Minimalist Loft Rowhouse in Wicker Park: 2218 W. Potomac
Tired of the same old bland townhouses?
Check out 2218 W. Potomac in Wicker Park. It combines the feel of a loft in a three story rowhouse.
But what IS this room? The listing labels it a “family room”. Hm…
Here’s the listing:
LARGE MULTI-LEVEL WICKER PARK LOFT ROW HOME-1/2 GLASS BLOCK WINDOWS FOR INCREDIBLE LIGHT,PRIVACY & EXPOSED BRICK. CUSTOM DESIGNED HOME W/NEUTRAL TASTE. ULTRA CONTEMPORARY W/ INCREDIBLE FIXTURES
FEAT TRAULSEN FRIDGE,VIKING OVEN & 6 BURNER RANGE-FISHER/PAYKEL DW,MAHOGANY CABINETRY,WALNUT FLOORS & BLT-INS. SAUNA,SPA LIKE BATHS-ONLY NICER! PKG IS INCL IN ASSESSMENT. DURAVIT TUBS AXOR & FIXTURES. YOU MUST SEE IT
2218 W. Potomac: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2250 square feet
- Sold in August 1999 for $285,000
- Sold in April 2002 for $314,000
- Sold in July 2003 for $355,000
- Currently listed for $769,000
- Assessments of $104
- Taxes of $3903
- Rubloff has the listing
Neat minimal design, wish is cost less.
really cool place. i like this design much better than the knick-nacks and curio cabinet design…
Other than the weird family room and the exterior, this is one AMAZING residence. Too bad it’s so expensive and that my furniture would likely look rather drab in there!
Awesome design. Just gotta hit those lotto numbers this week!
Is that really $400k in buildout?
Interesting design. Not crazy about the location. Too near to the hospital.
I love minimal, ultra modern interiors like this. However, I hate the idea of paying LP prices for something in Bucktown or Wicker Park or Ukrainian Village, which is where all the really amazing, modern architecture seems to be. What I really want is to buy some dumpy LP townhouse built in the 70s or 80s and do a really cool rehab. I’ve seen some places where they’ve exposed the wood ceilings (or just refinished them) and they look really great. But I keep wondering if anyone would buy a place with finishes like this in a neighborhood like LP or Lakeview. I know so many people in Chicago who would love a super modern place (and I’m not talking about beige travertine and cherry or maple cabinets and granite countertops!). So why are there so few places with really great finishes to go around? And when you do find a place like this: http://www.unico17.com/wfPhotoGallery.aspx why are they never on the red line?!
“my place is SPECIAL”
I like a lot of this though it looks very narrow. And what in the world is that “family room”? I’d guess it’s used for non-family activities but I really couldn’t say what.
“dumpy LP townhouse built in the 70s or 80s”
Unfortunately, I don’t think you’ll find one with adequate ceiling height.
“if anyone would buy a place with finishes like this in a neighborhood like LP or Lakeview”
Yes, there are plenty, but they’re expensive b/c it’s mostly (NOT entirely) in single family houses.
Danny,
If you spend all your time in the kitchen and bathroom then perhaps the unit you link to is a good purchase for you. But what little is shown of the remainder of the home looks like a cheap afterthought. I don’t care how nice the kitchen and bath furnishes are if the rest of the place is a dump.
this one is 2250 sft – single family (granted, smaller single family) square footage, with rad finishes.
another townhome/rowhouse in the same building/complex/whatever (listed with 2800 sft) closed in march of this year (03-08) for 890k on an 899.9 final list price (reduced from original list price of 949k).
at the end of April 08, one listed as being 1800+sft closed for 525k.
lincoln park is SOOOOOOOO boring (judging!)! 😉
the blue line runs downtown too!
but, frankly, wicker park is getting a little boring now too.
hehe.
“too close to the hospital?”
1811 W. 17th is NOT a dump at all.
i’ve been in there and it’s a lovely, vintage building (compltely rehabbed to the nines) in the heart of pilsen. there tow buildings — one front building and one rear building — with a courtyard in the middle. the finishes ARE great, aren’t they!?! this developer ALWAYS finishes sweet. even the garden units are kinda desirable because of the courtyard!
in areas where land and buildings can be purchased for a lower price, there is more money for developers to spend on higher-end finishes. i hope that makes sense — re why THIS isn’t (or is rarely found) along the redline! 😉
ok, also (and, man, my typos!), 1811 W. 17th is very, very close to the blue/pink line, if you’re wanting to commute to downtown!
I toured this place about 1.5 years ago. It is extremely well-done but highly impractical. A single personal tchochke would ruin minimal design. No parking; backs up to some really scary houses.
I think it was listed in the 900s then.
Given the ridiculous asking price I was expecting total mortgages of $650k or $700k. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that he has liens of only $300k + $120k (give the $355,000 purchase price). I’d offer him $420k + his closing costs. He thinks his unit has doubled in price in 5 years! I know the neighborhood has changed a lot since 2003 and he gets credit for being an urban pioneer, but, he’s not being reasonable. I doubt that an honest appraisal would even reach the 600’s. He’s gonna have a tough time making it to the closing table unless he finds an all cash buyer.
****I know the neighborhood has changed a lot since 2003 and he gets credit for being an urban pioneer, but, he’s not being reasonable.***
IMHO, the area was Starbucks-friendly even in 2000 (call it the Bob San effect). I’d hardly call him an urban pioneer.
Yes, I realize the blue line goes downtown (along with every other line, which is great if you like spending every weekend at Macy’s.) However, I’m already on the blue line and I”m tired of switching trains every time I want to go shopping in river north, do brunch in the south loop, go to a concert at the Park West, go to the Landmark theater in Lakeview to see an indie movie, meet friends in Uptown in Edgewater, and the list goes on. As far as I’m concerned 90% of everything worth doing in Chicago is within walking distance from a red line stop.
1. Homedelete, et al.,
Regarding: “I’d offer him $420k + his closing costs. He thinks his unit has doubled in price in 5 years! I know the neighborhood has changed a lot since 2003 and he gets credit for being an urban pioneer, but, he’s not being reasonable. I doubt that an honest appraisal would even reach the 600’s. He’s gonna have a tough time making it to the closing table unless he finds an all cash buyer.”
Response (a) – How do you account for the other unit — 2224 W. Potomac, I believe – closing a few months ago for 890k? – with appraisers/mortgage lenders, in THIS market, tightening the hell out of things? And how do you account for the Spr 08 closing of the 1800 sft unit for 525k? Please explain how 420k (closing credit to buyer) is a “reasonable” offer, give these numbers, for a 2250sft unit. If you were the owner, would YOU sell it for 420k-closing-costs?
Response (b) – Ditto re the urban pioneer stuff. Brutha, please. He he. 😉 Wicker Park ain’t been edgy in 15 years ‘less you’re afraid of baby carriages, tiny hyrbrid 500 dollar dogs, or gettin’ run-over by a Landrover or a Vespa.
2. Danny,
You should definitely move! Why ARE you living “on the blue line?” -Curious! I, personally, moved “on the blue line” because most everything I ever wanted to do – despite living in the Gold Coast when I made the decision – was “on the blue line!” Heh. Time for a move! Or a bike or a car! 😉
3. Dear Bucktown! 😉
I DO agree re the design being a commitment. Re “A single personal tchochke would ruin minimal design” – it will definitely take a certain kind of buyer to purchase it – and it is TOO stark for me, but still beautiful. That being said, the other rowhomes in the building/complex ARE selling – and for top dollar prices. Additionally, I DO believe this listing (for 2218 W. Potomac) states that parking is included and it is described as “assigned spaces -1, offsite.” – Maybe there was NO parking a couple of years ago . . . ?!?
Can I assume that the 2003 price was pre-remodel? That would then make the current price sort of in the ball park. I liked the note about how anything personal would mess things up – go back to the pictures and you’ll see one wheel of a bike messing up one of the pix. I’m guessing no real storage space for such things?
So the only place I can lay down is in the bedroom?
“Response (a) – How do you account for the other unit — 2224 W. Potomac, I believe – closing a few months ago for 890k? – with appraisers/mortgage lenders, in THIS market, tightening the hell out of things? And how do you account for the Spr 08 closing of the 1800 sft unit for 525k? Please explain how 420k (closing credit to buyer) is a “reasonable” offer, give these numbers, for a 2250sft unit. If you were the owner, would YOU sell it for 420k-closing-costs?”
I explain it with 80/10/10 financing. $89k downpayment and a $712k mortgage and a $89k mortgage. Funny money toxic financing. That’s how I explain the $890k sales price. Would I sell for $420k? No I would’t sell for that price – but that doesn’t mean it isnt a good price. I know that 100% appreciation over 5 years is not reasonable. is $420k reasonable appreciation from $355k over 5 years? Yes.
So, homedelete, the *reasonable* or *right* price is what *you* WANT to pay, and not what the market dictates?
And, re the *appreciation*:keep in mind that, as your fellow commenters have indicated, the seller did all this fancy buildout in the interim – between last purchase and this list.
Anger and envy do not an unbiased assessment make. Quite obviously.
Ha! Its not anger or envy. That’s rich; personally i think this place sucks, it’s pretentious and way overpriced. I do know that the ‘market’ has taken a major discount from units that have experienced 100% appreciation is 5 years – even with the buildout. So to answer your question he sell this place to me for $420k or he can have it sit at $769,000 and chase the market down. He’s been trying to sell for a year and a half – he’s incrementally chasing the market down. maybe he will chase it down to $420k who knows but I do know that $769k is way too much.
He is trying to sell the units. He is also succeeding – per the recent sales as mentioned above, of the 2800+sft unit for 890k and the 1800+sft unit for 525k, in the last 3 months or so.
.
And, about what “market” do you speak ? – re *a discount*? Wicker park? Chicago?
What discount? How much? I’m looking for numbers and specifics re area and types of properties or specific properties, addresses. Data, man.Evidence.Comps.
Danny,
They also have these strange things called “buses”
If you look around, they run on ever major east west and north south street, and go all the way to the red line!
They’re big and long and run on the streets. They run about as frequently as the trains do, though they are supposed to run more frequently, so you end up with three of them at once.
They are pretty amazing.
I have to believe that the assigned parking is in the hospital lot that the unit faces.
1- In general, I think the neighborhood is great. But that is my ‘hood. Patomic is a very pretty street.
2- Really close to the hospital and there will be ambulance noise at all hours.
3- They are sort of in no mans land with the price- Townhouses nearby, without the custom finishes, are going for 250K less and SFH is about 100K more.
4- Some people here need to learn that the market today decides the price today. What someone paid a few years ago has little to do with it. Comments like “the seller only deserves to make X dollars profit” show a fundamental misunderstanding of how homes are priced.
Re no. 4, RunnerRunner: WORD.
I live a few doors down and never hear any ambulances. I do however occasionally hear the helicopter land and take off from the helopad across Division street. As for the parking possibly being in the hospital parking lot; that would worry me. I parked in there for years for $50 a month. I stopped when they told me I was not allowed to leave my car in there during working hours. I believe they called it “overnight parking only”. I see this going for 675 to 750 best case scenario. Taxes are also too low. They will easily double or more with the next sale.
bob
3 months later…
…Still active
…No price reductions
Price has now dropped to $699K.
im actually living here now … if anyone wants to know anything about it…