Get a 6-Bedroom Pre-War Penthouse Under $650,000 in Hyde Park: 5490 S. South Shore

This 6-bedroom penthouse in the Jackson Shore Apartments at 5490 S. South Shore in East Hyde Park came on the market in April 2019.

Jackson Shore Apartments was designed by Rapp & Rapp in 1917. It was the first tall luxury building in East Hyde Park.

It’s a co-op.

The 21 units were designed to be like single family homes and are over 5,000 square feet each.

While this unit has 6-bedrooms, the 6th is just 12×8 and was likely meant to be used for the maid as the maid’s chamber.

This top floor unit has views of the park and Lake Michigan from many windows.

It also has a unique curved sun room, or orangerie, on both sides of the building.

It has hardwood floors, the original detailed plaster moldings, a wood-burning fireplace and a library.

The kitchen has greenish cabinets and I can’t tell about the appliances.

Additionally, it looks like it may have some of the original bathrooms.

The listing says it has new windows.

The unit has some of the features today’s buyers look for including central air and washer/dryer in the unit but there’s no parking. The listing says there’s valet or garage options nearby.

The building has a 24-hour doorman and a private enclosed backyard.

This penthouse was originally listed at $695,000 and has been reduced to $645,000.

This isn’t the only unit available in the building. The other penthouse apartment is also on the market, Unit #10N, and is listed for $500,000.

That’s just $100 per square foot.

Is Chicago an incredible deal or are these old co-ops simply out of favor now?

Robert Sullivan at BerkshireHathaway KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.

Unit #10S: 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, no square footage listed, co-op

  • No prior price as it’s a co-op
  • Originally listed in April 2019 for $695,000
  • Reduced
  • Currently listed at $645,000
  • Assessments of $7134 a month (includes heat, taxes, doorman, exercise room, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
  • Taxes are included in the assessments
  • Central Air
  • Washer/dryer in the unit
  • No parking. It’s valet or garage in the neighborhood.
  • Bedroom #1: 20×17
  • Bedroom #2: 18×15
  • Bedroom #3: 19×14
  • Bedroom #4: 19×15
  • Bedroom #5: 15×10
  • Bedroom #6: 12×8
  • Library: 20×12
  • Sun room: 19×19
  • Pantry: 18×8
  • Dining room: 24×18
  • Kitchen: 17×15
  • Laundry room: 12×7
  • Foyer: 18×12

 

 

21 Responses to “Get a 6-Bedroom Pre-War Penthouse Under $650,000 in Hyde Park: 5490 S. South Shore”

  1. The $86,000 a year tax bill makes this a pipe dream. The co op should disbandon and reform as an HOA.
    And if the nearly identical unit 10n cannot sell for $500k, what makes this go under contract first?

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  2. You mean as a condo not as an HOA – that’s for single family subdivisions. Ain’t gonna happen.

    Taxes won’t go down with a condo conversion and they want control of who lives in the building, i.e. people who can afford the assessments and won’t stiff them or do substandard renovations for example – it’s notorious for being a difficult building full of persnickity rich folk. But they are great apartments.

    And yes, recent windows and they cut a deal with the shoreland developer for parking in their garage.

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  3. Whoa! This is some place. Interestingly, something like this on E Lakeshore Dr. will have similar assessments and cost about 3 times as much. My guess is that the buyer of this unit can afford either. Actually, I’m sure the coop would insist on it.

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  4. 86k. ?? Really. Sweet Jesus.
    Friend in Gold Coast just got new tax bill last month. Wait for it. DOUBLE last year. They starting in Gold Coast and spreading all north side. Get ready to pay.

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  5. “Friend in Gold Coast just got new tax bill last month. Wait for it. DOUBLE last year. They starting in Gold Coast and spreading all north side. Get ready to pay.”
    ——————
    That’s what happens when you get a fair assessment system instead of sticking it to the poor on the South and West sides.

    My taxes went up 22 percent this year. My heart pumps Kool-Aid for the whiners.

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  6. “That’s what happens when you get a fair assessment system instead of sticking it to the poor on the South and West sides.”

    Yep. And also what happens when property values are rising rapidly in certain neighborhoods.

    What does everyone think the property taxes are doing in the West Loop right now? Values are soaring there.

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  7. This is some place.

    I love these big pre-war units. They’re very “New York.” Both cities were building these types of buildings at the same time. Luxury apartments for rich people.

    This era is somewhat similar, actually. Developers are, once again, building luxury apartments for rich people.

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  8. I’m up in Wilmette and we got hammered on taxes…but property values in Wilmette are declining. I have no problem with paying taxes based on the FMV on my house, but the assessor is not able to competently determine what the value is.

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  9. The taxes are not $86,000. According to Redfin they would be $693/mo and are included in the assessment. But yes, taxes are definitely going up on the north side.

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  10. taxes are what is causing gentrification, loss of affordable housing, and forced moves from ppl’s homes. Think about long time homeowners that previously could afford to live in their home. Along comes a huge tax increase, all of a sudden that modest house they paid $300k (with a tax of $5,000) for 15 years ago (now worth $1,000,000) because the neighborhood got better, now has a tax of $20k. All of a sudden that poor homeowner can’t afford to pay the taxes (since their income didn’t triple over the same time period) will now have to move.

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  11. “Yep. And also what happens when property values are rising rapidly in certain neighborhoods. ”
    ——————-
    Values in my North neighborhood did not soar, and I got socked with an above-average increase even after protesting the valuation.

    Still I can’t complain. If North and business got a free ride, then fair is as fair does. Stop whining.

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  12. ” and forced moves from ppl’s homes.”
    =================
    What is this “forced” shit? Nobody put a gun to anyone’s head. Products change, services change, wages change, fashion/tastes change. Guess what? Taxes change too. I lived in Bucktown when drug deals went down in the alleys (much more genteel than the South Side) and cops had shootouts in the alleys with the dealers who “weren’t going back to jail.” BMW in Bucktown back then (all of this is North of Armitage, by the way, as that is where Bucktown ends, Joe/Sabrina whining to the contrary) stood for “Break My Window.”

    One’s choice of neighborhood is not entitled to protection. You moved to it? You know change. Know it again. You were born there? Guess what — It’s called social mobility; Goes down as well as up. Call it social dynamism. Beats social ossification any day.

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  13. I was all ready to share this one with my wife, and then I saw the HOA dues. LOL!

    This could take a long time to sell. How many people out there want to pay that sort of monthly fee to live anywhere, let alone Hyde Park?

    I’ve seen lower monthly fees for similar-sized places on East Lake Shore Drive.

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  14. Addendum: I realize taxes are included in HOA, but still, it’s a huge monthly fee (and no parking – I’m sure that’s another $200 a month).

    So if I sold my house now and bought this place for cash at, say, $620,000, I’d be paying about $84,000 a year (plus parking) for my new digs. Who has that kind of cash flow? The ones who do aren’t looking for homes in Hyde Park, I’m sure.

    Too bad, because this is a lovely unit and I actually like the neighborhood.

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  15. Issue with taxes is those who pay them are not getting any services in return. Especially in the city. If you don’t use the school system or committ robberies then you don’t use a lot of city services. It’s a tax to support public unions and the underclass and is driving g away the rich and middle class.

    Also not sure whose crushed real estate. The lower mid market has been ok. Everything else awful for 2 decades. Chicago’s been the worse performing real estate market.

    I do like these units. Based on prop value then the taxes do look high.

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  16. “taxes are what is causing gentrification, loss of affordable housing, and forced moves from ppl’s homes. Think about long time homeowners that previously could afford to live in their home. Along comes a huge tax increase, all of a sudden that modest house they paid $300k (with a tax of $5,000) for 15 years ago (now worth $1,000,000) because the neighborhood got better, now has a tax of $20k. All of a sudden that poor homeowner can’t afford to pay the taxes (since their income didn’t triple over the same time period) will now have to move.”
    ———

    There are a lot worse problems to have then have to move because you made $700k. In your example for someone with a very modest income, that is a major life changing win fall. How many years would it take that same person who can’t afford and extra $15k in taxes to sock away and extra $700k?

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  17. “Everything else awful for 2 decades. Chicago’s been the worse performing real estate market.”

    It’s pretty clear from most of the blog posts on this site that Chicago hasn’t been “awful” for the past 2 decades. All you have to do is look at the price history of the homes.

    Of course, mortgage rates have dropped by more than half in that time, which has meant elevated home prices.

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  18. “All of a sudden that poor homeowner can’t afford to pay the taxes (since their income didn’t triple over the same time period) will now have to move”

    This was the argument for Prop 13 in California which ruined their schools.

    Chicago has the senior exemption to help seniors who might be in a gentrifying neighborhood stay in their home.

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  19. “his was the argument for Prop 13 in California”

    It is also what gave us PTELL, which clearly doesn’t actually work, when you look at the suburbs.

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  20. Sure, the HOA is high, but beyond covering taxes, it’s an enormous historic building with a doorman, elevator and only 20 units.

    The idea that rich people don’t live in Hyde Park shows a lack of understanding of the diversity of wealth in Chicago. Lots of old school Chicago wealth with zero interest in the viagra triangle.

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  21. “The idea that rich people don’t live in Hyde Park shows a lack of understanding of the diversity of wealth in Chicago.”

    This is true.

    David Axelrod, Obama’s former advisor, sold his Streeterville condo and moved to the South side recently.

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