Love Enclosed Kitchens? A Vintage 1-Bedroom at 73 E. Elm in the Gold Coast
This 1-bedroom at 73 E. Elm in the Gold Coast most recently came on the market in December 2014 but it has been on and off the market since 2012.
At 1200 square feet, it has just about the same square footage as the large east facing 1-bedroom units in the new construction 2550 Lincoln Park.
This unit, however, has a dining room, that many owners, like this one, convert into a family room/media room. The new construction unit does not.
It has many of its original features including original rope moldings and a barrel vaulted entry.
The kitchen has white cabinets, black granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances but it is not open to the rest of the unit. It is galley style with a window for natural light.
The one bathroom is slate and appears to only have a big walk-in shower, but no tub.
This unit has central air but no washer/dryer in the unit. There is a building laundry room. It also doesn’t have parking.
Are you a fan of this older style of apartment layout, with the kitchen not the main focal point of the apartment?
Or is this layout a relic of a different era?
Victoria Amoroso at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #8D: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 1200 square feet
- Sold in September 1989 for $149,000
- Sold in July 2004 for $320,000
- Originally listed in June 2012
- On and off the market from 2012-2014
- Re-listed in December 2014 for $354,999
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed at $309,000
- Assessments of $1108 a month (includes heat, water, cable, internet, doorman, snow removal, exterior maintenance)
- Taxes of $5243
- Central Air
- No washer/dryer in the unit
- No parking
- Bedroom: 15×12
- Living room: 13×23
- Dining room/family room: 17×12
- Kitchen: 15×7
- Gallery: 12×5
- Walk-in closet: 6×6
Nice unit but the no in unit laundry, lack of parking, and high HOAs, make this a tough sale
Can someone please explain to me why assessments are so darn high for high rise buildings? Is it because the city screws the high rise building owners with extra fees? If someone knows the reason please reply. Thanks.
Nimesh, older high rise buildings cost more to maintain – elevators, balconies, roofs, common areas, garages, boilers, etc. Throw in 24 hour unionized doormen and you quickly start seeing $1000/mo assessments for moderate sized units. The buildings also need to collect enough to ensure the HOA is financially stable as well.
I love galley kitchens. I grew up in a house with a galley kitchen and having a kitchen hidden away is perfect for me. I have an open kitchen in my place now and wish I could figure out some way to enclose it without spending tons of money. I don’t understand the love of open kitchens.
Russ, do they have to hire unionized doormen? My building doesn’t have unionized doormen….at least I don’t think it does judging by comments the door staff has made.
I would like to know do the high rises have to hire unionized maintenance personnel? People who do plumbing or electrical repairs? I heard that in Chicago the plumbing and electrical unions are powerful.
I like an enclosed kitchen, too. Nothing wrecks a meal for me like having to stare at stacks of dirty pots and pans while I’m eating, and I don’t like a breakfast bar in my dining room. I like a well-designed, highly fitted, smallish kitchen with a work space that wraps around me, with a decent amount of counter space, plenty of cabinets and shelves to put things so they dont clutter the counters, and a minimum of floor to mop.
Do high rise buildings in Chicago have to hire unionized janitorial staff, electricians, carpenters and plumbers? I know that the plumber and electrician unions are super powerful in Chicago politics.
The union will ensure your assessment always goes up. 🙂 They win the most during times of low inflation like this. They’ll get a 3-5% cost of living raise that outpaces inflation.
“Can someone please explain to me why assessments are so darn high for high rise buildings? Is it because the city screws the high rise building owners with extra fees? If someone knows the reason please reply. Thanks.”
We’ve discussed this before but here it is again.
1. How much is maintenance on a 50, or 100 or 120 year old house? How much does it cost you to replace the roof? Replace the windows?
None of this stuff lasts forever. It has to be maintained.
2. Highrises have staff. Some have on-site engineers. Many have around the clock doorman (and one Gold Coast high rise that I know of actually has 2 doormen.) There are also “property managers” who do things like arrange all the furniture deliveries and move-in, move outs. Some of the buildings have 400 or 500 units. There’s a lot going on. Imagine all the packages that now get delivered to some of these high rises? Some of the new buildings have a whole room just for packages. Someone is logging those packages into a system in the computer.
3. Does the highrise have amenities or a rooftop deck? All of that is expensive to insure and maintain. That pretty wood on the rooftop deck has to be replaced every few years due to rotting. And maybe someone steals one or two of the deck chairs. And what about the drunken residents who take bottles of beer up on the deck and break a few? Someone has to go clean that up.
4. Carpeting in the hallways has to be replaced every few years, light bulbs must be changed, flower arrangements in the lobby are ordered. Artwork on the walls isn’t cheap. The walls also have to be painted every few years. The 10 year old who keyed a 12 inch design into the elevator’s wood doors? That has to be fixed and replaced.
5. How many sidewalks are there? They have to be shoveled. What about parking lots or driveways? Those have to be cleared in the winter too.
6. Does the building have balconies? Those have to be inspected every 10 years and many of them are simply replaced (those that hang off the side of the building- anyway.)
7. Hallways must be heated and cooled. Some buildings heat and cool parking garages.
8. Elevators are a HUGE expense. These last a long time but if a building has to replace them it is millions of dollars.
9. There is tuck pointing and other exterior painting that must be done. Smoke detectors and other fire systems must be checked and maintained.
To recap- it is very expensive running even a mid-size building. And it all depends on your level of “luxury” and what the building is doing for you.
I’m confused are they selling the Barnes and Noble along with this property?
I used to live in this building (right around 2001) and it was a lovely place to be. Every resident has a story, and the layout of this apartment is fabulous…I was directly below it. That said, holy moly did they mess up this place. They ripped out part of a foyer wall, hankered the bath up…just destroyed it. Someone needs to buy it and put the things back!
closed for $290k.