Crib Chatter

Forget about Astor Street.  East Lake Shore Drive?  Ho-hum. The hottest street to live on in Chicago right now is North Wells in Old Town.  Property values continue to rise there, with some buildings rivaling the prices paid to live in top neighborhoods like Streeterville and the Gold Coast.  And it doesn’t seem like the values […]

Lots of listings right now have the proverbial: “Motivated Sellers” But recently I’ve been seeing more of: “Willing to Negotiate” Such is the case with this 2004 townhouse in Old Town.  This townouse is in the not-so-great part of Old Town (in the re-developed area near Division.)  Old Town has several personalities.  There is “real” Old […]

Sometimes, you don’t want to buy, you just want to rent.  And why not rent a historic single family home in the Old Town historic triangle where you get your own caretaker, full-time housekeeper and complete nanny quarters? What is a caretaker, anyway?  From Dictionary.com: A person who is in charge of the maintenance of a […]

    The slowing market is hitting some of the smaller developers. I have discussed the slow sales at 334 W. Menomonee before. Units at the historic conversion at 334 W. Menomonee in Old Town were recently reduced after only 4 of the 18 units have sold.  The developer also has many of the unsold […]

      Over a year ago, a developer was selling condo units in the Crilly Court complex, a historic group of buildings in Old Town that had been apartments for decades.  The buildings, totaling 90 units on Wells, Eugenie, St. Paul and Crilly Court, were gutted and the piping and windows replaced.  Every unit had […]

Rarely do one bedroom units in Old Town come on the market with parking (let alone two parking spaces.) It’s the nature of the older, smaller streets and no alleys as well as the density of the area. Two recent conversions at Crilly Court and 334 W. Menomonee both sold most, if not all, of […]

Want to live in Old Town but want washer/dryer in the unit, parking and two bedrooms for under $400,000? Yes- it can be done. The best deals in Old Town are at 1309 N. Wells, otherwise known as Michael’s Terrace. It’s that ugly black glass building that is at the south end of Wells, towards […]

  Looking for something outside of the white box high rise? Look no further than 155 W. Burton, the Carl Street Studios.  Only 16 units, the complex was built in 1922 with unique duplex and triplex units, many with interesting terraces and rooftop decks.  The complex has a lovely interior courtyard.  The units have a […]

  It seems that even some developers know that we are heading into the slow sales time of the year.  Melrose Partners, which is rehabbing 334 W. Menomonee in Old Town with top of the line finishes has units for sale OR for rent in the 18 unit building. It is a gorgeous renovation of a […]