Love Boutique Buildings? A 2/2 in the Gold Coast for $550,000: 1430 N. Astor
This 2-bedroom in Astor Villa at 1430 N. Astor in the Gold Coast came on the market in December 2022.
Built in 1974 by Arpen Group Architects, Astor Villa is a boutique condo building with just 50 units and attached garage parking.
It has door staff, an exercise room and a rooftop deck with city views.
There are only 3 units per floor.
According to the listing, this unit was fully renovated in 2015 and got new electrical, plumbing, windows and walls were removed.
It has an oversized foyer with porcelain floors and there are also porcelain floors in the kitchen. The living/dining room have cherry floors.
The kitchen has cabinets in wenge high gloss, KitchenAid appliances, quartz counter tops and a glass backsplash.
It has a primary suite which has black parquet wood floors, auto control shades, a walk-in-closet and an en suite bathroom with a double vanity, porcelain floors, quartz counter tops and a separate shower.
The second bedroom is being used as a library/media room and also has black parquet floors.
The second bathroom has quartz and porcelain tiles.
It has an east facing balcony and the listing says the unit has “views of Lake Michigan, the Gold Coast and the Chicago skyline.”
The unit has the features that buyers look for including washer/dryer in the unit and it looks like garage parking is included. It doesn’t have central air but does have wall heating/cooling.
Listed at $550,000, another unit on this floor is under contract listed at $525,000. You can see the pictures of #17B here.
Is this property priced to sell?
Craig Hogan and Rodolfo Zavala at Coldwell Banker have the listing. You can see the pictures here (sorry, no floor plan.)
Unit #17A: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1500 square feet
- Sold in September 1992 for $45,000
- Sold in August 2015 for $322,000
- Currently listed at $550,000
- Assessments of $1715 a month (includes doorman, cable, exercise room, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $8378
- No central air but wall units
- Full size stackable washer/dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 20×12
- Bedroom #2: 14×11
- Kitchen: 18×9
- Dining room: 13×10
- Living room: 25×16
- Laundry room: 3×3
- Balcony
Not sure about pricing (might be a bit over-improved for this rate environment, especially with those assessments), but I like it. DINK or emptynester buyers could do a lot worse than this place.
I wouldn’t call those lake or skyline views (craning one’s neck to see them doesn’t make it so). But the GC “views” probably look nice at night.
“I wouldn’t call those lake or skyline views”
just have to sit facing north, and it’s a lake view, but I don’t know how anyone could call the little slice of the GC “the Chicago skyline”.
Nice 1+den, would be less nice as a ‘full time’ 2 bedroom.
“just have to sit facing north, and it’s a lake view”
I knew that, someday when we list our current home for sale, I’d tell the broker to highlight our seasonal mountain views (which also come with utility line views once the leaves drop), but now I’m inclined to also note our year-round view of Bear Peak and the first Flatiron (but only when sitting on the toilet in our powder room-sized primary/master bathroom).
This place is pretty great, but that assessment is harsh.
Is the owner a member of the CCP?
It was not long ago that $5k/mo got you something rather impressive in Chicago. Now, not so much.
I have family that lives in the building. Solid, well run building. Very quiet and high levels of service. Doesn’t have much by way of amenities though. The location is unbeatable as you can pretty much walk everywhere. Gorgeous stretch of Astor street directly across from Pritzker mansion and other mansions. No other high rise apartments on block. Demographics of building are bit mature but there has been turn over, but definitely not a place if you are looking for young, hip neighbors.
“you can pretty much walk everywhere”
But Russ, this is even further from Old Town and Rush than the Oak Club place yesterday. How can anyone walk 3.5 blocks?
“Quiet and dull” and “Kind of a dead zone” were the descriptions of someplace *closer* to ‘action’–this place may as well be in East Bumble.
“Demographics of building are bit mature but there has been turn over, but definitely not a place if you are looking for young, hip neighbors.”
This part of the Gold Coast isn’t attracting many young Millennials or GenZers. But it’s not far from Old Town and there are plenty that are renting there. Eventually, some will want to stay in the neighborhood. Great location if you want to be by the Park as well.
“It was not long ago that $5k/mo got you something rather impressive in Chicago. Now, not so much.”
Same in renting, right? Used to be $5k a month got you a really nice rental. Now, not so much. Supply and demand is a funny thing. Too much demand and not enough supply has pushed prices up.
“Nice 1+den, would be less nice as a ‘full time’ 2 bedroom.”
I don’t understand this take. It’s 1500 square feet which is a really big 2-bedroom. With a certain layout, you might even get 3-bedrooms out of it, or at least carve out a small office. In Chicago, 1100 to 1200 square feet was the “norm” for 2000-2008 2/2s. In the 1970s, they built them bigger. Now, in the 2020s, 900 square feet is the norm for a 2/2.
This is absolutely a palace compared to any new construction. And it’s bigger than many starter single family homes.
I like this unit a lot, though it’s not particularly elegant or memorable. Very functional, with a balcony and decent views. Most of all, it puts you in an excellent location with 2 BR for not a lot of $. That’s the break you get from agreeing to buy in a mid-century building without much character. But I’ve seen far worse buildings and units from that era.
The HOA is on the high side, but not surprising considering age of building. I love the location.
Anon, you meant my comment, not Russ’s, about location. But I’ll suck up the teasing. I’m OK with it.
This unit is already under contract. Not even a month on the market.
There’s little inventory. If you have a renovated or updated property, and you price it correctly, there ARE buyers looking.