Love Views? A 3-Bedroom Penthouse in One Museum Park East: 1211 S. Prairie

This 3-bedroom penthouse in One Museum Park East at 1211 S. Prairie in the South Loop came on the market in February 2021.

Built in 2008, just as the housing bubble was ending, One Museum Park East has 289 units and an attached parking garage.

It’s a full amenity building which the listing says has “24 hour door staff, In/outdoor Pools, State of the art health Club, Outdoor Grill deck with Custom Fire pits, Men/Women’s locker rooms with Dry Sauna and Showers, In unit package delivery, Car wash, Dry cleaning Service, and Secured pet exercising area.”

This unit is on the 62nd floor and the living and dining rooms face north with views of the skyline, Grant Park, Navy Pier and the Lake.

It has a gourmet kitchen with custom wood cabinets, Subzero and Wolf appliances, granite counter tops with a breakfast bar and a wine cooler.

There are walnut hardwood floors throughout.

The unit has automatic blinds on the floor to ceiling windows and Wi-Fi controlled thermostats.

The closets have custom shelving.

The private suite has a marble and stone bath and a walk-in-closet.

The other two bedrooms have west and southwest views.

The property includes features that buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and 2 side-by-side climate controlled parking spaces.

This penthouse sold in 2009 from the developer at $1.4 million, including the parking.

It’s again listed at $1.4 million, including the parking.

Is this a deal?

David Auffarth at Keller Williams ONEChicago has the listing. See the pictures here. (Also shows some cool pictures of next door neighbor NEMA.)

Unit #6205: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2375 square feet, penthouse

  • Sold in May 2009 for $1.4 million (included 2 parking spaces)
  • Originally listed in February 2021 for $1.4 million (included 2 parking spaces)
  • Currently still listed at $1.4 million (including 2 parking spaces)
  • Assessments of $2489 a month (includes heat, a/c, gas, doorman, cable, exercise room, pools, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal, Internet)
  • Taxes of $40,323
  • Central Air
  • Washer/dryer in the unit
  • Bedroom #1: 16×12
  • Bedroom #2: 14×10
  • Bedroom #3: 11×10
  • Living/dining room: 38×19
  • Kitchen: 12×10
  • Den: 10×8

24 Responses to “Love Views? A 3-Bedroom Penthouse in One Museum Park East: 1211 S. Prairie”

  1. 12 years and no appreciation? You know what that signals…

    Might be the shittiest penthouse in the city

    Dining room is squeezed between LR and a sitting room

    Bifold door hiding a stackable W/D

    The furnace proudly displayed in the sitting room

    I’m not seeing any heat source by the windows, would guess it’s susceptible to frost

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  2. Underwhelmed to say the least.

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  3. The laziness of the broker. (“Oh, we simply must light the candles on the dining table for the listing shoot, but don’t bother with unplugging the Bose on the kitchen counter or shoving the Cetaphil, Listerine and other drug store products into the bathroom drawers for five minutes.”)

    Big gap under the entry door. I roll a bath towel up and cover it when that happens at a hotel.

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  4. Does anyone know the status of that site behind this (last 2 listing photos). Seems like it should be buildable or at least turned into some nicer green space.

    Agree on this unit being very underwhelming, even with the views.

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  5. “Big gap under the entry door. I roll a bath towel up and cover it when that happens at a hotel”

    I think thats for return air as I’m not seeing any grilles/registers (other than fart fans in the Bathroom)

    So this is designed like a Hampton Inn. There has to be a pretty significant temperature differential trying to heat/cool the Bedrooms as the 2 wall units are in the LR

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  6. “12 years and no appreciation?”

    Paid cash, 2d home, and he’s old. Prob just wants it to move.

    “the status of that site behind this”

    Think is still belongs to Crescent Heights. So I’d expect an apartment building, if the market warrants it, or a vacant lot for a loooong time.

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  7. “Big gap under the entry door. I roll a bath towel up and cover it when that happens at a hotel”

    Unit across the hall from me has the biggest gap. In the winter I can see light coming in, and in summer, the door is always open because it can’t close. If you have problems with your door closing, rub bar soap along the jamb to help it move.

    “the status of that site behind this”

    I was told years ago when I looked at some Museum Place condos, it would be townhouses. People at Skyscaper pages also think it will be townhouses. Not sure I believe any of them. I was also told no one would build over the near-by Metra tracks.

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  8. A lot of buildings have those gaps as part of the fire suppression system – I can’t remember exactly how it worked, but it can’t be blocked for some reason.

    I’ve heard townhouses too, for that vacant parcel. Of course, if that Central Station plan to deck over the Metra yards and build there ever happens this might even get an office building or something (assuming it doesn’t flop on it’s face).

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  9. Forgot to add I was also surprised by the fan coil unit panels showing up like that – lots of buildings build them in far more discreetly. And the bi-fold on the laundry is cheap too.

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  10. Is that a coffee cup on the floor in the shower? I honestly can’t fathom how much money you have to have to pay cash for this place…you could do SO MUCH BETTER!.

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  11. “And the bi-fold on the laundry is cheap too.”

    Years ago when I was closing on my Southport condo, the inspector said that because my stackable w/d was behind a solid core bi-fold door, it would be viewed as non-code compliant because of ventilation for the gas dryer.

    Have no idea if it was BS or not. My agent had never heard such a thing. He suggested switching to a louvered door (like in this pic) or putting a vent IN the door and the developer refused to do either.

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  12. Oh, and this:

    “Bifold door hiding a stackable W/D”

    Few could dislike bi-folds more than I do, but the real problem is the *timeshare-size* w/d, rather than a stacked pair of fullsize machines.

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  13. “the real problem is the *timeshare-size* w/d, rather than a stacked pair of fullsize machines.”

    I much prefer this style w/d. Until a stacked units comes with all controls in the center, this integrated style is best. I cannot see or easily reach stacked machines controls. If you actually needed the big machines, I sure the building has some available.

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  14. “Have no idea if it was BS or not. My agent had never heard such a thing. He suggested switching to a louvered door (like in this pic) or putting a vent IN the door and the developer refused to do either.”

    Not BS

    You need combustion air/make up air for a gas dryer. Either those or a thru wall louver would suffice

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  15. “Until a stacked units comes with all controls in the center”

    Been out for years, one example:

    https://www.abt.com/LG-27-White-WashTower-With-Center-Control-Single-Unit-Front-Load-4.5-Cu.-Ft.-Washer-And-7.1-Cu.-Ft.-Electric-Dryer-Combo-WKEX200HWA/p/150818.html

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  16. anon (tfo)-
    Never seen that one installed in any listing. Does give me options if my “timeshare” w/d ever breaks. Thanks!

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  17. Looks great to me except for two things:

    -You’re 62 floors up but still have a bunch of windows looking right into another building. I like privacy.

    -Taxes look a bit crazy. Is $40,000 really what someone would expect to pay for 2,300 SF in this location? I’m in the Hancock and the same amount of SF is definitely far less.

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  18. “Big gap under the entry door. I roll a bath towel up and cover it when that happens at a hotel”
    I think thats for return air as I’m not seeing any grilles/registers (other than fart fans in the Bathroom)”

    Yes, that is correct. Buildings that have passive ventilation systems require there to be gaps under the doors, as the stale air is passively sucked through the vents in the kitchen and bathrooms, not by fans, but by the air moving from the hallways in through the gaps under the doors.Not knowing this, In a building I used to live in, I had one of those “door stoppers” under my front door for a while to keep dust from out in the hallway from entering my unit. But I started having a mold problem in my bathroom, and the building engineer pointed out that the door stopper was impeding this passive cirulation process. Sure enough, when I removed the door stopper, the mold problem ceased. You can tell whether your building works like this if you there are exhaust vents in your bathroom or kitchen, but no fan operating these vents.

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  19. “my “timeshare” w/d”

    I really meant in the context of a $1.5m condo.

    An apartment-sized w/d stack is fine for a smaller apartment, or as a set shoved into an extra space somewhere (or in your timeshare…).

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  20. is this Mark Giangreco’s place?

    https://www.chicagomag.com/real-estate/january-2010/abc-7-rsquos-mark-giangreco-buys-in-museum-park/

    (You know, Giangreco was a cocky ahole and I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. You’d figure he’d get fired for truly insulting a professional coach or player, or a sports executive, etc. But what he got cancelled for was ridiculous. Extremist. Anti-white racists are very evil people and vindictive jealous people)

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  21. “A lot of buildings have those gaps as part of the fire suppression system – I can’t remember exactly how it worked, but it can’t be blocked for some reason.”

    Hallways are kept at higher pressure than units so air blows from the hallway into units. That way if there is a fire in a unit, the fire is blown back into the unit and kept out of the hallway.

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  22. Vissi,

    Regarding the passive ventilation systems, would another vent near the door provide the same function as a door gap? I have the vents in kitchen and bathrooms, but no door gap.

    I don’t this place has passive ventilation systems. There is no vent in the kitchen and the bathroom vents look like regular fans.

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  23. “Regarding the passive ventilation systems, would another vent near the door provide the same function as a door gap? I have the vents in kitchen and bathrooms, but no door gap.”

    Depends

    Adding a transfer Grill in a 3 flat shouldn’t be a problem

    In a high rise, its probably a life safety issue (Rated egress corridor) and would need to install a fire/smoke damper and tie into the building fire alarm system – So possible yes, practical or cheap – no

    Also you need to have air coming in from somewhere otherwise your fans wouldn’t function

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  24. Giangreco got fired for insulting a co-worker on air. He called his the anchor ‘ditzy’ while live on tv. I don’t care if he meant it as joking light-hearted comment. It was a crappy thing to do. It’s unacceptable behavior and completely unprofessional. This isn’t a 101.9 radio morning show. Channel 7 news is the most watched local news, in the 3rd biggest market in America. It has nothing to do with being ‘white’ at all. He deserved to get his butt fired for that. I’d fire anyone, for any reason, that makes a disrespectful comment – even as a joke – live on air.

    Here’s the thing though, most people who do live television/radio/podcasts, all know that someday they’ll say something over the line. It happens to most of them. He’s lucky he made it this far, he’s had a great run and made a lot of money. It’s time to move to Florida where no one will recognize him (unless he moves to Naples!) and retire with his cash, and drink margaritas all day.

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