Live on the Boulevard in Logan Square: 3036 W. Logan Boulevard
Many people dream of living on one of the grand boulevards throughout the city in properties like this 3-bedroom unit at 3036 W. Logan Boulevard in Logan Square.
Just a few blocks from the Logan Square El stop, this is the area many people think of when they envision “logan square.”
This building was a new conversion in 2007.
It is a top floor unit with 10 foot ceilings and exposed brick.
The kitchen has stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops. The listing says the baths are natural stone.
It has not just one, but 2 outdoor decks, both 12×7.
The unit has central air, an in-unit washer/dryer but no parking.
David Wolf at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #3: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in November 2007 for $319,000
- Currently listed for $325,000
- Assessments of $202 a month
- Taxes of $4255
- No parking
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 11×12
- Bedroom #2: 10×8
- Bedroom #3: 10×12
Wow, I think that’s a steal. (let the hating begin…)
Good price but I never understood exposed brick (exposed damp). It should have gone out in the 70’s when the “urban renewal” trend started and people were urban pioneers trying to hold down cost.
Nice place, although no parking would kill it for me, even at that price.
And if you haven’t seen it, check YoChicago today…pretty funny.
Man, I give Joe credit, there’s nothing I can post today that will match that in terms of shennanigans!
Good condo, even with 20% down I forecast there will be a buyer around this price.
seems like a good deal, although that 2nd bedroom is pretty small at 10×8…
I walk by/bike by this building all the time. It looks great fron the outside. By great I mean that it fits nicely with the rest of the block. Too many old building facades were destroyed in the boom years. Too many times it was take an old building & slap a bunch of balconies everywhere you can. This building is truely charming on the outside.
Inside is a very big living/dining/entry area. Seems rather short on closets. Parkings not that dificult but bond toget worse. Biggest drawback is definitely the lack of parking
‘And if you haven’t seen it, check YoChicago today…pretty funny.’
I give Joe credit for some orginality on April 1st, I wasn’t aware that he was able to develope content unless it was dictated to him by a paying client.
i am in the mood to really cribchatter hate on a place, But IMO this place is pretty darn Awesome.
like most vintage chicago, its lite on closets and closet size and small on bedroom size and i HATE Open kitchens but gosh darn it i truely like this place and think its kewl beans even @ 325k.
i really wanted to hate on it 🙁
A place like this is basically the only reason I’d move to Logan Square. Really nice.
Walked by the place this morning. Agree with everyone, nice place, nice location, nice morning. It’s a shame about parking. I know many people who seem fine parking on the street (although they are mostly on side streets). But I’d hate to buy a place w/o parking. Wonder is there is any market for parking spaces around there?
My secret is out!
http://yochicago.com/zekas-im-sabrina-from-cribchatter/14598/
P.S. I will soon be banning those of you who believe that real estate prices go down.
Nice place but does it really deserve even a dime more than the ’07 price? Especially considering this FB bought it with only 5% down…
Nice place though, my significant other lived in a similar looking unit in lakeview for a number of years. I think the rent was only $1,300 a month, but it didn’t have granite countertops.
“Nice place but does it really deserve even a dime more than the ‘07 price? Especially considering this FB bought it with only 5% down…”
I ask the same about basically every property. I think that one thing the bubble collapsing will expose more is the ridiculous costs for garden variety real estate transactions. It’s a tough pill to swallow when you’re a seller and not only does your home depreciate, but you’re forking over a ton of cash in fees, taxes, commissions, etc. I’m sure nothing will change, but one can certainly hope.
I like everything about this place, except the location, no parking, and tiny bedrooms, and i’m not a huge fan of the exposed brick.
I live around the corner. I think it’s an outstanding location, right on the Boulevard, a very short walk from the El, plenty of restaurants, and the summer farmers market.
I do agree, though, that the price is pretty steep. There isn’t much for sale in the area, especially right on the Boulevard, so I could see it going for close to ask because of that. But, looking at prices in Logan Square over the last few years, they’ve definitely come down, with few exceptions.
I wouldn’t buy a place without parking. If anyone’s interested, street parking is ok here. The closest blocks don’t have permit parking, but plenty nearby do – – meaning that this apartment’s immediate area is in demand when folks come to the neighborhood to eat, go to church, visit friends, etc. It’s usually not difficult to find a spot within a block, except of course on street cleaning days.
Speaking of street cleaning, have you seen this? http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/parking-ticket-geek/2010/03/street-sweeping-rebellion-brewing-in-city-council.html
Another City of Chicago mess.
I commented on this yesterday (just to show that the 3550 Lyndale units couldn’t compete); however, I was assuming it would sell at a discount (that it would go under its 07 price), and as HD points out, the seller may not be able to, given they only put 5% down in 07. Google says both have decent jobs, so perhaps they do have cash to bring to closing, if necessary.
No parking, very small bedrooms, and very high taxes (4255–and likely to go up, right?) are big negatives for everyone, and the open floor plan is a negative for some (inc. me – I can take a kitchen slightly open to a DR, but not a LR). The exposed brick is also probably a divider of opinions. In-unit W/D, central air, and of course location are definite positives.
Oops — an update:
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-street-sweeping-deal-march31,0,2125004.story
So, there is agreement, but still no schedule. Which is a bit of a pain for folks (like me) who are planning to leave town for two weeks in April and would like to know where it’s ok to park the car.
i just check yochicago’s april fool’s joke and it only has 3 comments. well its only 10 am
‘(inc. me – I can take a kitchen slightly open to a DR, but not a LR). The exposed brick is also probably a divider of opinions. ‘
Depending on your furniture prefernce the LV & DIN could be swapped. Replacing the solid balcony door with a glass door would add tons of light (it looks like the other 3 front units already have glass door). I’m also not the biggest fan of open kitchens but this one does benefit from the bay window across the LV room.
those 2 brick walls could either be glazed or drywalled very easily. A pro could have it done & painted in 2 mornings.
PS. Google Street View now has a 3d effect option- I don’t normally keep 3d glasses at work so I can comment on its effectiveness.
“Groove77 on April 1st, 2010 at 9:23 am
i just check yochicago’s april fool’s joke and it only has 3 comments. well its only 10 am”
-technically only 2 because one is by Joey himself. Though at 3 comments, that posting has more comments than the usual yochicago posting.
I like the location and the unit but what I’d be concerned about is the noise between units with the place being vintage. If this place is like any other 2 or 4 flat that I’ve lived in then you can hear any above average noise coming from the other units.
“-technically only 2 because one is by Joey himself. Though at 3 comments, that posting has more comments than the usual yochicago posting”
i wonder why they even have the comment section on the site? i tried joining in on the comments a while back to get info about moving to kenilworth.
Terrific place! Good location! And, it’s marketed well and staged nicely. I imagine this will sell quickly and at asking. Anybody who appreciates vintage spaces would like this.
People who are looking at similarily priced 2 / 2s should seriously consider this as an option. I’d take it over nearly any of the cookie cutter new construction condos that are invading the North side.
“Nice place but does it really deserve even a dime more than the ‘07 price? Especially considering this FB bought it with only 5% down…”
Knowing how much % someone put down on a previous sale may indicate their flexiblity on price but it does nothing to show the actual current value of the place. In fact, I think previous sale prices are overrated too. Current market prices are really determined by current market comparable sells and listings.
“Current market prices are really determined by current market comparable sells and listings.”
This is of course true, but doesn’t make the previous sale price irrelevant.
To get the best approximate value of the place, we need other data that matches it in the most variables possible. Obviously the best comparable for a unit is the unit itself; ie, it will match the current item being sold in almost all variables (this won’t hold true for a significantly rehabbed place). However, the variable TIME has now been changed. We hold time constant by looking at current active and sold comp’s, but of course they will all differ from the place in question in some other variables. Trying to minimize those difference is the art (or science?) of finding the BEST comp’s – the ones that match it in the most variables possible.
Clearly, to determine the best value, one needs to try to balance the data that has physical variables constant (previous sale, barring changes to place) with the data that has time/market constant (best available comps).
To say that previous sales price is irrelevant (as some have here) is ridiculous. To say that the previous sales price (plus general trends in pricing) is sufficient to determine current value (as some sometimes imply here) is also clearly incorrect.
“I like the location and the unit but what I’d be concerned about is the noise between units with the place being vintage. If this place is like any other 2 or 4 flat that I’ve lived in then you can hear any above average noise coming from the other units.”
The last apartment I lived in was the second floor of a three flat and I could hear every footfall the people upstairs would make. It was so ridiculous. Never again.
“If this place is like any other 2 or 4 flat that I’ve lived in then you can hear any above average noise coming from the other units.”
“The last apartment I lived in was the second floor of a three flat and I could hear every footfall the people upstairs would make. It was so ridiculous. Never again.”
I completely agree and at first though I was going to have to bash this place for that reason. . . but, it is a top floor unit which makes a huge difference.
(Not that this makes it a “penthouse,” as claimed in the listing, but I do think that in vintage buildings like this top floor commands a significant pricing premium. Not having to explain to your guests that “that sound is just the people upstairs” is close to priceless to me).
What the heck with those taxes, though?
“I do think that in vintage buildings like this top floor commands a significant pricing premium”
Maybe, but it also cuts out a lot of potential buyers (many with young kids, anyone who has problem with stairs due to legs, age, etc). I certainly see a lot of young families who are leaving their top-floor condo cuz they can’t deal with the stairs. Middle floor has got the be the worst of both worlds (noise and still have to deal with going up and down the stairs).
The problem with previous sale prices is that you don’t know if the previous transaction was at a fair price. Perhaps the last person overpaid or maybe they got a great deal from a desperate seller. Neither of those things will dictate the next sale price. Plus the unit could be in much better or worse condition.
Roma – you’re right that previous sell price can be a variable, but personally I would give it very little weighting.
Unless you know there was something extremely unusual about the sale (e.g. the same ones C-S tries to exclude, other than new homes), it would be foolish to ASSUME that an arms-length transaction of an MLS-listed home was not generally reflective of its market value.
The last person COULD have paid much more than others were willing to offer (note this was what HD was getting at when he pointed out the heavy financing, but others likely had that financing available to them also), and the sellers COULD have sold very quickly for much less than someone else might have eventually offered, but it would very odd to assume that it happens in more than a small % of sales. Otherwise, we would have much higher standard deviation in sales prices of comparable units.
I don’t think that the taxes on this place seem out of line. What am I missing?
And I also don’t see anything wrong with calling this unit a “penthouse.” That’s what it is: top floor=penthouse. Not nearly as annoying to me as the places downtown that have “penthouse levels” that aren’t always the top floor. Nobody here is really going to think that you are on the 50th floor of a four story building.
The taxes are about $1000 more than they should be. Some of the pro’s on here can correct or add, but I believe that the recent conversion is a major contributor, right?
I was in this builing 10 years ago and I hate what they did to it. It was full of detail. Beamed dining room ceiling, woodwork throughout, stained glass in hutch. AYou can see the type of detailing in the entryway. All in the dumpster. Mindless.
Ok, DBA, that is indeed a depressing reality. I mourn the loss of any beamed ceiling and most stained glass.
“That’s what it is: top floor=penthouse.”
Please.
““That’s what it is: top floor=penthouse.”
Please.”
How high must a top floor unit be to constitute a penthouse? Actually, don’t answer. I don’t care what you think.
Maybe penthouse implies some sort of luxury, but – to many – it implies the top floor of a building. There’s nothing misleading or inaccurate or reprehensible or punishable about calling this a penthouse.
I’m a stickler for tradition, and there are many definitions of penthouse today, but really it means: An apartment built on the roof of a building.
If anyone’s interested, street parking is ok here. The closest blocks don’t have permit parking, but plenty nearby do – – meaning that this apartment’s immediate area is in demand when folks come to the neighborhood to eat, go to church, visit friends, etc. It’s usually not difficult to find a spot within a block, except of course on street cleaning days.
These are nice units. I disagree about the street parking, however — there’s no way I’d take a place like this without parking. I lived on this block from 2005-2008, and street parking for the couple of blocks around it on the south side of the boulevard is horrendous. It’s one of the reasons I moved, and it’s only gotten worse since then.
There are several large apartment buildings on this block, a large condo on the corner of Sacramento, a fairly dense (and fairly ugly) condo development with units that face out to Milwaukee and onto Willetts Ct. (that short road / glorified alley that runs behind this block), and all the traffic from New Wave Coffee to the west. Add it up, and it’s parking hell. There are a few garage owners nearby that’ll rent space at roughly $100 per month, but you’d still have to hoof it with your groceries/kid/dog/whatever.
ET is unfortunately right about parking. I was on this block 2 out of the last 3 nights and a street spot was impossible to find. Good spot for someone who only uses the blue line, though.
Was under contract, fell through, now back on the market, no price drop yet
never sold, currently off-market.
Here’s another place on the boulevard. Sometimes I wonder why there are no photos. Possibly the reason is this:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2647-W-Logan-Blvd-60647/home/13450009
Dunno, do a gut rehab (what $400K-500K for really nice?) into this and get a really nice greystone on the boulevard.
“Here’s another place on the boulevard. Sometimes I wonder why there are no photos. Possibly the reason is this:”
Dude had borrowed $975k(!!!) against it. $825 first and a $150 2d.
the ’98 sale was the last legit one; since then:
Jun-01: DM to LN
Aug-01: MB back to DM
Aug-02: LN to MB; mortgage from MB to LN
Jan-05: DM back to LN
There’s also a Notice from the landmarks commission recorded on the prop.
“do a gut rehab (what $400K-500K for really nice?)”
All about condition of the structure. Figure a to-the-bricks gut at $150 psf + any structural work and be pleasantly surprised if you can get it done for $125 psf. And that’s assuming that the landmarks notice doesn’t impose meaningful add’l cost.
3036:
Sign of better things to come this selling season?
Now pending, probably with a contract price of $305k.
Sold for 305. Seller’s agent also acting as buyer’s agent, fwiw.
#1 now also for sale. List $325. Good luck with that.
Will this 3-bedroom Wilmette townhouse, within walking distance of the park, beach, purple line, and Bahai temple (where all my Bahai at?) sell for less than the 2000 price?
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Wilmette/347-Greenleaf-Ave-60091/home/13772314