From $389,500 to $120,500 and “Cash Only” Just 4 Years Later: 320 E. 21st in the South Loop
We first chattered about the Chess Lofts at 320 E. 21st in the South Loop in June 2008 when the loft conversion building had just started closings.
At that time, the flippers were active (remember them?) and “all offers considered” was the name of the game.
See the June 2008 chatter here.
Then, we chattered about the building in March 2010 when the developer had slashed prices on remaining units. At that time, just 71 units out of 119 had sold.
See the March 2010 chatter here.
Flash forward nearly two more years and now distress properties are popping up such as this 2-bedroom unit on the 5th floor.
The loft has exposed brick and large windows.
From the pictures, it appears the kitchen and bathrooms are intact. The kitchen has stainless steel appliances.
It also has central air, a washer/dryer hook-up in the unit and parking is included.
The listing paints some warnings however. It says it is “cash only.” The building apparently also has “low owner ratio, low HOA reserves.”
Taxes are also “NOT CONFIRMED” and “records are not updated beyond 2008.”
I had trouble locating any information from the public records on this unit. I can’t even tell if it’s bank owned- but given the date stamp on the pictures and that it’s being sold “as-is”- I’m assuming it is.
Two 1-bedroom units, also distress sales, are currently under contract in the building.
This loft originally sold for $389,500 in 2008 and is now listed for $120,500.
Will an investment in this building pay off somewhere down the road?
Timothy Blomquist at Key Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #510: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1200 square feet
- Sold in April 2008 for $389,500
- I can’t tell from the public records if it is bank owned or not
- Being sold “as-is”
- Originally listed in November 2011 for $159,900
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $120,500
- Assessments of $407 a month
- Taxes of $3493 (“not confirmed”)
- Central air
- Washer/Dryer hook-up in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 11×12
- Bedroom #2: 12×12
Distressed properties, not distress properties. A hospital is a distress property.
This layout and interior of this unit looks no different than tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of other units. And they’re still asking $100 psf. What a joke.
P.O.S.
Time to play: Random awesome house surrounded by forest preserve in riverwoods just over the lake county border.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Riverwoods/2955-Arrowwood-Trl-60015/home/17632477
Yeah, I know clio will love it. and everyone else will bitch, but will all due respect, I’d take this house for $200,000 any day of the week.
‘
I would argue that this is too far south to be considered the South Loop anymore.
Someone else may have already posted this article titled “Five years of home sales to be revised lower in ‘meaningful’ way”–NAR revises their numbers…
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-existing-home-sales-to-be-revised-lower-in-meaningful-way-20111214,0,2475335.story
I predict this is under contract by the end of day tomorrow in part due to the publicity from cc. This seems to me to be a very good deal.
“Random awesome house surrounded by forest preserve in riverwoods just over the lake county border.”
Photos aren’t great, too much carpeting, but I’m always a sucker for the large windows and greenery. Too far away for me of course.
“I would argue that this is too far south to be considered the South Loop anymore.”
What’s your boundary to the south? Or north or west for that matter?
DZ, I would say 1900 S. is the southern border. Isn’t this Bronzeville? I would say Clark to the west.
I’m not an expert, but 2100 S seems too far south for it to be the South Loop. What does everyone else think?
“I’m not an expert, but 2100 S seems too far south for it to be the South Loop. What does everyone else think?”
I agree, you are not an expert. 😀
“DZ, I would say 1900 S. is the southern border. Isn’t this Bronzeville? I would say Clark to the west.”
As boring as another one of these may be, it *may* be more interesting than the unit itself.
Cermak, and the river/Chinatown, maybe.
“Yeah, I know clio will love it. and everyone else will bitch,”
HD – that is scary – how the hell did you know that I would love that riverwoods property (and I really DO love it)?!!! Do you know me or something?
“I’d take this house for $200,000 any day of the week.”
Yeah, I’d like a nice house for 68% off of current ask, too.
Also, that Riverwoods bath tub decor is a poor substitute for an actual Manneken Pis.
“NAR revises their numbers”
From the article:
“Yun emphasized that the revisions will have no impact on consumers because median home price data will not be revised.”
How does that work? The overcounting just happened to fall so cloely to evenly split between above-median and below-median, that it didn’t change the result? NOT! CREDIBLE!!!
“As boring as another one of these may be, it *may* be more interesting than the unit itself.”
Yup, and I realized reading Jenny’s Q I didn’t have any firms views myself.
“I would say 1900 S. is the southern border….I would say Clark to the west.”
“Cermak, and the river/Chinatown, maybe.”
My default would be relatively major streets/waterways for boundaries, so 19th (which doesn’t even exist in large portions of the relev area) seems odd. Either 18th, cermak, or stevenson. I’d lean cermak.
Applying the same major boundary logic would suggest river/canal/dryan. Seems odd to have Chinatown in sloop? If anon’s comment means river as boundary but gerrymandering chinatown out of sloop, that’s pretty close to jenny’s clark boundary for practical purposes.
And north? Congress or roosevelt (which I realize seems like odd northern boundary for sloop but has some appeal to me). And printers row has to be dealt with if congress.
> awesome house surrounded by forest preserve in riverwoods just over the lake county border.
> http://www.redfin.com/IL/Riverwoods/2955-Arrowwood-Trl-60015/home/17632477
> I’d take this house for $200,000 any day of the week.
I am glad you would take it “any day of the week”. And I am sure the owners would be thrilled to go down to $200K from their current $626K asking price.
“Either 18th, cermak, or stevenson.”
If it’s 18th (which has the benefit of sensibly using the river as the entire west boundary), then what is the deisgnation for 18th to Cermak? And, really, same question for Cermak to the Stevenson, tho that’s fundamentally “McCormick Place”, especially after the casino gets built.
” printers row has to be dealt with if congress.”
Printers Row is part of SLoop, just like OTT is part of Lincoln Park (except to Jay and his neighbors).
“Seems odd to have Chinatown in sloop?”
Stranger than saying that River City is either “Printers Row” or “not SLoop”? *Has* to go west to the river north of 18th.
“poor substitute for an actual Manneken Pis”
Gotta be one of the most annoying city landmarks anywhere.
“How does that work? The overcounting just happened to fall so cloely to evenly split between above-median and below-median, that it didn’t change the result? NOT! CREDIBLE!!!”
Maybe. For the adjustments they meant to make but say now they made inaccurately (e.g., for FSBO sales, which seems like dodgy excuse for their undercounting anyway) it may be that they adjusted sales count but not price. That may be defensible depending. For “accidental” overcounting like the denver example, that would potentially affect median, though prob not the national median and they don’t obviously report a denver area number (which is not to say there aren’t similar issues in areas they do break out, but I don’t know that).
As a resident expert – Heart of SLoop is Roosevelt to North/ Michigan W/Lake E and railroad tracks @ 16th street. Any direction from here gets worse EXCEPT the old rowhouses on Prairie in the 1800 block. There you have it.
“Gotta be one of the most annoying city landmarks anywhere.”
Riverwoods would be proud to have it.
“what is the deisgnation for 18th to Cermak?”
Does everything have to be in some designation, when we are talking about non community areas? If you’re west of western by bucktown, you’re in logan sq community area (as you are in btown), but there’s no real subneighborhood (besides w btown, which even if you believe exists, has not always existed).
“Printers Row is part of SLoop”
So printers row is a sub sub neighborhood? What about the area east of printers row? What sub sub neighborhood is that in, if everything has to be in some sub sub neighborhood?
“Stranger than saying that River City is either “Printers Row” or “not SLoop”? *Has* to go west to the river north of 18th.”
I guess I was only thinking s of roosevelt, which is where I’m inclined to think the sloop starts. If you go ask 10 people in chinatown sq where sloop is, and even 1 of them tells you you are standing in sloop, I’ll set aside a prepaid dim sum lunch at Cai for your family.
“Does everything have to be in some designation, when we are talking about non community areas? ”
For marketing purposes? Yes.
HD:
There have been some phenomenal deals in Riverwoods right by the golf courses – N. of Deerfield Road, & E. of Saunders Rd, I will post some past sales when time permits. But imo the deal for you & yours was 149 Toulon Drive, Buffalo Grove: asking $429K, newer 2400 sq ft SFH in same HS district, currently pending – big beautiful home in great school districts at a great price.
Is this building unbuyable because of the developer? What about 1717 S. Prairie, are there serious risk there will be another enormous special? There is a 1 bedroom there with 2 parking spots for like $107,000 which seems to good to be true.
HD: Riverwoods comps: 1435 Saunders, 3112 sq ft SFH overlooking Deerfield golf course closed for $475K in 4/2011. 1083 Saunders, 2732 sq ft SFH overlooking both golf courses closed for $442K in 5/2010. 1705 Saunders, 2822 sq ft SFH closed for $379,900 in 3/2010.
re: Riverwoods Better buy some insect repellent, riverwoods is known for its mosquitos. Location would appear to have a zero walkability score, and Deerfield HS has no diversity. Close to RAM brewery and the divorcees and cougars!
South loop stops at Cullerton, not 18th at least east of State, west of state @ 18th is “chinatown” and west of the river is Pilsen
I belive the no mans land between cullerton and cermack is called motor row or the ickes or the edge of the earth or something like that
Those riverwoods were priced to sell. Good deals but need work though. I’d consider living out there, if I could, but 2 commuting parents would be a drag. The BG house is a steal though. It’s hard to find homes of that size in park ridge that aren’t ug mcmansions or just too much money.
helmethofer: what’s wrong with cougars?hahhah
Last off topic post from me HD. I note I was wrong about school districts – Riverwoods is in Deerfield HS district, which iirc is a smaller but very excellent HS while Lake County portion of Buffalo Grove is in Stevenson HS district, a humungous very excellent HS. As proof of its stature noted academic achievers Rex & Rob Ryan attended SHS
Chinatown is Chinatown, it exists on it’s own. Most of it’s in the Armour Square community area. East of the viaduct I consider S. Loop and west of it Chinatown.
I think S. Loop extends south to the highway, south of the highway you’re getting into Bronzeville. So the boundaries of the south end of the S. Loop are the highway to the south and the viaduct (and it’s tracks when they come down to ground) to the west.
Bronzeville definitely does not start until south of the Stevenson. Usually Bronzeville isn’t regarded as starting until 31st. North of 31st is “The Gap” neighborhood. Between the Stevenson and Cermak is “Motor Row” you can either call that it’s own neighborhood or a sub-neighborhood within SLoop if you extend SLoop to the Stevenson. I definitely consider the South Loop to extend to Cermak, although the heart of it is really between Roosevelt and 16th or 18th.
Maybe we can start a whole North South Loop/South South Loop thing like Lakeview/East Lakeview.
Getting back to the original topic: The building is called “Chess Lofts” because it was owned by the Chess record company. Common areas feature pictures of Chess recording artists, old records and sheet music,etc. Maybe some day it will be an integral part of the “Historical South Side Music District” being talked about.
South Loop boundaries are usually considered Cermak to the South. Cermak to the Stevenson is called Motor Row.
The Gap is 31st to 35th street and from east to west King Dr to Michigan Ave.
Bronzeville starts at 35th St. and goes south to 47th.
Tom, then what is between the Stevenson and 31st? I agree with you 95% but would say that The Gap stretches north to the Stevenson.
Where’s the northern boundary of sloop? Is printers row in sloop?
I never heard of Riverwoods before. That was a really nice house. I’m all about the modern ranches near Forest Preserves.
A small one bedroom just sold here for $105,000, including parking.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/320-E-21st-St-60616/home/39503365