More Developer Price Reductions: The Mondial at 910 W. Huron in River West
The Mondial at 910 W. Huron in River West was completed in 2009. The developer just cut prices by 10% to 30% on the units.
There are 141 units in the building. It looks like there have not yet been any closings.
Here are the price reductions:
- Lofts: Were at $249,000 and are now starting at $189,900
- 1 bedroom/1 bath: Were $329,900 and now starting at $219,900
- 2 bedrooms/2 baths: Were at $429,000 and now starting at $329,900
- There are also one bedroom plus den and 3-bedrooms available but no word on prices (and reductions) on those.
Parking is available for $9,000 extra.
There used to be a time when developer price cuts were big news. But there have been so many price reductions on new construction buildings that sometimes the cuts rarely even get noticed.
Is this a sign that the quest for a new construction condo is waning or is it simply that the cuts are no longer large enough to warrant the attention?
(The pictures below are of the model 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units.)
@Properties is handling the sales.
See Mondial’s web site for more information [The Mondial in River West]
Yeah, I don’t see any closings either. I’m not a fan of the area. It’s a little enclave in an otherwise dead area.
Curious to know what lenders will be able to lend in this building.I am hearing that most new construction requires 70% pre-sale.
It’s Mondial (like the Ferrari model), not Mondail. The prices still seem high, and I do believe the building is empty with no closings yet. As far as the area goes, it’s great for public transportation and it’s already very close to the Loop and River North, but there’s definitely not much going on in the immediate vicinity…so be prepared to make good use of that public transportation (the Blue Line, 56, 66, 65, and 8 are all very close). It’s also next to a Metra line. They built the garage on that side of the building, but you’re still probably going to notice it when it rumbles past. There’s also a Gonnella bread factory about a block away, so you may smell fresh baking bread occasionally (as well as chocolate from the Blommer factory). All in all, I don’t think it’s too bad a place to live, and the views in the area are amazing. Take it from someone who used to live across the street 🙂
Agree with the others that the prices still seem toO high. Why would you buy here when you could buy at silver tower for almost the same price and actually be in river north. Plus, with no closings I cannot imagine any sane bank wanting to offer mortgages. Say hello to another round of price cuts.
how much is the 4br penthouse with the 2000sq ft terrace?
“Plus, with no closings I cannot imagine any sane bank wanting to offer mortgages.”
They have lined up financing through one of the banks and it’s also FHA approved.
Thank you for pointing out my spelling error. It has been fixed.
So it was finished in 2009 and no closings and nobody lives there yet?
lol
“how much is the 4br penthouse with the 2000sq ft terrace?”
It is listed as sold already although Gary is saying there are no closings in the building yet??
I just requested pricing and availability info so will post when I receive it.
It seems like a great layout with a HUGE living/media room which I would combine for one huge space. That terrace is definately a nice thing to have as it surrounds the unit. Very nice but I agree, not crazy about the general location.
The public records aren’t showing anything as actually having “closed” yet- but that doesn’t mean some units aren’t under contract.
“So it was finished in 2009 and no closings and nobody lives there yet?”
Reminds me of that dark building on the west side of Halstead near Division with the large terraces on each end? …as many email notifications of pricechops I had received from @ Properties, (Greg Eldridge) I can’t remember the name of it.
westloopelo – are you referring to SoNo? If so, I can give a bit of info — my partner and I were very interested in the building from pre-construction timing. Those large units with the huge balconies facing east (think they’re 13′ x 15′) are the 06/07 units, 2b/2ba, and were originally priced from around 475 – 575k. By this Spring, they were running specials around the low 400s on the last remaining ones.
We decided to wait awhile before buying, but last I heard there were only 1-2 of those 06 or 07 units left, so think most were under-contract or closed.
But their 1 and 3-bed units are lagging behind in closings, as far as I know.
Amazing views from those balconies, btw.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that the 2/2 that’s 329k is the 1010 sqft unit that wraps around the elevator bank… the 07 tier
But if you can get one of the 01 or 02 tier units on a high floor it might not be a bad deal
The developer previously decided to go rental for the entire building and returned everyone’s deposit. Hence no closings. I read in Crains or YoChicago that he now is going back to condo with the price reductions. My thought is that he got the bank to agree to across the board price cuts.
“The developer previously decided to go rental for the entire building and returned everyone’s deposit. Hence no closings.”
Ahh, that makes some sense.
“Plus, with no closings I cannot imagine any sane bank wanting to offer mortgages.”
“They have lined up financing through one of the banks and it’s also FHA approved.”
I hope it’s not one of those 3.5% down FHA loans. We’re all going to be paying for those when we bail Freddie and Fannie out for a trillion plus in a few years.
Gotta love those train tracks that seem to go right by the place.
“I read in Crains or YoChicago that he now is going back to condo with the price reductions”
thanks brad, anyone got time to dig for a link?
From http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35956
“The Mondial, a 141-unit condo project in River West, and the 100-unit Trio high-rise under construction in the West Loop could go rental in the coming months, a switch that has become increasingly attractive in an overbuilt and cutthroat downtown condo market.
“We’re just trying to figure out how fast all the other guys who are dumping units will clear the marketplace,” says Jack Berger, the developer of the Mondial, a nearly finished 15-story building at 900 W. Huron St.
Mr. Berger says he recently canceled about 50 purchase contracts for condos in the project and gave the buyers their deposits back. Yet he hasn’t given up completely on condos, saying he expects to make a final decision by the end of the year on whether to switch over to apartments.”
“Is this a sign that the quest for a new construction condo is waning or is it simply that the cuts are no longer large enough to warrant the attention?”
I think it is more that those who were buying have already found their ‘deals’…there are simply no others looking to invest right now and the chops are going unnoticed.
I have been browsing the MLS for new construction units with large terraces…the inventory is definately there but the prices chops are pretty major, bordering on desperation. I contact the lisitng agents for floorplans/info, and by the end of the day I’ll have 5 or more emails for that one unit offering every kind of info possible!
As much as my business has falled off (I am not even getting requests for remodeling estimates), I can’t imagine being a developer/agent/broker for new construction projects in Chicago.
I just don’t see how pricing could get any lower. They are taking an enormous hit on units they believed would fly off the shelves a couple of years ago. Go any lower and they will turn into section 8 housing.
Thats it flenner…thanks!
I like the east facing units that have the terraces, but the location seemed a bit odd with nothing else being built. I do recall gradual, and now major price chops the same as this building. Good to hear there were some sales in the building though. Maybe when…rather IF there is some more construction in the area, the building wouldn’t seem so out of place.
I have another request for help in identifying yet another building. This one is located on the SW corner of Wells and Grand. I think a 1 bdrm was chattered about here a number of months ago…it had received some publicity in a design mag with the owners being wealthy out of towners…this unit was their pied-a-tere? Am I thinking of the same place? The place looks to be 7 or 8 stories tall with a very visible angled garage and support columns at street level. Thanks in advance for any help identifying this building.
The warm weather and the lack of projects has me wanting to return to Chicago, find a nice terraced unit and make a re-design project for myself. Summer is looking to be very quiet and boring…I need a new project to keep myself occupied.
Westloop,
“I am not even getting requests for remodeling estimates”
my buddies in the trades are getting nothing but small remodeling estimate calls. he says since people cant sell (at the price the want) they are redoing kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoor decks. the bigger estimates are about building up on 2br chicago brick ranch homes.
“This one is located on the SW corner of Wells and Grand.”
Contemporaine? No? The one with the “zen garden” terrace?
“….he says since people cant sell (at the price the want) they are redoing kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoor decks.”
That was the case for about a year or so, but now those “I am bored with my house but can’t afford or are too scared to buy now” projects are drying up.
I gave one estimate last week on a coop duplex here in NY, but even with my making a tiny profit on the job because I consider them friends, they decided to ‘sit tight and ride it out’ (his words).
I have a feeling they will be sitting in the same, unchanged unit for a few years/decade to come.
http://cribchatter.com/?p=149
Thanks anon and chichow…yes that is the building.
I didn’t realize the same arch firm did the Skybridge and was even further surprised to read the unit number had been cut in half due to owners combining condos for larger spaces. Started out as 58 units down to 26. Must be some great spaces there.
Now this is a building that I would not hesitate to purchase in…Erie on the Park being the other…Skybridge if it didn’t look so ‘old’.
I’m thinking we walked through one of the places here on the way to see a different building before I moved to the city. After seeing so many places in RN, they are all running together in my head now…will have to refer to my daily log to verify that.
Thanks again…Chicago RE geniuses here!
“I read in Crains or YoChicago that he now is going back to condo with the price reductions”
“thanks brad, anyone got time to dig for a link?”
Crain’s report from October on Mondial canceling its contracts possibly going rental: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35956
Crain’s report from last month about the decision to start sales again: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=38255
We filmed several videos at Mondial while it was under construction. They’re all available here: http://www.youtube.com/user/YoChicago1#grid/user/AD1737AFAC31A0B3
the penthouse is for 1.1million..went there yesterday..
averaging out at around 265/sq foot..not bad but i think id be more interested at around 210/sq foot..
12 units under contract with none closed yet.
the units with the wrap around terrace seemed nice..good views(not nearly as good as SONO) and the tarin can barely be heard from there..upgraded appliances.the bedrooms had carpet(not a fan of carpet) and the windows in the bedrooms were 5-6 feet of the ground..no idea y..highest floor is 14
im in a unit in skybridge at 200/sq foot,2000 sq feet with upgrarded everything and on the 17th floor..
so the mondial doesnt seem like a v good deal to me
“That was the case for about a year or so,”
you know what that sounds about right last time he was going on about all the “potential” jobs he had lined up was in the fall. but he is still busy, i havent been able to get him on the court for like 2 months now.
As far as the area I disagree that there is nothing to do. I lived 2 blocks from here an I liked the area a lot. The one thing I didn’t like is there is a definite lack of green space and it feels very industrial.
Things you can walk to:
A bit long but you can walk to work in the loop, I really enjoyed having a 25-30 minute walk to work to clear my head in the mornings/evenings.
Juicy Wine Bar (my favorite wine bar in the city, as I love the bartenders and outdoor space).
DeLux Bar – good food and a cool bar.
Red Canary – really cool for outdoor dining (though I was there when it was Avenue M so I can’t speak to the food)
Piccolo Sogno – another great place for outdoor dining
Emmitt’s – they filled a scene from Ocean’s 12 here 🙂
La Scarola – great old school Italian
Richard’s – greatest dive bar in the city – closes at 5am and opens at 8am
Paramount room – great beer selection and food.
All these places always felt “TV show crowded” – where there was always enough people but easy to get a drink and quiet enough to talk and you can almost always get a seat.
Easy to get anywehere in the city or burbs to prox. to the express ways and central location.
Also I was one stop on the blue line when I lived over here – from the grand to clark/lake – commute was 12 mins door to door – it was sooo nice having that commute.
LOL you must walk really fast or work in the most northwest corner of the loop because i live 8 blocks from my job and with all the stupid traffic lights I have to wait for it takes me 20-25 minutes and i’m no slow poke… if I walked to work from here it would be 16 blocks I will say though that there are a lot of great restaurants around there at grand/halsted
“I will say though that there are a lot of great restaurants around there at grand/halsted”
yes sir, and you can strangley find parking easily for said eateries around here.
hey do they still have the restaurant in the cooking school towards chicago ave?
“im in a unit in skybridge at 200/sq foot,2000 sq feet with upgrarded everything and on the 17th floor..
so the mondial doesnt seem like a v good deal to me”
your place is $200 per square foot? So $400,000 for a 2000 sq ft place in the green zone, new and completely upgraded on the 17th floor? that doesn’t sound right to me.
and square footage on listings is crap. i used to get upset that places wouldn’t list it. now i don’t know why any place would list it. if you do, you either have to lie or your place will be listed as 40% smaller than the other places that are actually the same size.
as Mario Greco would say “Its just a number”
and for getting a placae in skybridge for 200 a sqft, he probably bought before the year 2000
I’d like to register a complaint with Mondial’s architect and/or developer.
I often walk Eastbound on Huron to Halsted past Mondial on my way to work.
The Mondial’s parking garage, which stretches for about 50 paces, is a solid darkly painted cement structure that immediately abuts the sidewalk and ascends from street level for several stories.
Walking that particular length of sidewalk, with a little grass and trees on one side and a solid cement structure on the other, it is a little like walking thru a cave.
I often wonder: What was the architect thinking when he designed this? (Surely, it was done to save money, right?)
I think that little (lack of) design-element qualifies the Mondial as a candidate for “Eyesore of the Month”.
I’m hoping Laura Louzader will campaign for its inclusion at James Kunstler’s blog, like she did for this eyesore:
http://www.kunstler.com/eyesore_201001.html
doesn’t anyone on cribchatter ever use a car? River West is probably the best located neighborhood for access in all of Chicago. You are minutes to N. Michigan, River North, Loop, West Loop/Fulton/Greek Town, a quick ride to Wicker Park/Bucktown, the Kennedy access is right there, there are 3 bus lines (Chicago, Grand, Milwaukee), the Blue Line….you are 5 minutes from the United Center, 5 minutes up the Kennedy to Costco/Target exit, you can get to East/Ukranian Village in no time flat, the Damen exit off the Kennedy offers access to Roscoe Village etc. The only place that’s hard to get to from River West is Wrigley Field, but one can always (again drive 5 minutes) to North/Clybourn area Red line. River West has awesome access to Elston Ave. You can drive to Home Depot in 5 minutes. If you use your car in Chicago, there is not really an area so close to so much.
People who are laughing at the ZERO closings don’t know what they are talking about and should stop misleading people.
Here’s a short summary of what I found out about the Mondial:
* Originally 50 units under contract a couple of years ago
* Developer canceled all contracts and refunded deposits knowing that no one would close in the terrible market
* Considered converting into apartment but decided otherwise
* Reopened sales about two weeks ago
* 8 units that are under contract now were previous buyers that had contracts canceled by the developer
* Sources: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=38255 and http://yochicago.com/mondial-condos-headed-back-to-market/15207/
I actually visited the sales center (as a buyer). Overall, the units feel massive with some with huge walk-in closets (you can see floor plans on their website to see what I’m talking about http://www.mondialriverwest.com/floorplans.htm). The quality also seems very good for the price range which you can see for yourself when you visit the units (the sales team allowed me to visit practically any unit and not just model unit). I hated the carpets in the bedrooms but that’s easy to change. Oh yeah, anyone saying they should buy at the Silver Tower should actually visit non-model units (non-30th floor), especially units finished later after the developer went bankrupt. Someone familiar with the building told me some even had water damage already from an accident with maintenance and the humidifier (!). These units were finished terribly but still put on sale. Generally, the Silver Tower had windows frames not aligned properly, doors banged up, cracks everywhere, and serious issues with quality overall (those @properties guys weren’t just bitching because they were fired from the sales there, which was what I thought they were originally doing when bad-mouthing Silver Tower). Also from my experience, the train is much louder at the Silver Tower and it’s not too bad even there on lower-level and East-facing units. Bottom line, if you actually visit both buildings, then your opinions are fair but otherwise quit misleading buyers (it’s hard enough to find the “perfect” condo as it is).
In short, I’ve come to respect the Mondial developer, Jack Berger, mostly for his move of canceling contracts and NOT dragging it out with his original buyers after the market turned sour. His other projects have also been very successful despite being in a what is generally considered non-prime area (i.e. River West), but that by no means guarantees the success in this case. As far as the Mondial itself, I really like the building, especially attention to details (e.g. they have really nice elevators, lol). However, the Mondial is terribly close to the ghetto (Cabrini Green) but at least those guys seem to stay in their “hood” and avoid crossing the river. So, it’ll probably be okay in terms of safety but it’s still something to think about. Anyway, those are just my thoughts. Wish me luck in my search for a “perfect” condo, peace!
“The only place that’s hard to get to from River West is Wrigley Field, but one can always (again drive 5 minutes) to North/Clybourn area Red line. ”
And where are you going to park once you are there?
Chicago and State or Grand and State Red line is closer anyway… you can just hop on the chicago or grand avenue bus that you’re raving about so much… dope
And who wants to drive in River west… blech driving in the city SUUUUUCKS
“And where are you going to park once you are there?”
The parking garage behind Border’s/Sur la Table? Or do you refuse to pay to park?
“The only place that’s hard to get to from River West is Wrigley Field, but one can always (again drive 5 minutes) to North/Clybourn area Red line. ”
And where are you going to park once you are there?
Along Weed/Dayton/Fremont/Kingsbury Streets, back there. You might get your window smashed in though!
“, 5 minutes up the Kennedy to Costco/Target exit, you can get to East/Ukranian Village in no time flat, the Damen exit off the Kennedy offers access to Roscoe Village etc. The only place that’s hard to get to from River West is Wrigley Field, but one can always (again drive 5 minutes) to North/Clybourn area Red line. River West has awesome access to Elston Ave. You can drive to Home Depot in 5 minutes. If you use your car in Chicago, there is not really an area so close to so much.”
Except for any rush hour, or all day Saturday and all day Sunday.
Which is exactly when people who work for a living have to get to those places.
I’ve had it take something insane like 15 minutes to get from Diversey and Elston to and through Fullerton and Elston on a Saturday. Totally a traffic clusterf**K over there, almost all the time. To Costco? sucks. To Target/Panera/MicroCenter/Strack & VanTil? sucks. To anything near Clybourn and North? sucks. Up and down clybourn? sucks.
You must be traveling at 2AM to get those imaginary, ideal traffic times.
“You must be traveling at 2AM to get those imaginary, ideal traffic times.”
maybe he takes the 145 bus around town
LOL you must walk really fast or work in the most northwest corner of the loop because i live 8 blocks from my job and with all the stupid traffic lights I have to wait for it takes me 20-25 minutes and i’m no slow poke… if I walked to work from here it would be 16 blocks.
Milwaukee Ave is a magical street that bends the space time continuum. That or it runs diagonally it isn’t 16 blocks.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=910+W.+Huron+chicago&daddr=clark+and+lake+chicago&hl=en&geocode=FZJEfwIdyI7G-ikdSBjY0iwOiDF7nEPorfhdJA%3BFSIgfwIdhNvG-inpSvZ9sCwOiDHW9uksXhTjsw&mra=ls&dirflg=w&sll=43.850374,-92.021484&sspn=8.460941,19.709473&ie=UTF8&z=15
Google also agrees with me.
google says 30 minutes, which is probably assuming you don’t get stuck at one of the many 4-6 way intersections waiting for a light
“You must be traveling at 2AM to get those imaginary, ideal traffic times.”
I think his travel times are fairly accurate. Maybe not between 4pm-6:30pm M-F but definitely on Sat and Sun.
Driving and parking in the city is fairly efficient if you know what you are doing.
“The only place that’s hard to get to from River West is Wrigley Field”
Though buses are mainly for jerks and lesbians you could just take the Halsted bus to Wrigely. Or take the Halsted bus to North Ave and take the red line from there.
“Though buses are mainly for jerks and lesbians…”
Some would say the same about Wrigley.
wasnt exactly 200/ sq foot..something like 208…
bought it 5onthes ago in jan 2010…building isnt brand new..i think it was completed around 2000 or something…
the particular unit i got is more upgraded then the rest iv seen in the building and i dont know y…
sq footage is something like 1973..just rounded it to 2000…
and yup i paid a lil over 400k..maybe 409k..
so i guess u guys can see y mondial seems like a average deal to me…
and yeah..to double check the sq footage..i got a floor plan from the office of my building and it was the same as was listed.
The area the Mondial is in is one of the cities best kept secerts. It’s not congested, parking is still pretty easy there are lots of great resturants in the area, especially heading west on Chicago ave. Public transportation and the expressway access is the best in the city. Eckhart park just west of the Kennedy expressway st Chicago and Noble has 3 baseball diamonds, a field house with exercise facility, an indoor public pool and a newly renovated playground complete with sprinklers. The enclave known as River West is minutes to the over-crowded over built River North area and minutes to the hip and action of Wicker Park / Bucktown without living in the noise. I’ve lived in the area for yers and woudn;t live anywhere else, everyone I;ve met in the area loves the conveneince of the neighborhhod and the mixed upscale residences and the industrial feel. I’m excited to see the Mondial come to life with new home owners. I have 3 friends schedule to close in July in that building an they are very excited. The naysayers don’t have a clue what this gem of an area has to offer. Ask anyone on the street that lives here how they feel about the neighborhood and the location and you’ll get a positive response!
“in the know” represents the building..his views are biased!
I’m closing on a 2 bedroom in this building in late July. The finishes are absolutely impeccable, the views are unmatched and the location is completely underrated. I’ve toured every major new condominium development in Chicago and this one is the best.
KB represents the building too…
investor,
I do not represent the building and am closing on unit 801 in late July. Call @Properties, ask them if unit 801 is still available, and bring your findings back to this message board.
@KB,
your logic is not valid. If you did represent the building then you also would be in a position to know whether #801 was available or not. So using the fact that #801 is no longer available would not prove that you do not represent the building. The absence of A, does not prove the existance of B.
-and this is an anonymous blog so I would expect you too. Though puffery like ‘absolutely impecable’ and ‘toured every major new condominium’ make your post highly suspect.
I called @properties and Unit 801 is off the market. That unit is a corner with south and west views. It also clears the 7 floor building across the street, so the view should be unobstructed.
@investor, thanks for calling.
I checked out Mondial for myself today. Great looking building.