Looking for a Big Yard? A 4-Bedroom SFH at 4230 N. Marine in Buena Park
This 4-bedroom single family house at 4230 N. Marine in the Buena Park neighborhood of Uptown came on the market in March 2020.
Built in 1935, an older listing described the home as a “Georgian.” It’s on a larger than average gated lot measuring 75×110.
It has a 2-car attached garage and a rare city driveway.
It’s at the end of historic Hutchinson Street and faces Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan.
If this house looks familiar, that’s because we last chattered about it when it was on the market in 2011.
You can see our wild discussion of the house with all the cast of characters (miumiu, Milkster, Sonies, Bob, clio, Groove77, anon(tfo), jenny, Ze, anonny and more.) It’s amazing that many of you are still posting here all these years later.
You can see the chatter here.
If you recall, the house has some of its original features including a den with the original cherry wood paneling and 3 fireplaces.
It has some unique features including a first floor bedroom with attached bath, and a screened in hallway/porch.
The kitchen has white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and terra cotta floors that extend into a family room with a fireplace.
The second floor, up a curving staircase, has the 3 other bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms.
The master suite has a large walk-in-closet as well as a private terrace.
There’s also a terrace off one of the other bedrooms.
The lower level has a family room, laundry room, kitchen and a temperature controlled custom wine cellar though there are only pictures of the wine cellar in the listing.
The house has central air.
After being on the market for a couple of years during the housing bust, it never sold.
It has come back on the market this year at $1.99 million.
With everyone desperate for outdoor space, does this house have an advantage?
Stephanie Turner at Century 21 SGR has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
4230 N. Marine Drive: 4 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, 6100 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in March 1993 for $475,000
- Sold in December 1998 for $1.15 million
- Originally listed in July 2009 for $3.99 million
- Reduced
- Was listed in June 2011, when we last chattered about it, for $2.695 million
- Listed in March 2020 for $1.99 million
- Currently still listed for $1.99 million
- Taxes are now $27,807 (they were $11077 in 2011)
- Central Air
- 3 fireplaces
- Large lot measuring 75×110
- Bedroom #1: 17×16 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 19×16 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 17×17 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 14×10 (main floor)
- Living room: 25×14 (main floor)
- Dining room: 22×15 (main floor)
- Kitchen: 25×12 (main floor)
- Office: 13×13 (main floor)
- Family room: 38×17 (lower level)
- Laundry room: 12×12 (lower level)
Can’t believe I didn’t make a remark about Chaz.
but: the cc origin of gthooi!
Listing sez 5.5 baths, floorplan shows 4.5–why no floorplan or pix of basement?
Enjoy the WSJ article on the wall of ‘his’ master bathroom.
An amazing property imo…for some reason I have always loved this property. Maybe because of the size and location. It reminds me of a piece of suburbia right across from the lake. But it’s past is very interesting, at least the owners history. I believe it was mentioned in the post from years past but the owner in the early 90’s was brutally murdered in this home. Off topic, his killer will be released in 7 years, but a topic for another day. The owner who purchased it from the Levinson family, Marc E Thompson, set a home he owned on fire in the mid 2000’s which killed his mother so he could collect insurance money and is now rotting in prison. I know the latter doesn’t really have much to do with the current property but interesting tale of two previous owners. Amazing property nonetheless.
This is the best of city and suburban living. Why would you ever leave?
“This is the best of city and suburban living. Why would you ever leave?”
———————
Taxes. Corruption. Noise.
Proud to say I was part of that 2011 discussion and I’m still here, too.
I stand by what I wrote here nine years ago. Tear it down and build a high rise. What’s the point of wasting a prime LSD real estate plot on a residence where no one can see the lake?
My zooming in on a photo skillz are lacking. What does the WSJ article in the “his” master bath say?
I too don’t know that I could get over a brutal murder having occurred in the home…potentially IN the master bedroom? Where did they find the bodies? I am guessing the home isn’t cursed so much as the buyer who bought after the murder and then committed insurance fraud is a serial seeker of windfalls at any cost… murdering his own mom!!!! Holy moly. Maybe there are/were lead water pipes in the house?
Pedestrian access to the lake path is one block south on Buena, which is nice. On my nightly jogs I have seen lots of pudgy raccoons trundling about on the golf course there. Since you aren’t really right on the lake here you are really just getting a SFH on a really busy street and a bunch of yard space you wouldn’t use much unless you could fence it in better. I think for the money, I would pass on this likely money pit (WTF on painting the brick!!!!!!!) for something comparable and/or newer and on a quieter street.
“What does the WSJ article in the “his” master bath say?”
2003 article about urinals in the home as a hot trend.
@Sabrina, this is an interesting property which could be CC worthy
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/215-W-Huron-St-60654/unit-3/home/12814271
House looks like it would fit in pretty well in the Midwest Club
The Saltillo tile looks totally out of place and the finishes are bad
@KK – – dying here. Where did you find this? I don’t know what is most appealing – – the atrocious quality of the photos, the laundry visible in the drier or the fact that you will stumble drunk and injure yourself en route to the kitchen from the living room every time you have had more than two glasses of wine…..or is it the office literally inside of the closet? Yes, I think it is the office inside of the closet that is best. I sure hope they are using a virtual background for all of their Zoom conference calls!
Good Dan is right that this property should have a building, and not a single house, on it, but given the continued downward pricing I’m assuming that someone has looked into the upzoning prospects and has determined that either nothing would be approved or what could be approved just doesn’t pencil (enough).
“what could be approved just doesn’t pencil”
“75×110”
Let’s assume on that size lot they wouldn’t get PD zoning denser than the neighbor’s (they wouldn’t even get that, but let’s just play it out).
The neighboring highrise is RM-6. RM-6 requires 300 sf of land per DU, and allows a FAR of 4.4. So, 27 units max, and 36,300 sf of total building (including lobby, halls, etc). So, at 27 units, it would likely be tight 2 beds and decent 1 beds.
A far better use, given the location, would be about half a dozen or so THs, which *would* probably pencil. But you’d still need to be upzoned to at least RT-4.5, for FAR purposes, and RM-5 would give more flexibility. Neither of which is gonna happen where Hutchinson is all RS-1.
The power of CC is amazing. As soon as s I saw that photo of this home I instantly thought “jeweler got murdered here” house,
What’s that saying? A photo on crib chatter (and a good thread to follow) is worth way more than 1000 words.
Recall this thread and many of the other posts and comments on this thread like it was yesterday. But for some reason couldn’t recall the brand of Sauvignon Blanc that the wife wanted when I was at Binnys earlier tonight. Got some great ingredients fro tomorrow’s Cinco de mayo Covid house party!
How much are you willing to pay to not get shot at?
Deduct this from the value of the house.
Apropos of today’s house on Hutchinson, this place closed for $1.7m in Dec-20.
“Originally listed in July 2009 for $3.99 million
Reduced
Was listed in June 2011, when we last chattered about it, for $2.695 million
Listed in March 2020 for $1.99 million
Currently still listed for $1.99 million”
EN FEUGO(tm)