Is University Commons Cutting Prices? 1000 W. 15th in University Village
University Commons is the huge restoration of 6 buildings into concrete lofts at 1000 W. 15th Street (and several other addresses) in the University Village neighborhood.
The development has a total of 824 units.
The developer has been marketing 1, 2 and 3-bedroom loft units for several years. The original sales pitch was that buyers got a tax freeze because it was a historic property.
Several units have recently appeared on the market from the developer with significant price reductions.
I don’t know if the price cuts are limited to select units or if they will be slashing on all the remaining available units to finally close out the project.
This small 2-bedroom, 2-bath was just reduced $40,000 and is now listed $70,000 under its July 2008 list price.
Unit #130: 2 bedrooms, 2 bath, 966 square feet
- Originally listed in July 2008 for $319,900 (parking extra)
- Reduced several times
- Was listed on June 17, 2009 at $289,900
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $249,900 (parking is extra)
- Assessments of $304 a month
- Taxes of $2200
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 14×11
- Bedroom #2: 10×9
- Ralph Olivia at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures of the development here.
University Commons [website]
The developer is down to 2 or 3 units left. I’m sure they just want to get out. Also, the taxes actually seem high on this unit. I have a listing there that is much more expensive, larger, more upgrades and the taxes are about $1000 per year. The developer probably hasn’t taken the time to figure out what the taxes actually would be.
There is a lot of inventory available in this development. I think it’s underappreciated. Great amenities – pool, fitness centers and party rooms in each building, pet friendly, 28 seat theater available for rent.
Yeah no, why would I buy here when I could buy another 900 square foot “2 bedroom” in one of the nicer, more quaint neighborhoods in the more popular north side areas?
Maybe someone looking to become a landlord to some UIC students, or a professor. But thats about your entire market.
One other thing…there are other 2/2 resales available under the original list price of this unit so they had to come in under those to get out. In fact the price was cut on this unit the same day that another unit cut their price to 249,900 from 269,900.
Thanks for the update Gary. I couldn’t tell how many units the developer still had from the MLS (as there are different addresses for the buildings.)
It has sold well given the sheer number of units there.
Just popping in to back up Gary’s comment — Ralph Oliva told us a couple weeks ago that the developer was down to two unsold homes.
Pilsen has been up-and-coming for nearly 2 decades. Still a sketchy area. Stay away!
I think the area will be pretty decent once its finished. I just don’t like any new development that has so many identical units. All it takes is one foreclosure or short sale…
I live near here – in University Village and think these condos are quiet nice. The walls and floors are very thick and they used nice fixtures. The main problem here is that too many college students rent these units and they are loud and obnoxious (which is why I chose to live in a UV townhouse).
The crime right is very low. We get very few creepy people milling about in the area and no gangs. If you go past the train tracks, south of viaducts, the area gets very sketchy, very quickly. For some reason, the crime hasn’t come north of the train tracks.
Also, to me, this area is much more appealing than the near north area. My friends can visit and actually find street parking. The number of people on bikes is lower than the north side and the traffic is far lighter. I drive to work in River North and it takes me 15 minutes door to door.
The area is really not Pilsen. That’s south of the tracks and Pilsen is not a bad area. There are actually some pretty good restaurants there.
I have spent a bit of time in the University Commons buildings at all hours of the day and night and it is as quiet as a church. There are a few college student rentals there but most renters that I have met have not been undergraduates – not even students. In total, building 2 (this one) is about 27% rental – I’m sure it varies by building.
This is great, you can get a great view of all the distance you will have to cover in a cab when you go out to meet people
I can’t say if this developemnt is underappreciated, it looks very nice to me, but it still has the disadvantage of being in the general area of the south loop which is brimming with inventory. According to a Redfin search I did there are over 50 units for sale at UC, averaging 300K, that includes the 2or 3 units being sold and over 300 homes for sale in the area between Ashland and the Ryan and the Ike and 18th.
Conclusion, prices need to come down or inventory will remain high.
Any development with this many units screams a red flag to me. As noted above it only takes a short sale or foreclosure in your tier and you’re toast.
When I saw 824 units I was a bit taken aback: looks like another developer with grandiose plans to milk as much as they could while they could during the boom. Looks like they were cranking these things out like Model T’s during the boom and I bet there are a ton of condos with identical floorplans. That and the location tell me to stay far away. 824 units is insanity.
the taxes are high only because the “historical tax freeze” is for the first buyer. it was an incentive. it does not carry over to the second person. many agents are not telling people that and they are finding that out at the closing table. the builder sold the last 2 units over 3 weeks ago however there are about 50 or so units for sale.(thats what i was told per staff take it for whats its worth) its coming on three years that i have lived there and the worst crime that i heard over was kids throwing rocks, which i suppose can happen anywhere that has a rock available and cars being broken into. NOW with that said its CHICAGO and if you leave a gps or ipod out chances are when you get back you will be missing a window along with your stuff! if you think otherwise roll the dice. on the plus side there is university police (they do carry guns,write tickets and patrol along with the cpd and in some cases even have a faster response time. im a city worker and understands how the whole system works and i think uic police are great! if i didn’t think the area was good i for sure would not have moved here. it is located next to every expressway your in the center of the city and if you think the area has changed look at it in 5 years. like the rest of the country if you don’t have to sell right know you would be crazy to try to up and move.
It is indeed pretty quiet in the University Commons development, car break-ins seem to be less prevalent than they were a couple years back, guess people have learned not to leave valuables in view from the street. Across Racine in the ABLA homes is an entirely different story, of course.
The unit in question here went under contract yesterday!
As for the taxes, I’m saying I think they are overstated for this unit, which is a developer unit and carries the tax benefit.
With so many units on the market I believe there are bargains to be had in this development – they may not always be reflected in the list price.
It is a great location. 10 blocks from the Lake,walking, biking distance. The trains are so convenient. UIC’s track across the street. The Pool and theatre room each quadrant has it’s own work out room!!!..Quiet little jewel.
Hate to have to sell it!
This area will not be taking off until things west of Racine develop. The area is kind of dead. No transportation to the loop, unless you want to take the metra or two buses. Might as well live in the suburbs. If you are not a UIC student or UIC prof, then there really no reason why this area would be a target zone for anyone. The street itself looks nice, but the layout and lofts themselves are small and dinky looking, asides from the 4L layout. OVERPRICED!!!! the market is correcting itself here. This is not the South loop or west loop, but it sure is priced like it is.
There are TONSSSSS of UC units available these days, many of which are short sales or foreclosures. I think the bottom is dropping here pretty quickly, as I saw a nice looking unit that was listed at $345k drop to $245k and listed as a short sale. Granted, it’s probably just a realtor trick to get people looking at that one, but the bottom is dropping. The situation will be further exacerbated by any second owners getting a nice fat market rate property tax. They’re a bit cookie cutter (although there are some decent floor plans), living amongst a bunch of clones is a wee bit depressing and the transportation options to the loop leave a lot to be desired, but if the price was right I think I’d enjoy living here.
PURCHASED ONE OF THE LAST UNITS AVAILABLE-NEW- IN MAY 0F 2009, THERE WERE NUMBEROUS UNITS OWNER OCCUPIED CONDOS FOR SALE AT THAT TIME TOO, BUT THE TAX BREAK ON A NEW FIRST TIME BUYER WAS APPEALING. MY SON LIVES IN THE UNIT AND ENJOYS UC ALOT! REALLY ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYWHERE; GREAT NEIGHBORS, REALLY HAVEN’T SEEN THE COLLEGE KID RENTERS AT ALL, OR HEARD THEM! EVERY AREA OF THE CITY IS UNDER SEIGE ON PRICE TODAY, THOSE FOLKS THAT INVESTED IN UC WILL BE IN GOOD SHAPE AS THE ENTIRE MAKET WILL BE, IN 18 MONTHS TO TWO YEARS FROM NOW-GREAT PLACE, GREAT OPPORTUNITIE IN THE FUTURE TOO.
One year on it appears the market has declined further.
Unit, BR/BA, Ask Price, SQFT, $/SF
120, 2/2, 185k, ?, ? (Parking included & under contract)
133, 2/2, $230k, 1,035, $222 (Parking 30k extra, newPPSF=$ 251)
135, 1/1, $169k, 860, $197 (Parking included & under contract)
216, 2/1, $170k, 816, $208 (Parking included & short sale)
315, 2/1, $190k, 820, $231 (Parking included)
338, 2/2, $299k, 1,616, $185 (Parking 30k extra, newPPSF= $204, under contract)
345, 2/2, $295k, 1,400, $211 (Parking 30k extra, newPPSF= $232, under contract)
413, 2/2, $290k, 1,217, $238 (Parking included, short sale)
Around $200/sqft seems to be the going rate, with parking. Although some people seem to be able to get their units under contract at higher levels (ie: 345).