Get an East Lincoln Park 2-Bedroom Duplex Up for Just $475,000 at 644 W. Arlington
This 2-bedroom top floor duplex up at 644 W. Arlington in East Lincoln Park came on the market in January 2023.
644 W. Arlington was built in 1974 and has 44 units and assigned parking.
It’s an elevator building with a bike room and separate storage units.
Some of the units are duplexed, including this one.
The listing says it has been “fully renovated” including the kitchen and 2 bathrooms.
It has hardwood floors throughout and a wood burning fireplace in the living room along with a 2-story wall of windows and a timber loft ceiling.
The first floor has the living room, dining room and kitchen, along with a full bath and one bedroom.
The second floor has the second bedroom and second full bathroom, however the second bedroom is lofted and open to the space below.
It also has direct access to a large, deeded roof top terrace with skyline views.
The kitchen has wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
The unit has assigned parking, wall unit cooling but no washer/dryer in the unit. There is a shared laundry room in the building.
This building is in the middle of all of the shops and restaurants of East Lincoln Park.
Listed at $475,000, that’s double the 2010 purchase price but that was an “estate sale” and the listing said it was being sold “as-is.”
This is only the second sale of this unit since 1988.
Is this still a deal for the location?
Alexandra Solak at @Properties Christie’s has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #5F: 2 bedroom, 2 baths, no square footage listed, duplex up
- There’s no original price listed in the CCRD
- Sold as an “estate sale” in February 2010 for $236,000
- Currently listed at $475,000
- Assessments of $636 a month (includes heat, gas, parking, cable, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $6517
- No central air, but wall units
- No washer/dryer in the unit. Shared laundry in the building
- Assigned parking space
- Wood burning fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 16×10 (main floor)
- Bedroom #2: 13×10 (second floor)
- Living room: 20×13 (main floor)
- Dining room: 10×8 (main floor)
- Kitchen: 10×8 (main floor)
- Deck: 15×25 (second floor)
Nice deck but without in unit laundry (can you add?) no go for most
This is a touch over 1000sf
This is a unit that looks pretty cool on first blush and you think you can get over the negatives but they would slowly grind you down over time
Negatives
Spiral staircase
Deck access on 2nd floor
Second Br is open to the rest of the unit – not a real 2Br
1 Wall AC unit to cool the entire space? and it doesn’t have sophisticated chips – good luck with that. 5H is showing 1
No W/D
The real/faux pullouts under the sink look dumb
Deck is nice
5H closed for 385k, you can argue which is nicer, but there ain’t $100k of differences
Owner was renting in the 2019/20 timeframe. Must have got the brilliant idea to remodel and flip.
“The listing says it has been “fully renovated”
When? by the looks of it, probably 10+ years ago.
“Nice deck but without in unit laundry (can you add?) no go for most”
You might think so but the last one of these we chattered about sold pretty quickly. But, yes, it was $100k cheaper. And it had the little office nook that this one doesn’t have. The layout was very different too. I actually like this layout more.
Deck wide open across all of the units that have it on the top floor. I’d need to put up some serious privacy plants, if allowed.
“5H closed for 385k, you can argue which is nicer, but there ain’t $100k of differences”
The layouts are actually pretty different if you go look at that listing.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/644-W-Arlington-Pl-60614/unit-5H/home/13367892
I like the spiral staircase. Gives it an openness that is modern and fresh. The regular straight staircase takes up too much space in these units.
The other unit, 5H, was 1100 square feet. I’m assuming this one is about the same. The current unit is not bad space the way it is laid out. I like the layout of the living room so much more in this one and that there is a legit dining room.
I would have closed in that opening to the dining space some more to add another 2 feet of cabinets and then put a breakfast bar in with a few chairs however.
I envision window AC units when I need to last longer in bed.
“The layouts are actually pretty different if you go look at that listing.”
Did you think that I just made it up? LOL
“I like the spiral staircase. Gives it an openness that is modern and fresh. The regular straight staircase takes up too much space in these units.”
It does, but you are trading that openness for the inconvenience of a spiral staircase. I’ve lived in a condo with a similar layout to this with a spiral staircase and they flat out suck
“The other unit, 5H, was 1100 square feet. I’m assuming this one is about the same. The current unit is not bad space the way it is laid out. I like the layout of the living room so much more in this one and that there is a legit dining room.”
The question is, do you think its worth $100k more than 5H?
“When? by the looks of it, probably 10+ years ago.”
We don’t know but given that the prior sale in 2010 was promoting itself to contractors and being sold as-is, we know that it’s not the original kitchen and baths.
“We don’t know but given that the prior sale in 2010 …”
… yeah, probably about 10 to 12 years ago.
This is far from teh worst looking of the various 60s-ish apartment buildings in LP and LV, but it’s pretty bad, and a real scar on the landscape of Arlington Place.
IMO, $100k + $3500/month is too much for this building.
I give the architect credit for doing their best to make a 4+1 unit somewhat memorable. But it’s hard to get past the exterior or those cheap built-in air conditioning units.
Zillow had this for rent for 1300/mo in 19/20
If Zillow is right would assume that it wasn’t renovated at that point
Why does everyone these days love vanities that hang on the wall or have open shelving? Neither of the bathrooms have a medicine cabinet. Where are you supposed to store your things?
“Why does everyone these days love vanities that hang on the wall or have open shelving? Neither of the bathrooms have a medicine cabinet. Where are you supposed to store your things?”
At least floating vanities have more storage than pedestal sinks. The future resident here will have less stuff than you (or I). They will have to buy eight packs of toilet paper and hope there is never another toilet paper panic.
“Neither of the bathrooms have a medicine cabinet. Where are you supposed to store your things?”
I’ve wondered the same thing. This just doesn’t work for women. We have way too much stuff to have a bathroom like this.
The first floor bedroom also apparently doesn’t have a closet. ???
“The first floor bedroom also apparently doesn’t have a closet. ”
And the second floor “bedroom” has no wall or door.
Doesn’t that make this a convertible + den?