Crib Chatter

There are rarely new buildings built in Lakeview so when there is, you can bet that it sells quickly. Such was the case with Park View East at 828 W. Grace, a 17 story high rise only a few blocks from Wrigley Field. Closings started in 2007 and there are several flips in the building.  Currently there […]

It’s time for an update on 600 N. Fairbanks the Helmut Jahn modern skyscraper in Streeterville that started closings the first week of November 2007. Out of 227 units in the building, the current building statistics are: 25 units for sale 8 units for rent This is the highest number so far for the building.  Two […]

The Elysian is a 60 story hotel/condo building being built in the Rush Street Corridor at 11 E. Walton.  It will have 188 guest suites (i.e. hotel rooms) and 51 private residences. Interestingly, there are 7 listings on the MLS for units in the building even though the building is far from complete.  Two listings […]

Michigan Avenue Tower II at 1400 S. Michigan in the South Loop was one of the buildings I inadvertently left off of the “list” of condo buildings that will be closing in 2008. It’s not scheduled to close until Fall 2008, but already some anxious flippers are trying to sell. This flipper posted on Craigslist under […]

  Investors who closed on condo units downtown in 2006 continue to have difficulty selling for more than they paid. Such is the case in 1841 S. Calumet a 22 story high rise in the South Loop that was completed in 2006.  There are 9 units for sale and at least 3 units for rent. […]

Trio, the three building development in the West Loop on Wayman, has started closings.  There are several different addresses for the buildings.  In this post, I’ll talk about 650 W. Wayman, which is one of the 7 story mid-rise buildings (there are two midrises and a high rise.) Trio was marketed as very modern with […]

550 N. St. Clair, the new high rise a block east of Michigan Avenue in Streeterville, is set to begin closings in January/February (according to the developer’s ad in the weekend Tribune.) Yet, there are already several flips on the market including one trying to sell a one bedroom for $469,900, which includes the parking, […]

I’ve often wondered during this housing boom: why would someone pay $500,000 for a two bedroom two bath condo in the far out west loop when they can pay the same thing and get the same square footage in a more “premier” location- such as River North? To me, the boom was personified in the […]

Vision on State, a new mid-rise building at 1255 S. State designed by Pappageorge/Haymes in the South Loop, started closings over the summer but has recently picked up steam. The building was marketed as “affordable luxury” near the El stop at Roosevelt Road. The floorplans they offered were tailor made for flippers.  There were numerous floor plans: […]

Did you think that flipping was just confined to new construction condos that were in the downtown neighborhoods?   Nope.  Catalpa Gardens is a new mid-rise development at 1122 W. Catalpa in Edgewater.  It is distinctive in the neighborhood for its blue and yellow facade.  It will have three towers and 126 units. The first closings started in September […]