Live in the Heart of Tri-Taylor for Under the 2005 Price: 1408 W. Taylor

This 3-bedroom unit at 1408 W. Taylor in the heart of the Tri-Taylor neighborhood on the west side has been on the market since July 2009.

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It has been reduced $39,900 in those 17 months.

The unit is now listed for $17,000 less than the 2005 purchase price.

At 1540 square feet, this is not one of those small 3-bedroom units.

The listing says it is a double corner unit with two balconies. It also has 11 foot ceilings.

The building, while intimate, with only 2 units per floor, does have an elevator.

The kitchen has cherry cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.

It is also located right in the hub of Taylor Street activity with its shops, restaurants and bars.

Is this a deal for the Little Italy/Tri-Taylor neighborhood?

Eugene Fu at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #202: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1540 square feet, 1 car parking included

  • Sold in June 2005 for $392,000
  • Originally listed in July 2009 for $414,900
  • Reduced several times
  • Currently listed for $375,000
  • Assessments of $315 a month
  • Taxes of $5618
  • Central Air
  • Washer/Dryer in the unit
  • Bedroom #1: 13×14
  • Bedroom #2: 10×11
  • Bedroom #3: 10×10

25 Responses to “Live in the Heart of Tri-Taylor for Under the 2005 Price: 1408 W. Taylor”

  1. Isn’t Tri-Taylor near Western Ave.? If this is east of Ashland it’s Little Italy, not Tri-Taylor, right?

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  2. Yeah, this is little Italy – big time.

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  3. I’ve eaten at Francesca’s next door a few times. I think the Little Italy strip on Taylor Street is pretty and I like it, but I like it comparatively speaking. It’s not that interesting, it’s not that long and it’s becoming more and more commercial. It’s just nice because it’s like an oasis surrounded by bad neighborhoods, so when you get to it after walking past projects, busy streets and empty lots, you are relieved. Have you ever been to the Jewel on Ashland after dark? Mega scary.

    Personally, I like the amount of space, but I think it’s priced too high for the Southside. I have no idea how properties are comping out around Taylor Street. For me the charm of this strip does not make up for the Southside and lack of ammenity factors.

    I’d be interested to know what everyone out there thinks of the future appreciation potential for Taylor Street. Will the surrounding neighborhoods improve? And is this one of those areas which will appreciate in price over the next 10 years?

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  4. Milkster,

    Always a tough call and dangerous to make a bet on. I live nearby in University Village and am in the area quite a bit. I’m very optimistic about what is taking place between Ashland and Racine and Taylor and 16th. They’ve taken down the projects and there is a lot of development planned. There is also quite a bit of affordable housing being built along Roosevelt. They just built a CVS on Roosevelt near Racine I think. Police station planned around 14th Place and Racine. University Village residents are making a stink about the school choices but so far no one is listening.

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  5. It’s called “Taylor St.” not Little Italy. Except by rubes and real estate and chamber of commerce types.

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  6. Yes, the street is called “Taylor Street” in the area of “Little Italy” as defined in those links provided in the days prior posts. I love this neighborhood. There are plenty of new restaurants in the area and who could not love Mario’s Italian Lemonade in the summer! Lived in University Village and walked to this area regularly. The Jewel on Ashland, although not the best in terms of clientele, was certainly not terrible. Never had bums or crazies soliciting me for money while in the aisles of the store like I did at the Jewel in Uptown! I hope this area does well. Looked for places in this area but not a lot in terms of SFHs….too many people have been there for years and don’t leave until they die! Only downside I ever saw was the lack of easy public transit. Would be great for anyone who works in Western burbs and drives though.

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  7. Living That close to Fontano’s grocery and sub shop would be dangerous for me.

    Is this close to rental parity? 2250 for a true 3 bedroom in a new elevator building seems reeasonable. Its a bit of a walk but Could it be rented out to UIC students or people working or studying in the medical district?

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  8. I would have called it Little Italy but last time I did a post on this neighborhood I think I called it that and everyone said I had it wrong. ha!

    But maybe that’s when it WAS west of Ashland.

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  9. Old time Chicago people call the entire neighborhood “Taylor Street”; like you’ll talk to an Italian who lives in Villa Park and he’ll say “we came from Taylor Street”. I’ve lived here 62 years and was born and raised on the West Side and never heard the neighborhood called “Little Italy” until recently. Which is kind’a funny, calling it Little Italy AFTER the Italians have gone.

    I figure it’s real estate people and others of their ilk trying to give the place some New York cachet for the hayshaker transplants.

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  10. “Old time Chicago people call the entire neighborhood “Taylor Street”; like you’ll talk to an Italian who lives in Villa Park and he’ll say “we came from Taylor Street”. ”

    Yeah and those same people used to take the el to the Loop by themselves when they were 9 years old. Things change.

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  11. “Things change.”

    That’s trite. And hardly a good reason to newly call a neighborhood that’s no longer Italian “Little Italy”. You don’t have to go along with this nonsense you know; it’s your choice. You can talk like a man or talk like a commercial.

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  12. No longer Italian? Have you been there lately? It is SO Italian! 22nd and Oakley isn’t as Italian as it once was either …but it doesn’t mean there aren’t still Italians and their amazing restaurants and traditions still there.

    Bucktown got its name because of all the goats in the area – I am pretty sure most the goats are gone but everyone still seems to call it Bucktown. There is even West Bucktown now =) HA!

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  13. Plus I thought everyone in Chicago used to associate their neighborhood by what Parish was in the neighborhood, not the name of the ‘hood itself?

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  14. It’s surrounded by things with Italian names and the Ultimate List Of Chicago Neighborhoods calls it Little Italy.

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  15. So how has the development of the neighborhood turned out? I recall that when LR Development was working on the “planning” of Roosevelt Square and the ABLA homes (CHA) replacement, the composition of the new construction was supposed to be 1/3 market rate, 1/3 subsidized, and 1/3 CHA.

    I thought then, that this was doomed to failure.

    How is it progressing with this mix???

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  16. here’s some info: http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/05-19-2010/Roosevelt_Square_strains

    “Related Midwest has built 591 out of the more than 2,440 units envisioned for Roosevelt Square, including 245 CHA replacement rentals; 185 affordable for-sale or rental homes; 159 market-rate for-sale units; and two market-rate rentals. This data comes from quarterly court filings the Habitat Company submits to a federal judge as part of the CHA’s Gautreaux consent decree.”

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  17. ha! as predicted: “But many the questions Tuesday focused on the income mix at the redevelopment site.

    “Don’t you think having big ratios of rental to for-sale affects crime and home values?” went one question read off by Bonome.

    The development would be balanced, Dickson argued, with the unit mix falling along the lines of the housing authority’s stated ideal for its mixed income properties — one-third of the units reserved as market-rate homes, one-third are priced affordably and one-third constituting replacement units for demolished CHA buildings.

    A number of people in the audience Tuesday saw other factors at play, and criticized rental housing.”

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  18. I’d say this place is priced correctly. I would think it would sell near the $360-370 mark. Up until a year ago, I lived a block over on Fillmore st. We recently (6 mo ago) sold our 1600 sq ft, 3 bd, 2.5 ba townhouse w/ 1 parking spot for $389k. Fillmore street isn’t nearly as busy as Taylor, but I think it is still a good comp. I think the problem with this property is its location right above a semi busy street.

    As for the neighborhood, it is incredible. So many nice places to eat, parks, etc. There are so many new places moving into the area, its becoming a very hot neighborhood. You just know not to go south of Roosevelt. I never felt scared walking to work at the UIC Med Campus, even after dark (and that Jewel isn’t bad at all).

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  19. I have been looking for months in all neighborhoods in Chicago and have narrowed my search to this area of Taylor street based on this article and the cover of the Red Eye touting Taylor as the next big area.

    http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/restaurants-bars/89745/taylor-street-revival-future-food

    With Davani Enoteca getting RAVE reviews and three aces and One.Six.One. opening, the vibe here feels like the area is about to explode. It is a 3 stop El ride to the Loop at the Racine blue line stop (or 2 at the Halsted stop) I watched the Marathon from Taylor street and it was gorgeous. The old fashioned street lights with sweeping views of the City had me hooked. It is really close to downtown but has a secluded neighborhood feel. I can really only see this area continuing to improve and surprise in the next few years.

    One street called ‘May” just one block East of Racine has this listing,

    http://www.movoto.com/il/1018-s-may-st-chicago/461_07655367.htm

    only 2 bedrooms but really well done and the block is a cul-de-sac, quiet and beautiful. Thanks Sabrina for featuring this area of the City!!

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  20. “Bucktown got its name because of all the goats in the area – I am pretty sure most the goats are gone but everyone still seems to call it Bucktown. There is even West Bucktown now =) HA!”

    You miss my point that when it was an Italian neighborhood it wasn’t called Little Italy. Bucktown is an old name with roots in Chicago folkways; Little Italy is a modern invention with no such connection to local folkways. It’s phony; that’s the difference.

    And yeah, I’m around there often. Hell I used to get slices of tray pizza at DiLeo’s bakery at Taylor and May back in the early 1960s. Don’t look for it now; it’s gone.

    Remember the Taylor St. Dukes? They weren’t the “Little Italy” Dukes.

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  21. I don’t know, Old Man – I’m old, too, and have heard that area referred to as “Little Italy” since the 1970s. If you check newspaper archives, you can see the term used for that area going back to at least the 1930s. Maybe if you lived there you didn’t call it that but other people did. Interestingly, I just met two women who grew up around Grand and Western – I asked them if they called their neighborhood “The Patch” — and they said they called it “Little Italy” until the Taylor Street area “took” that name. And courtesy of Wikipedia, I see that at one time Chicago had 20 Italian enclaves, including in the area where Cabrini Green now is; on Grand Street also by Aberdeen and May; and Roseland.

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  22. “I see that at one time Chicago had 20 Italian enclaves, including in the area where Cabrini Green now is”

    Hence the Cabrini in the name–the first residents of the rowhouses–first built, last left–were poor Italians.

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  23. at one point in time they called addison to grand ave down harlem “little Italy”

    go figure.

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  24. Lots of places in Chicago were named little Italy. I want to say the Ogden/Grand/Aberdeen area was a little Sicily or a little Hell. That’s where you could find Joey Lombardo hanging out in his garage.

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