Motor Row Loft Reduced $74k: 2000 S. Michigan
In December 2007 we chattered about a duplex loft at 2000 S. Michigan in Motor Row in the South Loop with 15 foot ceilings and a 1300 square foot private terrace.
It’s still for sale and has been reduced $74k. The listing says “Motivated Seller.”
Unit #307: 2 bedroom, 3 bath, 2150 square feet, duplex, 1300 square foot private roof terrace
- Sold in November 2004 for $567,000
- Sold in December 2004 for $387,000
- Sold in October 2006 for $727,500
- Listed in December 2007 for $749,000 (two car parking available for $35k)
- Reduced
- Now listed for $675,000 (parking now $50k for two spaces)
- Assessments of $505 a month
- Prudential Preferred has the listing
What’s this about?
# Sold in November 2004 for $567,000
# Sold in December 2004 for $387,000
SOmebody liked to lose money! 😉 Good question.
I smell fraud in those Year 2004 sales. The first sale @ $567K was surely to a straw buyer.
The latter 2004 price of $267K sounds about right for this place.
Figure prices will roll back to 2004 at least on almost everything, and further on “marginal” properties, like older places in bad condition or unpopular areas.
Excuse me, I meant to say that $367K is about right, not $267K.
Per CCRD, the November recording was a warranty deed from Lyonhart Homes LLC to (an individual) for $567K executed on 10/04/2004. The December recording was a warranty deed from Locomobile Lofts LLC to Lyonhart Homes LLC for $387K executed on 10/04/2004.
It looks like the main developer (Locomobile) sold to another company who then sold to the individual, all on the same day. In essence, the individual paid $567K for the loft, Locomobile Lofts received about $387K, and Lyonhart Homes received about $180K.
Maybe Lyonhart owned the roof space, while Locomobile owned the loft proper?
Could it be that someone bought two units (one on top of the other) and made the duplex? Can anyone check the PINs to see if they are different even though the unit numbers are the same?
More indications that the higher end is falling off a cliff in the South Loop but the lower/entry pricepoints haven’t budged.
The ridiculous thing is that there are sellers of 1/1s in this building trying to eke out 250k. Yeah right..
E —
The individual is involved with only three properties (per CCRD): the loft, a parking spot, and a far away property (PIN starts with 14, not 17). Lyonhart Homes is involved only with the loft, another single condo vaguely downtown (17-18-…), and a recorded mortgage without a PIN.
E —
Checking the current owner (2006 purchaser, not the original 2004 purchaser above), I can’t find any other downtown properties they are involved with. Several non-17 PINs, but no others at the loft.
~177 Percent above its 2004 price.
…no.
$675,000 (parking now $50k for two spaces). Reality = $725 K. Not much of a reduction, ey? Clearly, this seller is not that motivated to sell. While the interior and deck look great, the neighborhood is a long long long way from being “gentrified.” Just a couple blocks from this building is one of Chicago’s last remaining high-rise projects (akin to Cabrini Green back in the day of sniper fire from windows). Why anyone would spend $725,000 on a loft in a BAD DIRTY SCARY neighborhood– and literally NOT be able to walk their dog at night due to the drug dealers, etc. right around the corner–is mind-boggling. Plus, a mere block away are two other “Motor Row” loft buildings that ahve stopped conversion-construction (the bill-boards and scaffeling are a real eye-sore). This seller must be counting on a dumb out-of-state/ new to the city buyer. Good Luck.
Why is someone asking for $675K? Walk a block east/north and you got those nice town houses that probably cost waaaay more (around where the Mayor lives). Than you have Lexington Park near it.
As for walking a block (more like couple of blocks) towards the projects. There’s a simple solution to that problem… don’t walk your dog south/west at night! Just like you won’t walk North towards the old Cabrini Green if you lived in the newer buildings by Chicago/Orleans. Walk your dog by the big modern police station near 17th/Wabash, if you’re really freaked out.
I agree with Luke–this is near a bad neighborhood, and definitely not what I would call “South Loop.” I think this is one of the most dangerous/rough spots on the south side, apart from hoods that are a lot farther south like Englewood. It’s not as simple as not walking two blocks south near all the drugs and crime–I would be afraid of having the condo or my car broken into. I drive by the public housing in this hood at on my way to Chinatown–it’s always surrounded by cop cars, I’ve seen fights out front, people are loitering on the sidewalks at all times of day and night, lots of litter, etc. And all this just two blocks from your 700k 2 bedroom condo. No thank you.
This isn’t South Loop to some, but more “Near South Side” (although wiki states South Loop ends at 18th). Um, I live about a block north up this place. I walk to the Loop everyday and I’m still alive? Interesting… I walk past Old Saint Mary’s Church where everyday young parents with their big expensive SUV’s drop off their children for day school and you call this area dangerous? I grew up in the nice west suburbs around the Medinah Golf course, went to college in Lincoln Park, and work in the Loop. I don’t feel any more unsafe since I began living here (compared to those other neighborhoods).
Anyone who’s even considering looking at the place should do themselves a favor and put the address in google maps with the little street view. You’d have to go out of your way just to find the trouble spots which is past Cermak. That big ugly building near it most likely won’t last after Lexington Park is built and I hardly see any “hoodlums” roaming around it whenever I walked past it. If you have a car, you’ll probably get indoor parking which means your car won’t get broken into. Again, in the Creep-me-out barometer, I’d compare this area to the bad lands of River North around Chicago/Orleans where you’d see new mansions then cross the street and it’s the old Cabrini Green Projects. That’s just the way cities are (watch Batman Begins! :)) Creepy people are everywhere! I was at a star bucks in the nicer neighborhood on Rush Street and a homeless guy drops in and starts picking a fight with customers including myself. It would be funny if he was a skinny individual, but this guy was Mr.T and just a little loony. I haven’t seen such a character in the “Near South” yet.
This is the city, sorry but houses costs a lot. 250K for 1 Bedroom’s in this area for new-construction is common. The 600K pricing on this unit was probably compared to other units sold in the area. You want cheap housing with a lot of space? Plano is is your place!
Technically the “South Loop” doesn’t exist in Chicago. Its ALL the near south side as defined by the neighborhood boundaries. It was invented by realtors and condo owners there to try to differentiate themselves from the more ghetto parts on the south side of the Near South Side.
Jack Der: “This is the city, sorry but houses costs a lot. 250K for 1 Bedroom’s in this area for new-construction is common. The 600K pricing on this unit was probably compared to other units sold in the area. You want cheap housing with a lot of space? Plano is is your place!”
The denial is morphing into a new phase: The bitter buyer. Couple that with increased foreclosures and we might get out of the first inning soon.
A block or two south you have the stevenson. There’s nothing around here except a subway I think. I think this area of the deep south loop needs an event like when Robert Dinero moved to SoHo in NY when it was crime ridden, then everybody flooded in (oprah in west loop?). Anyway, I picture myself living here with two rots, a hunting knife, and the cobra car alarm from the 90’s.
If you look through the news you’ll see a guy was shot at point blank range in his range rover while picking up his kid at the day care near by. This is literally the risk of moving into the block. But some people like that as an investment and lifestyle… McCormic place is building a huge venue across the street too. ew.
I don’t dispute that people can live in this area without trouble. I live in an area even father south and have never had a serious problem. What I’m saying is that there is a very rough housing project two blocks south of this condo, and you would be a fool to spend 700k on a two bedroom that’s so close to a bad area in a declining real estate market. This area is exactly the type of marginal neighborhood that will get hurt the most as the real estate bubble deflates. I wouldn’t look at this place for over 300k considering the rough location and the over-building in this area by speculators who thought that the south side would magically gentrify.
Also, even if you live in a rough neighborhood but have never experienced crime or felt unsafe, there are other things that will drive you crazy and decrease the resale value of your home. Some problems with both the hood I live now and this hood are littering and loitering, and people confronting you to ask for money on the street. Can you experience these things every day and still be relatively happy with your hood? Yes. Should you drop 700k on a 2 bedroom in a hood with these problems, which would scare off many buyers? I say no way.
“If you look through the news you’ll see a guy was shot… This is literally the risk of moving into the block.”
In the news, I also heard about ABC 7’s Cheryl Burton being attacked by some nut in the Loop and when I was a student at Lincoln Park not so long ago, I heard about criminals attacking female students. Then a month ago I heard about a DePaul student who got mugged in the West Loop. That’s the city for ya. Anyway, this area is so bad; Cuatro (basically next door to 2000 S Michigan) was even mentioned in the recent article proclaiming Chicago as city of the year:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/126/us-city-of-the-year-chicago-soul.html
Walk your dog here, only 2 blocks north of 2000 S. Michigan:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/newhomes/chi-fri_southloop_nh_0530may30,0,7235660.story
As for 300K for 1300sq in the high class city neighborhoods… Good Luck. American Invesco was asking $300K for crappy old 700sq units near Dearborn/Wacker. They wouldn’t be asking that unless someone actually bought one. Like I said, 1300sq units at $600K probably have sold around 2000 S. Michigan. You probably won’t pay for it, but someone probably did.
“The denial is morphing into a new phase: The bitter buyer.”
The only bitter buyers are those who argue with those can’t afford to buy. In the time it takes to convince a residence that their neighborhood is bad, one could use the time to earn money towards their down payment. When I was a kid, I bought 4MB SIMMs for over $100. Was I bitter when I recently bought 2GB dimms for $50? Nope.
Foreclosures, crime, new buildings will come and go. A working individual who knows how to save will always have money and such an individual will need a place to stay. For some, renting is fine. For others, some probability of getting some return in your monthly housing expense is better than getting no return at all.
There’s a huge difference between people who can’t afford to buy and those who are smart enough to not overpay. There are plenty of people who managed to “afford” a house a couple of years ago and are now facing foreclosure.
A lot of the comments posted here are way off the mark. If this is one of the most dangerous/rough spots on the south side then the city’s doing way better than anyone could imagine. Of course, the Ickes homes are four blocks away and there are two rather large section 8 bldgs, and that brings some undesirable characters. However, the 1st District Police Command Center is also four blocks away, as is the McCormick Center. Michigan Ave has just been redone with new lights, new trees, new sidewalks, etc. Room 21 (21st and Wabash) had the opening night celebration for Ocean’s 15 or whatever number they’re on now. Cafe Bionda is packed most nights (Cullerton and State). Reggie’s (live music, bar/restaurant) just opened right across Cermak from the Ickes homes. Kroll’s (18th and Michigan) is a sports bar a block away that is doing great business. Two sushi spots (Triad and South Coast) within two blocks. Really sounds like a tough neighborhood!
Just saw a place in Flossmoor which is a neighborhood in decline. I actually think the near south is a neighborhood in transition (there isn’t a boarded up shopping mall just down the street). Hard to say what it will do. This place is large, walkable to the loop, and has a ton of outdoor space (incredibly hard to find). It’s a risk, but when I did a search on everyblock it appears that the heroin and crack dealing pretty much stays on the 2200 block of south state.
A couple of facts to keep in mind.
1. It is a 2 bedroom, 3 bath, 2150 square ft duplex with an additional 1300 square foot private roof terrace. The terrace itself is nearly twice the size of some of the 1br in this building (725sq ft.)
2. Property in this neighborhood lists on average around $300/sq. ft. If you do the math, that easily puts this into the mid 600s without any consideration for the private outdoor space.
3. it’s a safe enough neighborhood that when I walk my dog to the lake at night and we pass by there, kids are always playing in the parking lot across the street.
It is interesting how this thread has developed into a heated debate on how safe the motor row area is. I am looking into investing in a townhouse one block south of Cermak (23rd and Wabash) to be exact. This puts me right in front of the Ickes homes (literally one block away).
I am not looking into living there, I’ll probably rent it out first. But my concern is whether or not this area is gentrifying as quickly as my real estate agent has told me. I am getting a decent price out of the deal, but I am worried that I’ll be able to find a renter brave enough to live in the area.
Any thoughts?
Concerned Buyer: Look on Craigslist and see what the rentals are going for in the area. Talk to some agents and see how long the rentals on the MLS are taking to rent (and at what prices.)
Remember, there are thousands of units that are going to hit the market as rentals (because they won’t be selling) in the south loop in the next year. Most of those will be north of Cermak- the far preferred location.
I live in the motor row townhomes on 23rd and Wabash. Never had a single problem. Women walk there dogs without any problems. Yeh you will have a few of the Ickes residents wander east to Michigan Ave…but these folks are usually minding their own business. On 23rd and Michigan, motor row condos are near completion so hopefully this will bring new reailers to the strip. I’m waiting for a Starbucks to occuopy one of those spots….and then you will see more people flock to this neighborhood. Also to note, the Chicago Defender building on 24th and Michigan was bought by the same owners as the “Firehouse” restaurant on 15th and Michigan. This will soon be a restaurant catering to the McCorkick place visitors. This will take time folks. Only now, is the old “cabrini” are becoming better. Invest now and reap your returns when it is decided that Chicago has been chosen to host the 2016 games. And when that happens you will see the end of the Ickes homes, which have already begun to be boarded up.
Visited the place a few weeks ago. It’s not a 2br…it’s a 1br + den with 3 bathrooms…2 of the bathrooms do not have ceilings… Pictures must have been taken with a fish-eye lense or something because the place is not as spacious as it looks. Neighborhood is fine. Absolutely over-priced.
Only blogging as an update :
No Olympics, but major movement coming because Mayor Daley
has made it a priority to develop the area around McCormick Place West Building, which is Motor Row area & the walk on Cermack to be a safe, developed path to ChinaTown. Ickes building are all down (except for 3 which will down by Sept 2010). Also, the buildings on S. Michigan (one block south of Cermack) are in the planning stages
of becoming High-End Restaurants and bars. I have to say that there
truly is no major crime in the area. The only blemish is the liquor store on State which again, people are among themselves vs bothering the locals. Love the area, just needs to get developed.