Looking for a 3-Bedroom House Under $340K? 2917 N. Rockwell in Avondale
This 3-bedroom single family home at 2917 N. Rockwell in Avondale just came on the market.
The listing said it was renovated in 2006.
Built on a standard Chicago lot of 25×125, it has central air and a 2-car garage.
All three bedrooms are upstairs. There is also a main level family room and a lower level office.
The kitchen has white modern cabinets, stanless steel appliances and a butcher block island.
The baths have Toto, Grohe and Duravit fixtures.
The house is listed for $32,500 more than the 2005 purchase price.
But given the 2006 renovation, will this house get a premium to the 2005 price?
Maria Casciaro at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
2917 N. Rockwell: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car garage
- Sold in June 1995 for $118,000
- Sold in May 2005 for $306,500
- Currently listed for $339,000
- Taxes of $5304
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 13×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 11×9 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 11×8 (second floor)
- Office: 15×9 (lower level)
- Family room: 20×13 (main level)
+: 3 bedrooms up.
-: 1 bathroom up, and the second down the stairs, thru the living and dining rooms.
?: Is the “master” bath really a master bath, or is it the shared upstairs bath?
Much nicer than I was expecting, the location is pretty good too… I think I would expect to gain about 50lbs living that close to Kumas however.
“Much nicer than I was expecting, the location is pretty good too… I think I would expect to gain about 50lbs living that close to Kumas however.”
Nobody eats at Kuma’s anymore, they just wait in line for a few hours and then go home after they can’t get a table. Same at Hot Doug’s.
Too bad I moved to California or this would be mine.
This property, located west of western and rehabbed in a bubblicious year, was a little too optimistic of a purchase. Had the bubble continued for another 10 years, this area very well may have become completely gentrified. But the bubble popped and these owners are stuck with a $360,000 mortgage on a house listed for $339,000. Stay east of western, and at the very least, east of the river this far north. The has long term potential to gentrify but it’s goign to take another bubble and $10 a gallon gas to get there.
Not much around here in terms of walkability but you are close to the expressway, the new Marianos on Western, big box stores up Elston. Avondale, like Humboldt Park, just missed the gentrification boat.
Sidenote: I worked a summer during college years as a file clerk at the American Envelope Company up the street at Rockwell & Elston…probably not there anymore.
HD, do you think that $339K asking price reflects 6 years of paying down a $360K reno loan?
No dude the location is not pretty good. Do you have any fvcking idea how much thru traffic this street gets?
Lets just say I and a bunch of other commuters get in the right lane ahead of Rockwell heading west on belmont because there are a large number of people (i call them fucking assholes) always turning left on rockwell. It seriously is ridiculous the amount of thru traffic & there is no turn lane.
Hmm looks like Rockwell is one way (N) between Diversey & Belmont..so nevermind. haha
Err wellington & diversey
I like how open and airy this house is, even if it screams Ikea. I like the look of Ikea kitchen cabinets, but would not buy them, as the long term prognosis for particle board is poor.
There’s an Argentinean bar I like at the corner of Elston and Rockwell called ?. They mix delicious, strong drinks and they have an outdoor patio in the summer and a DJ and dancing inside.
I’m generally not a fan of this area because Elston is ugly, has heavy traffic and is industrial but not in an appealing way. It’s industrial in a dusty, grimy, depressing, deserted way. Also the neighborhood is cut off by the river and the Kennedy. It’s far from the el. You’d be relying on buses. I’d be wary of flooding and mold in houses close to the river. The river is also pretty buggy during the night in the summer. Some of the side streets are lovely. Rockwell itself is a nice street. But personally I would prefer to be closer to Belmont.
There are also 2 hulking half-built and abandoned new-construction eyesores in the area. One at Rockwell and Elston and another at Belmont and Elston.
The bar at the corner of Rockwell and Elston is called “N”.
“American Envelope Company up the street at Rockwell & Elston…probably not there anymore.”
nka [aka bought out by] Cenveo, but:
Chicago
3001 North Rockwell Street
Chicago, IL 60618-7993
773-267-3600 – 800-388-8406
Fax: 773-267-2440
“Rockwell itself is a nice street. But personally I would prefer to be closer to Belmont.”
Really? West of the river, and south of Belmont, closer to Belmont? I’d buy “prefer north of Belmont”.
“There are also 2 hulking half-built and abandoned new-construction eyesores in the area. One at Rockwell and Elston and another at Belmont and Elston.”
Belmont and Rockwell, no?
I lived half a block away from this place for 7 years. The benefits of the location are that it’s “relatively” close to everything…. highway, big-box shopping and a good midpoint for wrigleyville, bucktown, river north and lincoln park. I always felt like it was a $12 cab ride to any bar in the city (but I always had to call for a cab). Being there for so long, I was always preaching the “up-and-coming” aspect of the hood.
Nonetheless, almost a decade later and there are some newer (and some defunct) buildings that have popped up. The hood really suffers from its long distance to the El, lack of walkability, heavy minority population and occasional gang activity. I hated waiting 10-15 minutes to catch the bus to the logan sq. blue line stop every day. Gangs, smangs, in the city, I know, I know…. but for whatever reason, this location is the mid-point for 3 different gangs and while they never looked my way or bothered me, we did have the police dealing with a few stabbings right out our front porch and our garage was always tagged.
Bob also mentioned it but Rockwell is a one-way express route for trucks and cars wanting to take a shortcut to Belmont. They put in speed bumps a few years back but street is awful!!! Talman (one block to the west) is much quainter.
So glad I got out of this area earlier this year and cut my losses.
“Belmont and Rockwell, no?”
Yes, you’re right. Apologies. Right by the bus stop at Belmont and Rockwell.
I think the IKEA reno (or cabinets and all furniture) will hurt this house in this market. While it seems decently priced at first, there are places like 2924 N Washtenaw, which are not much more expensive and don’t scream cheap IKEA renovation.
HD – the housing market is better:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rise-home-building-suggests-industry-162719120.html
This house is probably a young architect’s (architects’?) house – note not quite gentrifying neighborhood, just outside better/safer/cooler area, renovated using IKEA hacks and good paint choices, slightly under-furnished but decent art selection, and many books. Cute house and inexpensive but attractive renovation, but ditto on comments re: neighborhood, gangs, and “close to, but not there” location.
If it comes with an anti-rape cage, I might consider it.
Gangs are on their last legs here. Can’t be slinging on the street when you’ve got the sidewalk traffic driven by hordes of goofs who were already too drunk to get off at the right bus stop for Kuma’s.
But yeah, not enough to walk to right now for whomever owned this place, but in 5 years they very well be kicking themselves as Belmont storefronts are slowly but surely filling in.
The belmont storefronts are dollar stores and aldi.
Don’t forget: THERE IS NO ELSTON BUS.
If Kuma’s starts selling everything on the menu for a buck the neighborhood will explode overnight. Why don’t they expand next door is my question…
“but in 5 years they very well be kicking themselves as Belmont storefronts are slowly but surely filling in.”
I’ve driven this stretch of Belmont for the past 5. While it is true there is more going on now than 5 years ago, there is still so much vacancy on Belmont that it will take more than 5 to fill in.
But if you’d asked me five years ago if hipster catering high priced places would be moving in like Smoke Shoppe and Square bar I probably would’ve laughed at you.
Bob, your problem as far as analyzing neighborhoods is your lack of understanding of how fast things go from cold to tepid to warm to hot. Belmont is a done deal everywhere east of Kimball, if not Pulaski.
“Belmont is a done deal everywhere east of Kimball, if not Pulaski.”
We’ll see if this holds. I am skeptical to the say the least.
this house is in a dead zone!!!!! not much around here but the expressway……neighborhood offers a little activity on elston….but house is a little overpriced for the area
I bought this house and couldn’t be happier!!!
Sold for 329K on 2/24/2012.