Is There Still an Old Town Premium? A 3-Bedroom SFH at 1836 N. Lincoln Park West
This vintage 3-bedroom single family home at 1836 N. Lincoln Park West in Old Town recently came on the market.
We last chattered about it two years ago, when it came on the market after a renovation.
See our 2013 chatter here.
If you recall, it has an old pedigree. It was built in 1876 for Charles Wacker on a smaller than average Chicago lot of 28×110.
Many of its vintage features remain including the original moldings, shutters, staircase and Tiffany stained glass windows.
In 2008, it was sold “as-is” as a 4-bedroom home with 1.5 baths.
In 2013, it came back on the market “restored to perfection” as a 3-bedroom with 2.5 baths, including a master bathroom that looked to have been made out of a prior bedroom. (For some reason, the current listing just says 2 baths.)
In 2013, it was also advertised as having expansion possibilities with room for 5 bedrooms, perhaps in the partially finished basement.
In this listing there is a 26×19 storage room in the basement.
The kitchen has modern brown cabinets with stainless steel appliances and some kind of grey countertops (concrete or stone?).
The house has central air and a rare, at least for Old Town, feature of a 1-car garage.
In 2013, this house came on the market at $1.729 million and some of you complained about an “Old Town bubble.”
It took a couple of months to sell and closed at $1.522 million.
The house has come back on the market for $168,000 more than the 2013 sale at $1.69 million.
Does Old Town still command a premium?
Ken Jungwirth at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
1836 N. Lincoln Park West: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, 1 car garage
- Sold in July 2008 “as-is” for $950,000
- Was listed in July 2013 at $1.729 million
- Reduced
- Was listed in September 2013 at $1.599 million
- Sold in November 2013 for $1.522 million
- Re-listed in April 2015 for $1.69 million
- Taxes now $14463 (they were $15333 in September 2013)
- Central Air
- Gas fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 17×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 13×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 14×9 (second floor)
- Family room: 17×16 (lower level)
would love to live in a house like that some day! Really nice.
This is arguably one of the nicest homes I’ve seen on cribchatter; and easily one of the nicest victorian to modern updates I’ve seen. Great use of windows and space. I however have to wonder and pause why the quick resale? I think maybe the buyer underestimated the commute in and out of LP…
By the way the house was purchased for CASH. Must be nice to be part of the corporate 1% that owns nearly everything on earth….
” I think maybe the buyer underestimated the commute in and out of LP…”
You didn’t follow thru on your sleuthing. Their division is spinning off later this year, and that may be prelude to a job or location change.
This was less expensive than the 2/2.5 condo they sold in Boston:
http://www.trulia.com/homes/Massachusetts/Boston/sold/21859418-249-Beacon-St-2-Boston-MA-02116
“You didn’t follow thru on your sleuthing. Their division is spinning off later this year, and that may be prelude to a job or location change.”
No, I followed through. The new location is down the street from the old company. I chose to comment on the commute rather than the spin off because they’re both quite the commute.
A 2/2.5 in boston for 2.5 mil is just insane to me. That condo even in the best of hoods in chicago would hardly be north of a mil.
Hate to agree w HD and sonies, but that is a nice house. Nothing in basemenet worth showing? What’s teh deal w the two buildings in teh back? Is the brick one separate? Is the lot size correct?
Beautiful house. Amazing location. The commute in / out of LP is zilch. I live within a block of this place and its 10 minutes door to door (driving) into the loop. Would be even faster for someone working in Streeterville taking LSD. I think OTT is the best area in Chicago.
Issue for me is its not a great house for kids (even one kid). No family room / play area in the kitchen and bedrooms are too small to have play space. So the kid(s) would be playing in the living room.
The place that baffles me is 1841 N Orleans – 1.5 lots – totally redone house and well laid out. Still sitting on the market. I would have thought it would be sold by now. Pretty much every other place in OTT has gone under contract very quickly. Also – there is a condo building going up at Orleans and Wisconsin that is asking obscene prices with units under contract.
“The commute in / out of LP is zilch. I live within a block of this place and its 10 minutes door to door (driving) into the loop.”
The owner of this house was/is doing a reverse commute to the one county not included in the Chicagoland CS index….
DZ – “What’s teh deal w the two buildings in teh back? Is the brick one separate? Is the lot size correct?”
The house to the north has a 4 car garage that takes up part of this home’s garage space. The brick building you see in the photo of the back yard is that home’s garage (which also has a coach house apartment in there).
HD – “The owner of this house was/is doing a reverse commute to the one county not included in the Chicagoland CS index”
Ahhh. Yes – that would be rough. Maybe they should open an office downtown…
“The commute in / out of LP is zilch”
Where’s the wormhole to Deerfield? They’re Baxter folks (HD rarely hypothesizes like that inaccurately).
“The new location is down the street from the old company.”
Where’s the wormhole to Cambridge? The NewCo is leasing a large space there; could be relo’ing back.
“Where’s the wormhole to Cambridge?”
No, new co is also leasing space in a town named after a town named “Allt a’ Bhonnaich”
“new co is also leasing space”
Yes, and…? Why is it more likely that they don’t like the commute than that they are moving within the company, or moving on to a new company, in conjunction with the restructuring?
“Yes, and…? Why is it more likely that they don’t like the commute than that they are moving within the company, or moving on to a new company, in conjunction with the restructuring?”
I just took a guess. What if in 3 months we find out they bought a house in my neighborhood in Long Grove?
” What if in 3 months we find out they bought a house in my neighborhood in Long Grove?”
Then you’ll be right.
They seem to be a no kid couple, so I’m dubious, at best.
Actually, now that I think about it, long grove is a low rent district to these 1%ers. I think they have lake forest written into their future. Full of older 1%ers like themselves. Maybe they found LP to be too hip? Every east coast transplant does a stint or two in LP, except they usually rent.
The quick resale is due to a ob transfer. The 1/2 bath missing is because the current owner took it out to make more room for a main floor family room. I think this was a huge mistake as the home now has no main living level bath.
“The quick resale is due to a ob transfer.”
Nobody knows where the transfer is to. Back to Boston (remember, Chicago is unsophisticated to east coasters) or a transfer to the new office in Bannockburn? Regardless of Deerfield (the old company) or Bannockburn (the new company), a reverse commute must be a NIGHTMARE.
I did a similar reverse commute for four months straight this past winter except I had to go 10-15 minutes further than BAX (start farther north in the city admittedly)…yeah, wasn’t fun. Need to get to LSD@Hollywood by 7am or else you’re in trouble. And better not leave work before 6pm. Gave me a lot of time to listen to podcasts, though…