2 car garage parking
- Sold in March 2005 for $715,000
- Originally listed in June 2011 for $750,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $725,000
- Assessments of $200 a month
- Taxes of $10,567
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 22×16 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 13×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 15×11 (second floor)
- Family room: 20×16 (main level)
That rooftop space is awesome.
This place is nice and the rooftop deck is spectacular. however If I am in the market for a SFH, then that is what I will buy. Too many issues with associations and worrying about another persons financial hardship let alone your own is not worth the compromise IMO.
I would try offering $725 for this…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1830-W-Addison-St-60613/home/13388462
How are they getting Brazilian hardwoods through customs? I thought those trees/woods were all CITES protected and no longer available in America.
skeptic.. Almost impossible to buy here as well. Microchipping the trees now. What you do see, is almost always stamped grown ‘renewable’.
Man i’d love to live in a place like this someday, I would even deal with the crappy commute
And as chibuilder noted if there are no huge structural problems or anything with that 1830w. addison place, i’d rather live there due to it being a SFH, and closer (yeah, real close but I don’t mind the noise that much) to the EL
“How are they getting Brazilian hardwoods through customs?”
It’s not like these are 8 inches wide, so probably farmed like everything else. Really just a marketing gimmick to call your floors Brazilian. The actual type of wood is what counts, not where it’s grown.
This SFH looks like a good deal as well. Did we cover it on CC or someone reference it?…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3736-N-Hermitage-Ave-60613/unit-1/home/12577620
This place just closed at $730k. mariposa referenced it a while back…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3541-N-Hermitage-Ave-60657/home/13386889
The flooring looks nice, I’m just curious because it’s pretty much impossible to get guitars with real Brazilian rosewood anymore. I was told that’s a CITES issue and the only wood like that being used has been in private possession for decades.
Nice location if you can deal with weekend Cubs traffic during the summer. This is maybe 3 1/2 blocks west of the Addison stop? Not bad at all.
Is 3,000 sq ft including deck(s)? Obvious downsides if you are comparing to SFH are you’re on Addison, not in a good school district, and you’re on Addison. Roof deck is kinda nice. I guess less concern about my child being kidnapped, more concern about something dangerous to him or others happening.
“The flooring looks nice, I’m just curious because it’s pretty much impossible to get guitars with real Brazilian rosewood anymore. I was told that’s a CITES issue and the only wood like that being used has been in private possession for decades.”
I think it is just Rosewood, maybe Mahogany also. Brazilian Cherry, Oak etc are easy to find. I have used Brazilian Oak and it can be a lot less expensive than domestic. It is a little harder and it smells bad when you cut it!
725k for half a house??? This ask price is funny. 649k.
Roofdeck space looks nice, but there’s nothing up there. It’s not even clear if that is actually decking floating on the bitumen or just some kind of layer laid down on it. Either way, it doesn’t look ready for primetime yet. For $10 – $20k that could be some sweet space. HOWEVER, if you permit it and do it to meet code, roofdecks are kind of a regulatory focus ever since the balcony collapse incidents a few years ago, so it’s not that easy or quick to put something up there.
I belive this is in Audubon, which is a pretty good school.
I once lived in a place with a similar layout to this. The kitchen being in the middle of the floor plate is strange. The front living area is easy to deal with but the back area, by the kitchen, is not really a good space. It’s too open to be a cozy family room and it is strange to have a family room connected to the kitchen. Plus, it is still open to the living room, so you can’t have separate things going on in each (you can hear the TV from the other space). It is too large to be a dining room and you wouldn’t want your formal living room in the rear of your place? I hated it.
“I think it is just Rosewood, maybe Mahogany also. Brazilian Cherry, Oak etc are easy to find.”
One of the reasons “Brazilian” lumber and some other exotics are easy to find is that a TON of tropical exotics are grown in the Philippines.
Also, “brazilian cherry”, specifically (had to look to confirm), real name jatoba, is available is it also grows in southern Mexico, Central America, etc, etc.
“I belive this is in Audubon, which is a pretty good school.”
Yep, Audubon for sure.
“It’s too open to be a cozy family room and it is strange to have a family room connected to the kitchen.”
Lotta people love a family room connected to kitchen. All those doors are a little constraining on how you can use it, but the kitchen open to family room is going to appeal to many, I’d think.
“I belive this is in Audubon, which is a pretty good school.”
“Yep, Audubon for sure.”
Not good enough to put in the listing, apparently, not even under school info field.
This is a nifty place, though taxes are extremely high and living in a three-flat means having to count on your neighbors being decent and willing to help take care of the building, always a dicey proposition.
I agree that the roof looks unfinished. It would take at least 10K to make it pleasant, perhaps with flower boxes, a wood patio, a built-in grill, and maybe some sort of covering so you wouldn’t fry on sunny days. It was hard to tell from the photos, but the deck would be even better if it offered a view of the skyline.
I haven’t been near Addison and Damen in a while. It was always a very sleepy area. Is there anything to walk to around here? You’re only a few blocks east of Western, which is extremely ugly and not a street I’d ever want to walk on. Immediately east of here is the Metra tracks/Lincoln-Addison intersection, which also has never been particularly attractive, IMO, unless you’re a big Dunkin’ Donuts fan.
I’d agree with whoever said $649,000 for this place. Should be interesting to watch.
“living in a three-flat means having to count on your neighbors being decent and willing to help take care of the building, always a dicey proposition.”
I *think* the other unit is duplex down (not positive at all). So unanimity rule? Are votes proportional to assessment or units, or it’s whatever is set out in association regs? I can’t imagine anyone would every buy a unit in a 2 flat where the other unit had majority control.
Open kitchen to a family room seems to be in most newer or renovated homes.
“I haven’t been near Addison and Damen in a while. It was always a very sleepy area. Is there anything to walk to around here?”
The heart of Roscoe Village is only two blocks south, 3400n
“Open kitchen to a family room seems to be in most newer or renovated homes.”
I disagree. Most newish homes with open concepts have a kitchen that is open to sort of a great room that includes both living and dining space. I think family rooms are meant to be separate from the main living room so you can avoid the whole TV over the fireplace thing. This place however, has a living room that is semi-secluded from kitchen and a family room that is open to the kitchen. The family room is in the rear, so it would be touch to make it work as a living room. It is oddly large for just a dining room, but too small to try to lay it out as an open concept with both dining and living space.
I lived with this same layout for three years and never found a good way to use the space. We used it as a dining room but it was just too large and awkward.
more “…where to walk to?”
There is Roscoe Village Pub, small grocery, and a liquor store right by the duplex at Leavitt and Addy.
Great neighborhood. can walk to heart of roscoe village, lincoln square, or southport corridor.
“small grocery, and a liquor store”
Grocery (mostly?) going away soon so liquor store can expand.
Please oh please people, DONT PAY FULL PRICE TO LIVE ON A MAIN STREET.
i dont care how great a home is, if you can avoid it don live on a main street it is not pleasant and the soot and grime that enters you house cannot be healthy. all your furniture will need to be dusted and cleaned twice a week. the living room will need to be painted once a year. plus the noise pollution is not fun.
yes when your agent showed you the place it was quiet inside (at that time) but just wait till you have a headache and are just about to fall asleep and a motorcylce drives on by or a bus or a ghetto thug with his kenwood system or the fast and furious guy with the oversized turbo and short shifts, or the mexican family in a 80’s chevy van fully loaded and no MUFFLER.
trust me dont do it.
Groove – It’s not all about the stereotypes you mentioned. Don’t forget those sirens from passing cops, firemen, and ambulances. They tend to take the main streets when they are in a hurry.
“I *think* the other unit is duplex down (not positive at all).”
Only two units, per assessor. #2 has the higher AV by ~15% (69,552 v. 60,136).
Would anyone choose (today) the lower for only 15% off, especially with the upper having private roof access?
Dunno how they pull off three cars in that garage. Lot is only 30′ wide, garage has eaves. Would be crazy tight fitting three cars in.
yeah groove, or shut your windows at night…
That master bath looks huge. And it’s nice to see a roof top deck that big that is PRIVATE. Definitely one of the nicer duplex’s I’ve seen in a while!
“Not good enough to put in the listing, apparently, not even under school info field.”
Wrong, just a stupid realtor.
I would definitely list Audubon as the neighborhood CPS in the listing, as it has a good reputation. Lots of out of neighborhood families apply for it. Unfortunately, many realtors are clueless on the schools. (Like the previous southport listing on CC with the reference to Hawthorne bus stop; that’s only relevant if your kid has already jumped 300+ kids on the waiting list!)
That said, for the price, I would take a SFH any day over a unit with a small association. Especially with kids, you’re likely to have your downstairs neighbors complaining about kid noise, stroller parking, blah blah blah.
“Is 3,000 sq ft including deck(s)?”
Footprint of building exceeds (slightly) 1500 SF, so it is a reality based claim for interior space.
“Especially with kids, you’re likely to have your downstairs neighbors complaining about kid noise, stroller parking, blah blah blah.”
Current owners should be used to it, based on aerial pix showing kiddie pool on the roof.
“Not good enough to put in the listing, apparently, not even under school info field.”
“Wrong, just a stupid realtor.”
I dunno, with just about every single listing in bell, even for most condos let alone SFHs, the “stupid” realtor manages to get bell into the writeup. On a v quick look, there are a number of SFHs in audubon that don’t say audubon in the main description. Wasn’t hard to find. I am (somewhat) interested in hearing any detailed info about audubon, but it’s not a school that’s clearly made its way into the realtor consciousness.
Hmmm.
A vacant, overpriced, new construction condo. A small reduction from peak bubble price. Smells like tommorrow short sale or foreclosure.
$550k is my guess.
“Current owners should be used to it, based on aerial pix showing kiddie pool on the roof.”
Enough said. It gets really old living in a place like this with kids, and all the crap that comes with them. And what if your downstairs neighbors are obnoxious? It seems like everyday on NPN some parent is complaining about their condo neighbors partying late, smoking, harboring pit bulls, you name it.
But it’s hard to find SFHs with this space with good CPS neighborhood schools. That’s why the realtor should mention it in the listing. Plus, isn’t Audubon maybe getting a high school? That would be another selling point.
This place might be a score once it hits the lower $600’s. Then, move in, and wait for the lower level unit owners to sell it to you for the balance of their mortgage, if that; rent the lower level out for a while, then convert to a giant SFH.*
* I know that many of you just became mildly aroused by the mere appearance of the letters “S…F…H” (said in a drooling, dazed Homer Simpson voice). You’re welcome.
“Current owners should be used to it, based on aerial pix showing kiddie pool on the roof”
You can’t be too sure. Especially in this neighborhood as my roommate (when I was in my mid 20’s) used to invite women that he met at the bars to come over and “lay out by our pool” on nice weekends. They all laughed when they saw our rooftop kiddie pool…but none of them left. The blimp that was covering the Cubs picked up a few good aerial shots of those parties back in the day.
“my roommate (when I was in my mid 20’s) used to invite women that he met at the bars to come over and “lay out by our pool” on nice weekends. They all laughed when they saw our rooftop kiddie pool…but none of them left.”
IIRC, this is pretty much bob’s stratagem, but substitute something else for pool.
“Smells like tommorrow short sale or foreclosure.”
Unpossible. Outstanding mortgage is $329k. Acquisition mortgage was the princely sum of $354,9.
Appears to have have had an SFH built in the neighborhood.
“Unpossible. Outstanding mortgage is $329k. Acquisition mortgage was the princely sum of $354,9.”
Wow, they’re well capitalized and stubborn!
Love the layout. It’s perfect for entertaining. I like how the living room and the family room are interchangeable. Personally, I would use the front room as the family room and the back room as the dining area. I would also put a couch in the back room and it’s the perfect place for my piano.
The deck is huge and it looks like there is a separate section for a garden area. I could see it looking amazing up there. Maybe even add a Jacuzzi.
Audubon is getting a high school? Where? Or actually, why, with Lane right there?
I have read Lane Tech is trying to open a feeder middle school, that’s an interesting idea…
“Plus, isn’t Audubon maybe getting a high school? That would be another selling point.”
Good point about Roscoe Village being 2 blocks south. I should have thought of that.
The points about being on a main street are valid. I used to live on Lakeview Avenue in Lincoln Park and the sirens were constant.
http://www.trulia.com/property/3046722617-1749-W-Roscoe-St-3-Chicago-IL-60657
This place is a little smaller on an SF basis, but on a quieter street and a lot cheaper. It’s also much closer to the L. It’s in Hamilton school district, but I’m not sure how that compares with Audobon. Can’t find the taxes, but they’ve just got to be cheaper than 2150 Addison, which are outrageous at nearly $11,000.
Lakeview Ave, 2000 W Addison. It’s all the same.
Anonny,
I sense sarcasm here. Are you saying I don’t know what I’m talking about?
I think Lakeview Ave. and Addison have some things in common. Both are busy streets, though Addison may be worse because of the CTA traffic (though you get that on Lakeview as well thanks to Stockton being just 50 feet or so east).
Dan #2: I kid, I kid. I know that you know what you’re talking about. But Lakeview Ave is arguably among the nicest streets in the entire city. I’m sure you agree.
“Audubon is getting a high school? Where? Or actually, why, with Lane right there?”
Yes. Initially in excess Gordon Tech space. Because you can’t just enroll in Lane because you live walking distance away.
“I have read Lane Tech is trying to open a feeder middle school”
Test in Academic Center for 7 and 8, like Whitney Young has. Not trying to open; done deal.
ahh, that explains it – I was just puzzled as a friend with kids there says it’s bursting at the seams. thanks for the Lane info as well.
“Yes. Initially in excess Gordon Tech space. Because you can’t just enroll in Lane because you live walking distance away.”
“This place is a little smaller on an SF basis, but on a quieter street and a lot cheaper.”
1749 Roscoe, #3.
1. Its over 10% smaller, as listed (ie, I dont buy the 2600, on a 25′ lot, with that two story living room and a pitched roof), but look at the second floor–over 1/3 of the floor area is barely usable under the ceiling shoulders.
2. No roofdeck.
3. 1 car spot instead of two.
4. Its 6.3% cheaper at ask–not “a lot”. And I’d wager they have less flexibility before going short.
5. It is down a full bathroom.
6. Appliance are crap, in realtive terms. Fridge appears to be 9 years old.
Basically, only thing going for it is that it’s on Roscoe, with a nearly clear view of the el passing over the Metra tracks. If anything, were we comparing only these tow places, in a total vacuum, I’d say the Roscoe place is seriously overpriced.
Good analysis, Anon, on 1749 Roscoe. I didn’t like the pitched ceilings, myself. Just thought square foot and location-wise, it was similar.
“If anything, were we comparing only these tow places, in a total vacuum, I’d say the Roscoe place is seriously overpriced.”
Yeah, but wouldn’t you be dead, so not in much of a position to say anything?
“Yeah, but wouldn’t you be dead, so not in much of a position to say anything?”
Not if I’m actually the human-google cyborg I’ve been accused of being around here.
“Not if I’m actually the human-google cyborg I’ve been accused of being around here.”
I dunno, wouldn’t your non-machine bits, and hence you as cyborg, be dead? Or am I being too literal.
Maybe the “local” residence for Pujols or Fielder when they join the Cubs next year?
Seriously, regarding the proposed “feeder” school – does anyone know the history behind CPS’ refusal to create “junior highs” during the last century, like just about every suburb and small city (like Joliet) did?
FYI,
Taft, Whitney, Von Steuben, Kenwood all have this 7th and 8th grade “special” school and has been working well since i was in CPS.
bad story about that mix is back in early nineties maybe late 80’s at i think Von or Whitney there were two cases of a senior caught doin the do in either the gym or locker room with a 7th grader. happened again a year later with two different kids.
“does anyone know the history behind CPS’ refusal to create “junior highs” during the last century”
Some people were demanding this at some point?
More building (no money); more busing (no money); declining enrollment for half of the last century (no money).
Anyway, what’s so great about middle school/junior high?
“Anyway, what’s so great about middle school/junior high?”
Hmm, let’s see, in chronological order: breakdancing, BMX, Van Halen concert, skateboarding, girls, punk rock.
It’s actually great “preparation” for the culture and academic shock of high school. To go from the “one room schoolhouse” atmosphere of the typical 8th-grade class to the “shuffled” schedule of high school can be a major mind-blower for many adolescents. Junior/middle school eases the process by having a half-day with one teacher, then lunch, then a series of classes with different teachers and different fellow-students. I’m glad I went through this as a tween; made the first day of high school a lot less scary.
“To go from the “one room schoolhouse” atmosphere of the typical 8th-grade class”
What’s your experience with the “typical” 8th grade classroom? What portion of CPS fits this “typical” model?
chitowngal grew up in a little house
on the prairie.
CH – I grew up in Joliet, in a two -story Dutch Colonial brick house on a residential street.
Honestly I agree with ChiTownGal. Its a good idea to separate those entering puberty from kids, to be honest.