Getting More Bang For Your Buck In Pilsen: A 2-Bedroom Under $270K at 1601 S. Halsted
This 2-bedroom plus den at 1601 S. Halsted in Pilsen has been on the market since August 2011.
Built in 2000/2001 as “Pilsen Gateway” it is just steps from the Metra stop on Halsted and within easy walking distance of both University Village shops/restaurants and Pilsen’s shops and restaurants.
The building has 32 units.
At 1600 square feet, the unit has a skyline view from the balcony.
The kitchen has dark cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
As was true with new construction in the last decade, it has the amenities buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and parking.
It has been reduced $55,000 since August 2011 and is now listed at $265,000.
Is this a deal for the square footage and amenities?
Neha Dhuper at Conlon has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #402: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, den, 1600 square feet
- Sold in April 2003 for $320,000 (included the parking)
- Originally listed in August 2011 for $320,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $265,000 (includes the parking)
- Assessments of $420 a month (includes cable)
- Taxes of $5860
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 16×13
- Bedroom #2: 13×10
- Den: 13×10
It has a decent chance at this price since unit 302 sold last year for 270K. But it’s not in a great location, right next to the tracks and 16th street. I think anyone considering this place should also look at the mid rises in University Village with killer city views. The finishes are not always quite as nice and the assessments are higher but the location is better and the views are really nice.
I’ve always wanted to see inside these–thanks Sabrina!
I hate the suburban style furnishings, but this is an interesting unit, at a great price. I think the location is great: steps from the train and the Halsted Bus.
Compare this to a unit in the much vaunted Uptown: same price, fewer gang problems, new building (could be a plus or minus, depending upon who you are/ what you value.) People should also know that this is just 2 blocks away from all of the stores on Halsted–i.e. Jamba Juice, Morgans, Caribou Coffee, Lalo’s. I’d choose this over a unit in Uptown any day of the week!
I agree that I would prefer not being on this corner but it seems to be a decent price.
It would help if they didn’t have such big furniture in the second bedroom. Despite being 13×10 it looks TINY in the photo. I’m also torn on the bathroom sinks. Don’t they always look dirty?
“I’d choose this over a unit in Uptown any day of the week!”
Do many people have to make a choice between these two nabes? Seriously, I could see having to choose between the West Loop and Pilsen or South Loop, Or Uptown and Lakeview or Ravenswood or Andersonville, but how many people when looking to buy consider opposite sides of the city?
Drive by here once a week., Though exterior of building is somewhat interesting in sense that it’s not standard faux georgian speculative developer architecture, it’s still another example of “least expensive material/fixture/finish; always cost-conscious” speculative developer condo project. Seems still overpriced for its rundown adjacent railroad viaduct, rundown Halsted streetscape, hearing-distance to Dan Ryan, walking distance to rundown Pilsen (etc) location.
It’s South Halsted Street location is also adjacent to the more developer construct than “well-established residential neighborhood” of Unversity Square (did I get name right?). Here it’s a weird class of rundown Pilsen, semi-successful artist community (high-turnover of tenants and retail), and relatively recent and semi-successful massive urban renewal project to north. :Large number of for-sale listings for both wholesale food market loft-condos and new construction townhouse/condos indicate a large number of local owner-residents want to leave area. Not a safe place to stick your hard-earned $50,000 down payment.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11468875/1/stock-futures-edge-higher-ahead-of-housing-data.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO
things are improving – there will likely be no further sustained general declines in price of real estate. In fact, I actually think that house prices are going to rebound faster because there have been SO many people on the sidelines waiting to buy (sure, there are also people wanting to sell – but many more buyers out there – and buyers are more pressured to find housing than sellers). I DO think we will see a mini-boom in desirable areas/properties.
I don’t think many do, Icarus but more should. We shopped Rogers Park, West Ridge, Edgewater, Uptown, Andersonville, Logan Square and Bronzeville and really were able to learn the pluses and minuses of different hoods at the same price point. I think if more people shopped more of the city they would be surprised and learn more about the city and not all end up where they expected.
“Here it’s a weird class of rundown Pilsen, semi-successful artist community (high-turnover of tenants and retail), and relatively recent and semi-successful massive urban renewal project to north. :Large number of for-sale listings for both wholesale food market loft-condos and new construction townhouse/condos indicate a large number of local owner-residents want to leave area. Not a safe place to stick your hard-earned $50,000 down payment.”
Though I’m not a fan of this particular location I think this assessment of the area (I live 2 blocks north of here for the time being) is a bit harsh. I’ve seen this area improve quite a bit over the last 10 years and once the housing market comes back I would think this area would do pretty well – not as well as University Village will though. I was actually surprised to see that this building has not had that much turnover in the last year but that’s a real positive.
Snooze….this should be $1,600 a month rental to a pair of post-graduation columbia college grads who won the job lottery and each have a corporate job making $40,000 a year.
This is off-topic, but Crain’s has a great article on how people with kids are “trapped” in the city and are trying to improve CPS.
I thought it was interesting that they all were like, “it’s okay until high school.”
Then what? 5,000 to 10,000 people are suddenly going to try and move?
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120324/ISSUE01/303249977/special-report-the-parent-trap
“things are improving – there will likely be no further sustained general declines in price of real estate.”
Did you even see last week’s housing data? It did NOT show improvement. Just more of the same (so maybe we have hit a bottom, who knows.) But no rebound whatsoever. We are still building near record low number of units.
In Chicago, in particular, I haven’t seen any indication that the price declines are abating. Quite the opposite. They seem to be picking up in some parts of the GZ.
I live a couple blocks away in University Village. Two bedroom condos are going for a lot less than this place, some of which have very nice views, so I don’t think this is a deal by any means. 16th and Halsted is a regular thoroughfare for shopping cart bums. They have also been making their way into University Village lately. It’s irritating.
From the article above:
“One of the most immediate effects of the slowdown in suburban flight is the soaring interest in the city’s selective-enrollment schools. CPS has received 30,608 applications for 4,200 seats next year. The sharpest increase came in elementary-school programs, where 12,445 students are chasing 1,200 spots.”
Yeah…..too bad their children will suffer because they can’t move to an area in Cook County where the neighborhood kids score almost as well as the selective enrollment schools.
I post this just for comparison purposes. I mean, if I were stuck in a condo in the city and I had school aged children, I’d be walking away from that condo as quickly as I could…
http://www.city-data.com/school/george-b-carpenter-elementary-school-il.html
2009 Illinois State Assessment Test (ISAT) – Grade 3:
ISAT Math Results – George B Carpenter Elementary School
Exceeds (72%)
Below (2%)
Meets (26%)
ISAT Math Results – Illinois
Meets (46%)
Below (12%)
Exceeds (42%)
Below Standard (%) – Math: 1.9%
This school:
1.9%
State average from 2246 schools:
11.5%
Meeting Standard (%) – Math: 26.4%
Here:
26.4%
State average from 2246 schools:
44.6%
Exceeding Standard (%) – Math: 71.7%
George B Carpenter Elementary School:
71.7%
State average from 2246 schools:
40.4%
ISAT Read Results – George B Carpenter Elementary School
Exceeds (60%)
Meets (40%)
ISAT Read Results – Illinois
Meets (49%)
Below (24%)
Exceeds (27%)
Meeting Standard (%) – Reading: 39.6%
Here:
39.6%
State average from 2246 schools:
46.6%
Exceeding Standard (%) – Reading: 60.4%
Here:
60.4%
State average from 2246 schools:
25.8%
“once the housing market comes back”
Back to what?
“things are improving – there will likely be no further sustained general declines in price of real estate.”
I guess that doesn’t exclude sporadic general declines and sustained specific declines.
We all know the selective-enrollment HSs: Payton, NorthSide, Jones, etc.
“The sharpest increase came in elementary-school programs, where 12,445 students are chasing 1,200 spots.”
Where is a list of selective enrollment elementary schools?
I don’t know the list but off-hand I know that Disney II has 800 applicants for 40 spots in their kindergarten class; and 1/2 of the 40 spots are reserved for siblings of students already enrolled; so that means there are really only 20 spots open for new kindergarteners with no siblings.
HD—Disney is a magnet, not a selective enrollment school. SEES are the gifted and classical programs, including Edison, Decatur, etc etc.
SHould be able to find the complete list over on cpsobessed if you are interested
As for the subject property, I am a northsider, but can appreciate this location. I’ve spent some time in University Village and there’s a really nice stretch there with bars/restaurants etc.
Seems like it should move fairly close to the current ask. Could be a decent in town for someone
We are in the final ramp-up of money printing, with the government still trying to delude people into thinking there is no depression. Once the election year ends reality will start to sink in. We are nearing the student loan bubble bursting, not to mention the government debt bubble bursting, not to mention speculation in commodities causing a tremendous amount of pain to average tax payers. We can thank all the corrupt politicians in Washington for this.
Once this happens local and state governments will be strapped for cash and will start taxing real estate even more than they have. On a condo I considered buying in Will County the taxes were about 40% of the total monthly payments. That ratio is going to go higher, we know that politicians are not going to cut their budgets.
We have a real problem on our hands.
have to chime in, as we moved to the ‘burbs specifically for school quality.
We miss the city a lot, but not the stress of either paying for private education or playing the CPS roulette wheel. We can’t afford the first, and don’t have the time/energy for the second. I have the highest respect for the parents who stay and fight to improve CPS. The kids deserve better, and we all know it.
Regarding Pilsen, it should help property values that the coal plant is shutting down.
Selective enrollment (test-in) elementary schools are ‘Gifted’ or ‘Classical’
http://www.cpsoae.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=72695&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=121684
Magnet schools have a lottery to gain entrance. Many have excellent scores.
EB: Right.
They’ll have to tax/spend, print money, etc. because austerity would send this city up in flames if the checks ever stopped going out, like post Katrina NOLA, be armed and ready.
” I’d choose this over a unit in Uptown any day of the week!”
You can’t afford Uptown, so I guess you’ll have to!
Well, whomever buys this place certainly won’t be sending kids to the neighborhood public school. I think it’s one of the worst in the city (if it’s the same one as the University Village school).
“have to chime in, as we moved to the ‘burbs specifically for school quality. We miss the city a lot, but not the stress of either paying for private education or playing the CPS roulette wheel.”
We have no designs on leaving the city, and hope to make it work with two kids, hopefully in private school. But to remain within blocks of the park/lake, and factoring in private school costs (assuming they get in, which is a big assumption), even assuming that we continue on the same income trajectory, we’re pretty much consigning ourselves to living in rather tight quarters.
Seeing Mary’s post quoted above, I perused a dozen or so listings in Evanston and Wilmette, between $650-800k. Wow. There are some beautiful opportunities within blocks of the lake, though many do appear to need some updating (perhaps even electrical, etc.). If one goes east of Green Bay by a few blocks (in Wilmette/Kworth), nothing needs to be done to the places. (The places that need updating lend much credence to the prediction that there is an impending mega glut of boomer suburban SFHs.) I’m curious, to those (who don’t work for the city) who live in SFHs (or wish to) in city hoods like North Center or Lincoln Sq (or the even more far flung northwestern areas within the city sometimes featured on here), why not just live in one of the closest-in burbs, within walking distance of the Metra?
Because I prefer the City. Most suburbs don’t have easy access to all the amenities of Lincoln Square/Andersonville/Roscoe Village type neighborhoods. Shoot, I my as well move to suburban Cincinnati if I was moving to a suburb. It’s cheaper and just as boring.
I think part of it anonny is that while many people love the lake, few people’s lives revolve around it. Many people choose to live near work, friends, family etc. over the lake.
There will be a glut of boomer homes in need of work that will hit the market. They’ll all need work. The problem is that the availabilty of funds to perform that work is limited, and it will either be rehabbers, those with access to renovation loans or those with cash to spend. Fortunately, many of these homes are smaller and cozier, which tends to be the trend in RE these days anyways, so the cost on a ppsf basis to renovate is lower. I looked a house that was 1,700 sq feet plus a full basement but it needed a top to bottom renovation except for the plumbing. Figure $250 for the house plus $100 psf minimum to renovate it and it was beyond my price range. Prices on the smaller homes keep falling too because funds to renovate are hard to come by; and most younger buyers want ‘new’.
I want to be within a 15 minute drive to my office, so unless I change jobs and work in the suburbs, I will always live in the city. Long commutes are soul sucking.
“Shoot, I my as well move to suburban Cincinnati if I was moving to a suburb. It’s cheaper and just as boring.”
LOL….my thoughts exactly. We are in a West Lakeview SFH, with no plans of ever leaving the city.
@Trudi, we bought a SFH in the City last year. We have three kids in CPS. No plan to leave.
My sister and her family moved into a North Center SFH late last year. My bro-in-law likes to drive to work downtown and they’ve lived in Lakeview for quite some time. Other than that, I’m not sure why they wanted to stay. North Center feels like a suburb to me, it’s not close to any ‘city’ amenities and you still need to drive everywhere. Metra is good for what it is, but for some, it’s hard to adjust to a train schedule.
“Because I prefer the City. Most suburbs don’t have easy access to all the amenities of Lincoln Square/Andersonville/Roscoe Village type neighborhoods. Shoot, I my as well move to suburban Cincinnati if I was moving to a suburb. It’s cheaper and just as boring.”
This is us, too — Have 3 kids, just brought a SFH, planning on staying for the long haul….
And, my husband’s commute was/is a factor — he does not want a to spend more than a hour a day commuting – so we live in the city and love it.
“the neighborhood public school. I think it’s one of the worst in the city (if it’s the same one as the University Village school).”
It’s not the same school. It’s Walsh, which is about CPS average, which is pretty good for a 93% low income school.
It’s so easy for upper-upper middle class parents to say “we’re living in a SFH in the green zone” and “we’re never leaving the city” but it’s extraordinarily expensive to live in the GZ in a SFH. High demand, low supply, brings high prices. For everybody else, it’s the suburbs. And this is coming from somebody who has lived in the city for nearly 20 years now.
“it’s not close to any ‘city’ amenities ”
What are the “city” amenities? I always ask, and the list is restos, “interesting” architcture, the El, boooticks, and … what else? And then the other question is what is “close”?
These are not all amenities but how I define Chicago as a city, highrises, the lake front, mich ave, lots of foot traffic, expressive people, expensive or no parking etc.
Northcenter has none of this. Most of Lakeview doesn’t even qualify in my book. I hated living in Lakeview, it was too sedate.
Restaurants, bars, clubs, boutique shops, ethnic shops, schools, art and music centers, museums, public transit are all city amenities. I want to be able to walk to many things, so close is within a 10 minute walk, or a quick cab ride. Or on a Saturday when I want to make a good meal, I can hit up practically any ethnic/gourmet grocer within a 30 minute drive. You can’t do most of this outside the city very easily.
“What are the “city” amenities?”
Good question and obviously a YMMW one. I would guess for many a park that is big enough to have a playground for young children and/or even a dog park. Bonus if you can run around it to get exercise without having to make 8 or more laps to equal a mile.
A grocery store where you can grab milk, bread and other items in a pinch. A sports bar where you can grab some wings and a beer while watching your favorite sports team disappoint you. A coffee shop with wifi so that you can escape your place for a few hours for a change of scenary.
Close? how about a 5-10 minute walk?
I still am unclear what the GZ is. My guess is I don’t live in it.
“I can hit up practically any ethnic/gourmet grocer within a 30 minute drive. You can’t do most of this outside the city very easily.”
When was the last time you drove up milwaukee avenue in the suburbs? People always say “oh teh suburbs doesn’t have this or that”. I grew up in the suburbs and that was true 20 years ago. However, it’s changed a lot since I left and in many suburbs, it’s not even recognizable to me anymore. I’m not talking northshore or exurbs, I mean cook county and dupage county. many suburbs are far more diverse than anywhere in the green zone.
Milkster: why the personal attack, especially about something as stupid as money? I’m just stating a preference to elict comments.
BTW: My husband’s a partner at a major law firm (I work as well) so we could afford to live *almost* anywhere. I’m not saying this to brag, but rather to point out the stupidity of making comments about what one can or can not afford based upon where they choose to live.
Does Milwaukee have Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Italian, Polish, Greek, Serbian, Russian, French, Sub-Saharan African, Brazilian, East African, Peruvian, Middle Eastern, North African, Spanish, Mexican, Argentine within 30 minutes? Does it have a place that makes it’s own sausage and bacon, dry ages it’s beef, or has live chickens and rabbits for butchering? How about a good quality fish monger?
“Good question and obviously a YMMW one. I would guess for many a park that is big enough to have a playground for young children and/or even a dog park. Bonus if you can run around it to get exercise without having to make 8 or more laps to equal a mile.”
(fro NC:) Check.
“A grocery store where you can grab milk, bread and other items in a pinch.”
Check.
“A sports bar where you can grab some wings and a beer while watching your favorite sports team disappoint you.”
Check.
“A coffee shop with wifi so that you can escape your place for a few hours for a change of scenary.”
Check.
“Close? how about a 5-10 minute walk?”
Check.
I guess that makes you a suburbanite in wolf’s clothing, Icarus.
Funny how different people’s views of the city’s amenities are.
“Does Milwaukee have ”
HD meant heading out on NW Highway from the city, not Sconsin. Many, many of those things are readily findable in NW Cook County and, it being the suburbs, “within 30 minutes” means “within 15 miles”, rather than “within 4 miles (or 6 blocks, at the wrong time of day)” in the city.
“expressive people”
Yes, NC does indeed lack the crazies yelling at passing ghosts. And bucket boys.
I know HD was talking about the street. And it doesn’t have all that I’ve listed, which probably accounts for half of the amenities I would look for.
Some areas of glenview are so korean I barely even recognize it. I don’t know if more than 10% anyone in niles natively speaks english or was even born in america. ditto lincolnwood, buffalo grove, skokie, and portions of northbrook.
Oooooooooooooh!
Your husband’s an attorney?
What? You’re going to Jamba Juice?
So jealous, OMG!!!!!!!
“And [NW Hwy] doesn’t have all that I’ve listed”
Of course it doesn’t, but, as HD sez, it’s not the white bread of the 80s out there anymore.
Some areas of glenview are so korean I barely even recognize it. I don’t know if more than 10% anyone in niles natively speaks english or was even born in america. ditto lincolnwood, buffalo grove, skokie, and portions of northbrook.
Totally agree. Would like to add that my son’s suburban 1st grade class has many children who were born here, but have foreign-born parents. As a matter of fact, his BFF is Bosnian. Another classmate is Serbian. The family two doors down is polish, and I remember enough from my Polish grandma to make them laugh with my terrible pronunciation. I myself, along with my husband, are two generations removed from the ‘old country’. Within minutes of my home there is are many dif. ethnic shops. Actually, come to think of it, it’s more diverse than Lakeview. Go figure!
Milkster, seriously, I’m out of this discussion. I was trying to be civil; I’ve always liked your posts. No need to get personal. I haven’t attacked you, so why?
“it’s not the white bread of the 80s out there anymore.”
The white bread suburbs of the 80’s have moved to the NW exurbs like McHenry county, etc. Johnsberg and Huntley are still pretty white, but walk around your typical suburban mall these days and witness the demographic changes.
I would be perfectly happy with suburban amenities if I didn’t work in the city. I prefer suburbs that have alleys and unique houses. I hate suburbs where nearly the entire front of the house is taken up with a garage.
I’ll post this map one more time:
children less than 5 years old based on 2010 census data. This gives you a pretty good idea of city/suburban demographics.
The city is clearly segregated (purple/yellow/green) whereas the suburbs tend to be a purple tinted soup with pockets of yellow and red.
Endora –
It’s because of comments of yours such as this when you don’t actually appear to have ever been to Uptown or Edgewater:
endora (October 19, 2011, 6:31 am)
What is this neighborhood like? I know I’m a Northside ‘hater’ but it seems like a lot of money for a sketchy area. But maybe I am wrong? Is this really Andersonville (which is nice) or Edgewater?
Best butcher-sausage maker-charcuterie in Chicago is Schmeissers on Milwaukee north of Howard in Niles. People seeking “diversity” certainly can find it in Niles-Morton Grove-Skokie-Lincolnwood vortex and still get decent public schools. Ethnic/cultural diversity isn’t limited to Chicago municipal boundaries, and it’s certainly very present in Chicago’s suburbs. There’s more mono-culture in Chicago itself, with nearly entirely black and hispanic neighborhoods filling south and west-sides minus any ethnic diversity. Many ethnic immigrant households leave Chicago proper for suburbs as soon as they can afford to do so, often pursuing better schools and safer neighborhoods, with no loss of cultural identify or ready access to ethnic-related establishments.
Regarding alternatives to CPS HS, it’s getting much harder to enroll Ignatius College Prep, even for graduates of Catholic elementary schools that attract high-income households such as Sacred Heart/Hardy Prep and Francis Xavier (Holy Name/Old St Pat’s). Supposedly only half the kids applying to Ignatius from these two schools gained admission for this incoming freshman class. Ignatius is accepting only about 1/3 of its admissions candidates at this point, with only minor preference for legacy students. Ignatius isn’t a “sure thing” for a bright child from a white-collar dual-income household; students who were denied admission are seeking admission at Brother Rice and DeLaSalle – both quite a hike from northside.
Interestingly, there is a big movie shoot right at this building today. Wonder what movie it is.
@ Clio, I want to buy in south loop which you have redeemed as undesirable so I guess no rush for me : )
“I DO think we will see a mini-boom in desirable areas/properties.”
endora: “I think the location is great: steps from the train and the Halsted Bus.”
What trains are you talking about?
iirc there is no commuter train line stop “steps from” 1601 S Halsted, only freight train traffic.
Maybe “Chicago Fire” shooting? Not sure if that’s a movie or a tv show, but they were shooting elsewhere last week and over the weekend.
Those movie trucks were blocking a lane on 16th this morning. Very irritating.
I still think everyone in Chicago should have received free tickets to Transformers and the Dark Knight for all the inconvenience they caused.
Endora, don’t worry about Milkster’s posts she expresses her sentiments very strongly. I don’t know if it is because she is a very passionate person or she is self-righteous (hopefully the former). In general her comments become nasty if another women mentions her husband or kids. Given that she is quick to call others bitter whenever they make any comments which is not to her liking, I wonder why she does not apply the same metric to herself. I like milkster and her posts too Endora and I think she is fun and feisty but sometimes she just does not play nice : )
Imo DeLaSalle & Brother Rice are not only less desirable geographically but also far beneath Ignatius in terms of quality of education.
Imo DeLaSalle & Brother Rice are not only less geographically desirable but also far beneath Ignatius in quality of education.
“..students who were denied admission are seeking admission at Brother Rice and DeLaSalle – both quite a hike from northside.”
Maybe I was off, but I pictured Milkster as a rather gay guy. 🙂
“I like milkster and her posts too Endora and I think she is fun and feisty but sometimes she just does not play nice : )”
“I can hit up practically any ethnic/gourmet grocer within a 30 minute drive. You can’t do most of this outside the city very easily.”
“When was the last time you drove up milwaukee avenue in the suburbs?”
Here we go again with the nileschatter….
“it’s not the white bread of the 80s out there anymore.”
“The white bread suburbs of the 80?s have moved to the NW exurbs like McHenry county, etc. Johnsberg and Huntley are still pretty white, but walk around your typical suburban mall these days and witness the demographic changes.”
Girls-at-the-mall used to be good looking in the 1980’s (inspiration for plenty of movies), now you see is brown, obese, sloppy bread with un appetizing mold. Glenbrook South has asian gang problem now, that never existed when the HS was white…. gee ain’t diversity great for your kid to experience? ugly chicks and people with nothing in common.
“Maybe I was off, but I pictured Milkster as a rather gay guy. ”
Odd.. I picture her as female, but do too share the ball in the mouth – handcuffed – leather mask over head impression.
“Glenbrook South has an asian gang problem”
lol wut? Do you have a source for that?
Wojo:
http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home/maps_schedules/metra_system_map/bnsf/station.HALSTED.html
“@ Clio, I want to buy in south loop which you have redeemed as undesirable so I guess no rush for me : )”
miumiu,
Have you expanded your search lately or are you still looking solely at OMP?
The unit Sabrina profiled recently, #2303 has a sale pending.
I know you like the building and the location, but it’s so overpriced at $420/sqft. and taxes at over 10K.
Someone once mentioned that most of the units appear vacant at night.
Is that still the case? Are there still a lot of unsold units?
Say prices continue to decline and you get a “deal” for the development, you’re still paying a high premium for the name.
I think your money could go much further in another building.
Just perform extensive due diligence on the HOA and finances.
“These are not all amenities but how I define Chicago as a city, highrises, the lake front, mich ave, lots of foot traffic, expressive people, expensive or no parking etc.
Northcenter has none of this. Most of Lakeview doesn’t even qualify in my book. I hated living in Lakeview, it was too sedate.”
What an idiotic post. Honestly, it’s too dumb to respond to. I suspect you also think Manhattan, but not Brooklyn, constitutes the “City.”
Actually, I have to respond. Michigan Ave is lame. It’s full of tourists and chains.
You are right Milkster about OMP but I love the views. It is pretty unique especially the north facing ones and the building has both indoor and outdoor pool. I think the assessments are pretty fair given what the building offers but some of the finishes are not at the level one expects from such a building IMHO. I am waiting to see if anything really good shows up. Also we are most likely going to kill our mortgage on our 1BR and that would give us more cash if we want to buy. I just don’t like spreading myself too thin as I am not very good with being frugal : (
Do I need to actually post on this article tomorrow? Or are we done talking about how people are trapped in their homes?
It’s an interesting article, I think, because it covers what we’ve seen here in Crib Chatter (with the baby in the second bedroom of the 2/2s.) I doubt all those who bought in “west bucktown” (aka East Humboldt Park) in 2005 thought they’d be there 7 years later with 1 or 2 kids.
I think being “trapped” in your property is very different than those in the comments who have chosen to stay within the GZ and moved into an area with a good elementary school.
Gosh- I have a lot of questions about the article after all. Maybe I will post about it tomorrow morning.
“In the meantime, they’re forced to become involved in CPS schools.”
Oh the horror!
Thanks anon. I didn’t know there was a commuter stop there — and I lived near 18th & Halsted twenty years ago. Had I known then what I know now, I couldabeenacontender.
Endora and miumiu I am sorry I hurt your feelings.
I seriously feel bad if that’s any consolation.
So, I am sorry.
I’ll try to tone down the sarcasm and not be mean – (sigh).
Endora, I just don’t understand your comments about Uptown and Edgewater.
Those areas are everyone’s favorite punchline – Wilson and Broadway, blah, blah, blah, yeah I get it.
But there are plenty of families who enjoy living there.
And miumiu, I don’t possess a scathing derision of all married people.
Just the smug, self-righteous ones with bratty kids.
The “skin-to-skin” people I mentioned used to be really laid back.
I thought you would laugh at the “skin-to-skin” story and the Bronx breast milk, but you didn’t 🙁
miu,
Would you consider compiling a list of buildings which have all the amenities you want in the area you want and then researching them?
Then if something of interest hits the market, you already know what the pros and cons of the particular buildings are, how much they have in reserves, structural issues and the percentage of distressed units.
For the amount of a down payment at OMP you might just be able to pay cash or close to it in another building which is totally acceptable to you.
Even if you had to give up an amenity or two.
Then you wouldn’t have to spread yourself too thin.
Especially since you aren’t completely smitten with OMP.
(fro NC:) Check.
“A grocery store where you can grab milk, bread and other items in a pinch.”
Check.
Nah, to grab or pinch Milkster, you’ll have to come over to Edgewater 😉
Been there, done that…. 😀
“Nah, to grab or pinch Milkster, you’ll have to come over to Edgewater “
“Been there, done that…. :D”
Funny, I don’t remember you.
Hey, Milkster, no worries! Sometimes it is hard to get a sense of tone on the computer–things that would be funny in ‘real life’ can be taken the wrong way. I’m sorry, too, if my statement about Edgewater offended you. I was trying to start a ‘conversation’ about the Pilsen post–I was so happy that Sabrina featured it! I’m sure if we were having this conversation in person we would be fine–even laughing *with* each other. So it is all good 🙂
Ahhh that article really does contain some gems, four I’ve caught so far:
1) “Everyone’s saying, ‘Next year, it will improve. Prices will get better.'”
2) “But Mr. Emanuel will have to make hard choices at a time when resources are dwindling, and he must move quickly before the real estate market rebounds and more parents leave.”
3) “We need to figure out how to keep people here and get new people moving in. We’ve probably got three to five years.”
Looks like everyone is an expert on when the RE market is going to “turn” or “snap back”. Whether it be what “everyone’s saying”, whether it be the journalist who thinks Emanual must “move quickly” or whether it be the Alderman of the 47th Ward.
But they say pictures are worth a thousand words and in this case they sure are. Number 4 is that picture of the kids playing (is that even real grass?) in a small enclosed space with the backdrop of that thick stone wall, blackened by years of pollution from a prior era. Walls that look like they could possibly be from Ft. Dearborn itself. Or perhaps “Castle Dearborn”. A small enclosed playspace surrounded by thick walls to keep the outside world separated and at bay.
I don’t think Rahm has three to five years for substantial improvement in CPS because by then the RE market will have turned. I think he has at most that much time because I don’t doubt for a second the Syftestad’s of the city will be mailing in them keys in due course if their progeny can’t get a comparable education to at least a semi-decent suburban public school.
And with CPS trying to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling that race in admissions criteria is illegal via using census tract data based on “socioeconomic tiers”, I don’t see a lot of hope for keeping middle class whites in the city.
““I have always said we’d stay in the city so long as the schools were working,” says Julie Kraft, a banker who works downtown and lives on the North Side and whose children go to Louis J. Agassiz School in Lakeview. “At this point, I could see myself staying in the city throughout their education. We never said outright that as soon as they go to school we’d have to be in the suburbs.”
The article is disingenuous regarding at least one of it’s sources if trying to present them as middle class. Of course you can, Julie. It’s easy to afford the British School if all else fails on even a single income*.
*IF that income happens to be a Wall Street income.
I took a good look at this building when it was new, and there were a lot of interior details that were quite well thought out; I learned about several in a presentation by the architect (Landon Bone Baker) shortly thereafter. Some of the kitchens had poured concrete countertops, and the baths have an accessible shower/tub wet area that’s really spacious. Ultimately, it was impossible to justify new-construction pricing to live on the other side of the nonexistent University Village — guess I was lucky not to go there, given the depreciation seen since then.
@JJJ: “Funny how different people’s views of the city’s amenities are.” The amazing thing about cities is that so many people live close together that all, or at least many, of our overlapping desires can be fulfilled. Every once in a while, you’ll even find things that you had no idea that you needed — until you saw it, of course.
@Bob: Socioeconomic integration is perfectly legal. The voluntarily desegregated Southern school district I grew up in (in one of the most right-wing federal circuits, where the judges did not think highly of busing) phased out racial integration in favor of integrating by SES.
“Socioeconomic integration is perfectly legal. ”
So what if it’s legal? Is it moral?
Basically CPS said they were unhappy that they cannot use racist tactics to try to engineer societal outcomes so instead are using a “socioeconomic tiering” they comprised entirely themselves as a proxy to try to keep race as a basis in admissions decisions.
Slavery was perfectly legal in 1860 in many states.
@ Milkster, you did not hurt my feeling darling. Also I have a bad memory and forget things too fast especially pertaining to silly little misunderstandings : )
As for compiling list of buildings like OMP. Honestly there are very few with such views (that are pretty much permanent). My other options either have very high assessments, running costs, or have some other undesirable feature, say Aqua is as pricy but I don’t like its location as much and neither I like the fact that it has a hotel. I think I will just chill and wait. If the prices do not come down to where I want them, I can always bring down my expectations and broaden the search up. I still think that the prices will come down though. Way too many households are in trouble. I was recently reading an article on housing in economist and it is astonishing how bad the numbers look.
How is segregation, de facto or de jure, moral? I thought this country answered that in 1954.
I greatly appreciate having had a racially and socioeconomically integrated education, from a school system that has produced state-leading results despite high growth, high turnover, and relatively low funding.
the filming in this building was for the Starz show “Boss”; the penthouse unit at the north end is being used for the home of the alderman nemesis to Kelsey Grammer…