Mid-Century Modern – Or Just 1965? 235 W Eugenie
There is a condo building at 235 W. Eugenie in Old Town that was designed by famous Chicago architect Harry Weese. From The Art Institute of Chicago:
In 1940, Weese joined the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, but was drafted into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1941. Weese returned to SOM in 1946, but left to open his own office, Harry Weese Associates, in 1947.
Throughout his career, Weese was an outspoken advocate for architecture and planning that embraced the social, political, and economic realities of contemporary urban life. Among his most recognized designs are the Washington, DC, metro rail system; the United States embassy in Accra, Ghana; and the Arena Stage complex near Washington, DC. Weese also led the restoration of Louis Sullivan’s Auditorium building in Chicago.
The listing for Unit #T-4 says it is a “mid-century modern duplex condo.” Or is that just a classier way of saying, “it was built in 1965”?
These units feel almost like a townhouse, because they are duplexed, and they each have their own outdoor entrance.
There is no square footage given with the unit but here are the measurements (which, in the listing, they say they do not guarantee.)
- Bedroom #1: 14 x 10
- Bedroom #2: 12 x 10
- Livingroom: 21 x 13
- Kitchen: 16 x 9
Unit #T-4: 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths
- Sold in August 2004 for $385,000
- Currently listed for $409,900 (includes a parking spot)
- Assessments of $167 a month
- No Central Air- window units
- It does have a w/d in the unit
- Jameson Realty Group has the listing
It has a unique feature of having a wood burning stove in the living room.
I sure to be in the minority, but I really like this place. I see lots of potential for making a really nice home.
I like it too.
It’s a minor bummer that it lacks central A/C and that the balcony is off the bedroom. If it had a tiny third bedroom or office nook, I’d be inclined to buy it today (even though I’d prefer two full baths). As is, I’d rent it for about $1850/mo (if the seller or broker is reading this, and it doesn’t sell in the next few weeks and you opt to hold onto to it under the market rebounds, let me know!).
You’re not alone–I think it’s really nice. I can imagine really nice use of mid-century modern furniture in there–a few Barcelona chairs and couches, a low-slung platform bed, a steel-and-glass dining table–and it would be both funky and classic. That being said–$410K for something that small? And you don’t even get a/c for that? Forget it…
A condo of this age gives a nice look at the history of Chicago pricing. Here is a timeline based on 2BR duplex sales here, generally speaking:
1987-88 $180K
1991-92 $145K
1995-96 $170K
2001 $310K
2002 $370K
2004 $385K
2005-06 $410K
Anyone willing to pay within $100K of the asking will be a knife-catcher.
By the way, anonny, I found an old listing (without a unit number) for a 3/2 duplex here that was reported sold for $182,500 in 1997. Public records appear to indicate that it has not sold since.
I like the unit as well. The bedroom looks much bigger than the dimensions noted too. A 10ft wide bedroom is very cramped with a queen size bed and this looks to have decent room.
Actually- the unit does have two balconies. You can see the one in the bedroom clearly but I believe there is also one in the kitchen (which you can kind of see if you look closely at the picture with the downstairs hallway.)
Love this unit! Drop the price a $100k or so and I’d be all over it. But I have a feeling that won’t be necessary — seems relatively fairly priced to me, given location, et al.
I grew up in a mid-century modern ranch home, so I will probably always have a special place in my heart for the design themes.
I should point out that in all the older places I’ve lived, they always seem to take advantage of breezes better than any of the newer places. The lack of central A/C isn’t going to cause any issues with livability, but it should be accounted for in the price.
Additionally, I suspect those windows are original since they are gigantic panes of glass. We dealt with replacements when I was growing up. You had to get it custom made and it was $$$$$. Of course there are lots of variables, but our windows were not very energy efficient at all – with the cost of energy these days, it may be time for them to go (can you get triple-paned glass that large these days?).
I really like the place but it’s way too expensive. The description says updated kitchen and baths, but I suspect that’s all they did. To renovate the place while staying true to the concept is going to cost big bucks. I’d pay $200k and then spend another $75k on glass, electric, and energy upgrades.
These are very cool units. Kitchens and bathrooms are very small.
I thought i was pessimistic on housing prices. But a couple of you guys are expecting hoping for/anticipating $200k- $300k for this place. you guys are hard core.
There are varying ranges of pessimism (or optimism, depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller) on this site. There are also varying opinions on whether big drops will happen everywhere, or if some areas will instead weather only mild correction. One or two people expect a return to 1998 prices, which would be a pretty massive overcorrection. Others expect 2001 prices, which would be an overcorrection, but not by tons. I think most expect 2003 prices, which would be the prices that should exist now, if instead of the bubble we had reasonable, 3% per year price increases. And then there are a handful who think 2005 prices. No one, it seems, believes we’ll have no drops at all–though there were a few of those on this site a few months ago.
200k is dreaming unless you get into a time machine back 10 years to purchase; or the US goes into a depression. Tha being said the next 10 years will be very hard to make money in real estate.
I say $350K. And that’s my final offer!