Get an Updated 2-Bedroom Townhouse with Parking in Old Town for $640,000: 205 W. Eugenie
This 2-bedroom townhouse at 205 W. Eugenie in the Old Town neighborhood in Lincoln Park came on the market in July 2023.
Built in 1978, the complex has 10 units and exterior parking. It’s only amenity appears to be bike storage.
The listing says this is an “updated” townhouse with “modernized” floors and “renovated” bathrooms.
There’s a private entrance off the courtyard.
It has a three story spiral staircase.
The first floor has the living and dining room along with the kitchen and a half bath.
There’s a wood burning fireplace in the living room which the listing says encapsulates “coziness at its finest.”
It also appears like there are exposed brick walls in the living/dining room.
The contemporary kitchen has white and gray cabinets, stone countertops, a breakfast bar with seating for two, a subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances.
The second floor has two bedrooms and a full bathroom.
The third floor has a bonus space which can be a third bedroom, den or office. There’s also a half bath which the listing says is a “potential full bathroom expansion.”
This townhouse has two outdoor spaces: a terrace on the main floor and one on the third floor, off the bonus room.
It has the features buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and one exterior parking space.
This townhouse is located in the heart of Old Town’s shopping and restaurant district, on the corner of Wells and Eugenie. It’s near Lincoln Park, the zoo, and various bus routes.
The listing says its in the Lincoln Elementary school district.
Listed in July 2023 for $645,000, it has been reduced $5,000 to $640,000.
What will it take to get this sold in 2023?
Maureen Burns at @properties Christie’s has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #G: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, townhouse
- Sold in March 1992 for $202,000
- Sold in March 2001 for $400,000
- Sold in April 2005 for $415,000
- Sold in June 2008 for $487,500
- Sold in February 2014 for $511,000
- Sold in October 2017 for $585,000
- Originally listed in July 2023 for $645,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $640,000
- Assessments of $397 a month (includes exterior maintenance, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $11,207
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer in the townhouse
- Exterior parking included
- Wood burning fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 15×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 15×11 (second floor)
- Living/dining room: 21×17 (main floor)
- Kitchen: 11×10 (main floor)
- Bonus room: 17×12 (third floor)
- 2 terraces
There’s a unit renting at $3.9k, Not as updated so assume updates are worth $750/mo
$4.65k/mo Vs $130k + $5.35/mo
Can some non shill explain how its to expensive to rent?
I’d pay my Brother and cousins to kick my ass if I thought of buying this. 1100sf on 3 levels
IMO 2 powder rooms dont = a full bath
$650k and no master bath?
Maybe Chicago buyers are getting smarter and grasping the fact that buying a turd will negatively impact your financial return
Owner is losing about $75k – Oooof
Ok place for WFH DINKs.
Agree on the bathroom comment–but nice that they don’t call it a 3 bed.
There is a sale missing from the history:
Jun-99 for $283,500
“Owner is losing about $75k”
How you getting that? I couldn’t find any prior pix.
“How you getting that? I couldn’t find any prior pix.”
Assume that the reno work was by this owner. Could be by the 14 buyer, but man did he get killed. Back splash seems post 17 Chicago
“14 buyer”
Their initial ask was $625k.
This seller had it listed for $599k in March 2020.
Points to a lot of the work being done by 14 buyer.
Maybe once a week for about a year I’d push a jogging stroller down to a great take-and-bake pizza shop that was on Wells near Eugenie (looks like it’s long gone; pretty sure it was where Cocoa & Co is now). I always thought it was a pretty vibrant micro-hood for being so close to the park.
Agree on the bathroom comments. Seems like that will cap this place at closer to $600k.
But it otherwise seems pretty decent (though the architect probably doesn’t have many awards for this project in their office), given the location and parking/wd/ac, and what appear to be pretty good outdoor spaces (nice that they’re both off of living spaces and not bedrooms).
If having a tv up on the third level isn’t enough (why not have one big one up there instead of having a giant computer monitor in both the LR and third level?), why not mount the LR tv where the armoire is? I wonder how difficult it would be to fill in the spaces on the staircase (at least adding risers)? That might make it more doable with young kids Our place a few blocks north had what was functionally a spiral staircase, but was drywalled on the outside wall and didn’t have any gaps (we put nice carpet on the stairs, can’t remember if it was just the treads or the risers too, and it was fine for a two-year old.
Location is awesome. Unit is kinda meh for $640K. Guessing it sells for closer to $600k.
I took a look at the other units and my take aways are
1) no one has changed the spiral staircase and filled in the steps. They have painted into various colors. Anyone have a gander how much a spiral staircase costs to renovate?
2) No one has put in another full bath.
3) Unit F looks nicer in the photos
4) Unit D has floor plans again which are the same
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/205-W-Eugenie-St-60614/unit-D/home/13342350
On the plus side as a townhouse there are going to be less rules than those 6-8 flat condo buildings which the flip side of less square footage on multiple floors (more vertical living) like Dearborn Park II
“This seller had it listed for $599k in March 2020.”
Right when the pandemic hit. Lots of listings pulled.
“Right when the pandemic hit. Lots of listings pulled.”
Do you think that was the point of mentioning it? That it didn’t sell then?
Spiral stair is there for space reasons. It is the most compact design. Adding a “regular” stair would eat up a not insignificant amount of square footage for a unit that is already operating with some compact floor plates.
This whole complex breaks one of my steadfast rules: Never buy a unit on top of a retail space that you don’t control. I remember a few years back there was some idiotic flavor of the month gym with loud music in one of the retail spaces below. I have also thought the surface parking behind this building looks sad and I wonder how often (and even 1x per year is too often) you come home and someone is parked in your spot “because they were only going to be a minute.”
“I wonder how often (and even 1x per year is too often) you come home and someone is parked in your spot “because they were only going to be a minute.””
773-927-8888
or
773-878-1111
“Do you think that was the point of mentioning it? That it didn’t sell then?”
Many people don’t remember that March 2020 was when the pandemic hit, sellers panicked, many listings were pulled, the real estate market froze and sales plunged. That’s why I mentioned it.
Whether they pulled it or not, and whether covid affected their decision making or not, is a total non sequitor to the point made–I think it is *highly* unlikely that the seller listed this for $599, having paid $585, if they had spent a meaningful amount on reno.
It’s much more likely that the 14 buyer–who paid $511, started at $625, and accepted $585–did the bulk of the refresh on the unit.
Which I said: “Points to a lot of the work being done by 14 buyer.”
That it didn’t sell with the $599 ask is certainly at least partly due to covid, but I wasn’t addressing that at all.