Looking For a Buyer Since 2012: A 5-Bedroom SFH at 1652 N. Bell in Bucktown
This 5-bedroom single family home at 1652 N. Bell in Bucktown has been on and off the market since March 2012.
If it looks familiar, that’s because we last chattered about it in October 2012. Back then, we were wondering if staging mattered in million dollar properties.
In 2012, it didn’t have any furniture or even window treatments.
See our chatter here.
The house still has not sold. Five years later, it now has window treatments and furniture.
Built in 2010 on a larger than normal Chicago lot of 38×125, it has three car parking.
The kitchen has Poggenpohl modern cabinets with Viking and Subzero appliances.
It has heated floors and wainscoting.
There’s full house audio which includes the rooftop deck.
The house has a finished basement with a second kitchen.
There’s also a wine cellar.
The listing says it’s just a block to the 606 entrance.
Bucktown has been one of the hottest neighborhoods for the last several years.
With inventory low and the stock market at record highs, will this home finally sell in 2018?
James Prendergast still has the listing. See the current pictures here.
1652 N. Bell: 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 6200 square feet, 3 car garage
- Sold in June 2006 for $730,000
- Lis pendens filed in April 2009
- Bank owned in May 2010
- Sold in December 2010 for $1.38 million
- Originally listed in March 2012 for $1.775 million
- On and off the market over the years
- Re-listed in July 2017 for $2.65 million
- Currently still listed at $2.65 million
- Taxes are now $21,216 (they were $17,686 in October 2012)
- Central Air
- Kitchen in the lower level
- Decks on roof and the garage
- Bedroom #1: 28×27 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 20×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 19×14 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 16×14 (lower level)
- Bedroom #5: 14×9 (lower level)
- Recreation room: 27×26 (lower level)
I’m seeing $22,156 for 2012 taxes on this property. This property is also currently assessed at $1.132 million, which is just ridiculous. I hope the elite know that these days of absurdly low property assessments for their mansions are numbered.
I bet Jan Terri could throw some great parties in that basement and wail pretty hard on that gong. I know we’re not supposed to comment on furniture but that couch in pic 11 gives me a headache.
BE GOOD ELLIOT!!! LOLZ!!!
JAN TERRI VERY SAD HERE 🙁
GO BEARS LOLZ!!!!
right next door to a section 8 building
Any renos since 2012? Or is the price increase due to “market conditions.” I never look at this neighborhood, but the price seems a bit rich. I will say this is a nice house on a nice lot in a prime Bucktown location. The location really couldn’t be better. Proximity to small cheval would be dangerous.
This neighborhood intrigues me, mostly based on commute time vs. lakeview/southport corridor. Schools are getting much better as well.
“a prime Bucktown location. The location really couldn’t be better.”
Really? Huh. IMO, north of Milwaukee is better, all else equal.
The house hasn’t sold for five years yet asks for almost one million more; sellers are delusional or assholes or both.
“Really? Huh. IMO, north of Milwaukee is better, all else equal.”
Ha, you’re probably right. I really don’t know the neighborhood too well. I just feel there’s a lot being called “Bucktown” these days and this is Bucktown proper IMO. It’s actually walkable to the Damen blue line.
“Ha, you’re probably right. I really don’t know the neighborhood too well.”
Everyone here says east of Western is better than west so you have that going for it. It’s also about equal distance to the Western and Damen blue line stops.
I grew up a tad west of here and back then, there was nothing here but cottage houses and warehouses. Now it’s all built up.
Nice house, but the asking price is still too high for the hood.
“there’s a lot being called “Bucktown” these days”
For sure. “proper” B’town is certainly east of Western, and then all else is pretty subjective, esp where the line with “wicker park” is.
Redfin uses Western, North, Logan and the River, which includes some areas I wouldn’t call B’town (east of the Kennedy, eg), but is defensible.
I’d generally rather be bt Wood and Leavitt, but so long as one isn’t too close to the Kennedy, it’s all pretty nice now–not like 20 years ago.
“Redfin uses Western, North, Logan and the River, which includes some areas I wouldn’t call B’town (east of the Kennedy, eg), but is defensible.”
Don’t really see how e of Kennedy is really defensible. and would you ever say you’re going to the btown target? I’d sooner include eg the area just across western (gasp!) around the western blue line stop then to extend to logan/elston.
“Don’t really see how e of Kennedy is really defensible.”
From RF perspective, that strip of houses west of Elston, north of Webster need to be searchable in *some* neighborhood, and B’town is the only thing that even vaguely makes sense.
Hence, defensible, yet inaccurate.
If more housing gets built along there with the coming of AMZN and the AMZN Prime MLS Team at Alexa Park, then there could be a new search Hood for that area.
“Hence, defensible, yet inaccurate.”
It’s just going to encourage stuff like this “heart of bucktown” listing:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2235-N-Lister-Ave-60614/unit-301/home/12604794
I used to drive by this every day on the way home. 2.6M in this location is a stretch. (never mind the strange and already outdated interior finish choices, but I’ll leave that for now). To go over 2.6 mil in Bucktown we must consider a few things: It’s west of Damen (strike one for 2.6 mil).. at least for now. Sure, it happens, and I’m sure 2.6 will start happening a lot more west of Damen someday, but not so much now. The homes on the rest of the street are nowhere near this range (strike 2 for 2.6 mil). This is the condo triangle vicinity – which isn’t a plus for a 2.6 SFH (strike 3). Sure, there are perfectly nice 2,3,4 flats, lots of lofts and condos, and a nice house here or there, but certainly not a 2.6 block. This may be a perfectly well built place, they just put it on the wrong block for that price.
BTW, who builds a place like this and sits on it for 5 years? Nobody’s ever lived in it? What kinda crazy cash flow model does this developer have?
“this “heart of bucktown” listing”
Yeah, closer to the heart of darkness than the heart of bucktown.
“TOTO toilets”
Best ask the Seller to include a Korky replacement fill valve for each of the toilets. The Toto fill valve sucks, and last almost exactly 36 months–both original and OEM replacement.
I’m turning into one of these safe space kind of persons, and the term “heart of darkness”, given the events in charlottesville and race relations today, using this term implies that this home is closer to people of dark color than to the geographical center of buckdown, and that could be perceived as super racist and also a class microaggression to those individuals who cannot afford to live in the heart of bucktown, but instead, are forced by systemic racist policies to live other places.. Now, I know your intentions are not racist, but heart of darkness is a super racist book, from a time shortly after slavery had ended, and the connotations of using that phrase are very bad. I know you’re not a racist, but the term could be perceived as racist, so that term should not be used, even in the context of the name of the book.
“What kinda crazy cash flow model does this developer have?”
The house went back to the bank so the developer is long gone.
“Heart of Bucktown listing ends with “free parking on the street”! Really, that is in the listings now? I didn’t take “heart of darkness” as racist. I think it was a euphemism for “soulless”, which this unit definitley is.
I think HD was being sarcastic, I sure hope so.
Have you ever read heart of darkness? It’s racist.
Given the increasing asking prices and the house being on and off the market, perhaps the current asking is a “make me move” price, to borrow the term from Zillow. That is, perhaps the owner is living there and doesn’t care if he sells or not, but wants buyer to know that if someone is willing to give him a high enough offer, he’ll take it.