Live in a Vintage Single Family Home ON Wicker Park: 1933 W. Schiller
Forget about living in Wicker Park. What about across the street from it?
This 3-bedroom brick single family home at 1933 W. Schiller was built in 1891 and is literally across the street from Wicker Park.
Situated at the back of the long 162 foot lot, it has more of a front yard than anything else.
The layout is unusual as 2 out of the three bedrooms are on the first floor along with the 1-car garage and a full bath.
The second floor has the master bedroom and the other living areas.
The house has a carved wood staircase, crown moldings and a fireplace.
Although it is a vintage property, it also has central air.
Jeff Lowe and Josh Feeney at Prudential Rubloff have the listing. See more pictures here.
1933 W. Schiller: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1 car garage, 2000 square feet
- Sold in January 1996 for $208,000
- Originally listed in April 2009 for $599,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $598,900
- Taxes of $7424
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer
- Bedroom #1: 14×14 (lower level)
- Bedroom #2: 10×8 (lower level)
- Bedroom #3: 14×12 (upper level)
doesnt seem bad at first glance
LOL that’s actually kind of cool how the house is hidden from the street and is in the way back of the lot, check out streetview to see what I mean.
WTF up with the kitchen… only size zero chicks need apply. God forbid you drop something and need to bend over to pick it up. this place needs some work. Could be ok though for someone who wants to fix it up. Of course, the price would have to reflect the need for work but I don’t think it is terribly over priced.
Very motivated seller based on the serious price reduction.
kitchen is a disaster. for $600K I’d like to be able to cook *with* my significant other. Bedroom 2 at 10 x 8 is a bit small for $600K as well. 1 car garage is a drag, too.
Do not want
I think this is getting pretty close to the price of the land. It’s a nice location and a lot that is 162′ deep would be awesome.
Not sure if you could do this, but turn the existing structure into a coach house/studio/garage and build your house on the front of the lot?
“Bedroom 2 at 10 x 8 is a bit small for $600K as well.”
How bout BR-3 at 10×8 and BR-2 at 14×12? Is that better?
Nice alley-view deck.
The pix are–typically–totally terrible.
Also, typically, they are juicing the square footage. Looks to be about 1900, including the garage space, which is at least 150 SF. It is 2000 sf, if you include both the deck and the garage, but if you are doing that, why not include the ~2800 sf of outdoor space in front of the house? Then it’s 4500+ SF!
Great opportunity to do a complete rehab with an addition on the front and an amazing garden and/or freestanding greenhouse. Or do a guesthouse/studio/live work/lap pool at the front lot line…. Could be a very private in a Malibu kind of way.
If its possible to build a separate structure, or one which is “attached” by a hallway that extends from the existing structure along the side of the lot to a new strucutre, I like the possibilities here. Does anyone know if zoning would allow it?
Sabrina pls delete this and first of 2 posts as i used the word ‘built’ when i meant ‘lived in’
I didn’t check the zoning, but my previous experience in West Town confirms neo’s reply.
My guess is that new construction would have to be within minimum front lotline setback and connecting all the way back to coachouse would likely exceed max lot coverage.
You can build on the front of the lot. The zoning is RT4 which has an FAR of 1.20.
1.20 X 4,050 (lot size)= 4,860 SF allowable FAR.
If the coach house is actually 2,000 SF then you could still build 2,860 SF plus a basement as this number doesn’t include the basement. You would have to setback from the front of the lot about where the neighboring buildings are and a couple of feet from both sides of the lot line. It looks like both of the buildings each side are built on the lot lines.
So if you set back 30′ and build 1,400 SF per floor the building would be about 65′ and you would have about a 20′ backyard.
regarding the earlier comment about not being able to build on the front of the lot- the Realtor of the adjacent property probably just lied and said that so that they could sell the building without someone thinking the neighboring lot would be developed. The coach house is about 100 ish years old and grandfathered into current zoning. You can’t build on the rear of the lot anymore.
“LOL that’s actually kind of cool how the house is hidden from the street and is in the way back of the lot, check out streetview to see what I mean”
In chicago you never want a house up against the alley. even in good hoods.
I would love to get this property and put up a great SFH in front.
They are renting this as well and I went to take a look.
Interesting unit. ” master bedroom” is to the right as you come in witha picture window looking into it. Downstairs is dark dark dark. Upstairs third bedroom is tiny, better to take the wall down and expand the living room. This is an interesting plaxce but need a lot of work.
Beautiful house.
But for about $800 more, they could have installed a nice electric cooktop with a built-in convection oven underneath the counter or maybe beside the cooktop, instead of just sliding a cheap free-standing range into a recess.
I mean, if you’re going to spend so much money, go all the way.
“In chicago you never want a house up against the alley. even in good hoods.”
Groove, I am curious why you say that. Is it because of pests or is it just general security?
CK,
the two people i know who have a house up against the alley always have vermin problems. at with chicagos alley rat problems the past few years doesnt help.
plus when i am there you can hear the alley traffic its LOUD. and the worst part is both of these houses are on really quiet beautiful streets so they dont get advantage of that.
on nice summer days with the windows open a good breeze you sometimes get a nice garbage can smell.
Seems pretty good to me. $600K for a large RT-4 lot in a desirable location…with a livable 3 bedroom house.
Sounds like a good house and investment to me…though it is in a historic district, so that may scare off some, but the building itself isn’t orange or red rated.
But, I agree, that kitchen is weird. I would be surprised if the current owners actually use it.
Groove, your post inspires another question. 🙂
What rat problem of the last few years? Wouldn’t it be the same every year? Or did the city start slacking more?
I know what you mean about the garbage smell. I had a bedroom window once that overlooked an alley. Had to leave it closed in the summer.
“What rat problem of the last few years? Wouldn’t it be the same every year? Or did the city start slacking more?”
I think it’s a ward-by-ward thing. Some of the wards let the rat control slip. I think you can guess which ones. One thing to be aware of is that garages that are not used regularly wind up being critter havens, in any neighborhood.
CK,
anon is right it is ward by ward problem, some are better than others and some green areas actually i have heard residents complain.
one of the two people i have talked about above that have a house in the back of the lot are in Jeff park area (IMHO the best part of Jeff PArk).
and the last two years they say has been the worst rat problem they can remember (they have been in that house 25 years).
just spoke to an old buddy of mine, he lives over by lincoln and Belmont by that church on lincoln (crap cant think of the name), i asked him right before we ended the call if he had any rat problems. well that extended the call another 10 minutes. he went on about last spring he called the city and alderman about 100 times.
thats a “green zone” or atleast a good ward (a realtor would call this are “west lincoln park”) and it had rats too.
“by that church on lincoln (crap cant think of the name)”
The one at Lincoln and SoPo (ha)? St Alphonsus.
yep thats it! Alphonsussss or something i never could say correct.
its on wellington, and used to have some competitive pick up games in the humid gym they had.
I’d hope even a realtor prone to stretching the truth would be smart enough to call it “North Lincoln Park” – West Lincoln Park is what they call where the bloody Target is on Elston and Logan!
Rats don’t distinguish between “good” and “bad” neighborhoods – it’s all about food supply. I remember reading that the alley behind One Mag Mile (same as Oak Street southside shops and Barneys) had the worst rat problem in the city. Where there are outside garbage cans and dumpsters, there likely to be rats. No matter how nice the alley-side house, I’d take a pass. Rats are difficult to contain and control; no matter how careful you are with your own garbage, your neighbors are likely careless.
“no matter how careful you are with your own garbage”
They are also clever. I’ve found rats in my apartment’s closed dumpster. They found out how to nudge the lid just enough to dive in.
They’ll be around as long as we are I suspect. I learned some new things on the city’s website regarding rats. If you want to be evil you could live trap them and drop em off in another hood. Kinda like police do with gang bangers sometimes (hope this link works, if not just search Rats in Chicago).
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?blockName=Streets+and+Sanitation%2fRodent+Control%2fI+Want+To&deptMainCategoryOID=-536889066&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Streets+and+Sanitation&topChannelName=Dept&contentOID=536909980&Failed_Reason=Invalid+timestamp,+engine+has+been+restarted&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&Failed_Page=%2fwebportal%2fportalContentItemAction.do&context=dept
Rats become a major problem when their fleas carry the plague as in the 14th century.
“smart enough to call it “North Lincoln Park””
great, i bet that will catch on and sabrina will find a listing with it in the next month 🙁
“Rats don’t distinguish between “good” and “bad” neighborhoods”
but the department of sanitation and daley do! and will deploy full on fronts to trap those buggers in his “high profile” hoods.
““smart enough to call it “North Lincoln Park””
great, i bet that will catch on and sabrina will find a listing with it in the next month”
I was looking at an old thread yesterday, and noted that Jennifer Ames allowed the WSJ to describe her (old) house on George as being in Lincoln Park. Not even North Lincoln Park. So, using NLP would at least signal that it’s a BS desciption.
I remember that article, and remember some blog posted her rebuttal to that article on how she was taken greatly out of context.
“some blog posted her rebuttal to that article on how she was taken greatly out of context”
You mean about listing a nice-but-not-spectacular house on George for over $2mm and eventually selling it for less than she paid? Or answering questions about her house in Lakeview for an article about Lincoln Park RE?
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0713/opinions-housing-market-values-heads-up.html
oops it was a forbes article i read.