One of Riverside’s Original 5 Houses Is Listed $26K Under the 1991 Price: 185 Michaux
As many of you know, I normally don’t cover suburban properties but for a historic house like The Mundy House at 185 Michaux Road in Riverside, I will break my own rule.
Built in 1868 and designed by William LaBaron Jenney, a Chicago architect who specialized in commercial structures and is now known as the “father of the American skyscraper”, the house has 4 bedrooms and a 2-story coach house and garage.
The 5092 square foot house is on an irregular shaped lot measuring 88x270x102x267.
The listing says it “needs extensive restoration” but it also apparently has the original light fixtures, doors and wood trim.
For you fireplace lovers, it has 5 fireplaces, including 4 Eastlake marble fireplaces (which appear to be a specific designer type brand from that era.)
It has 11 foot ceilings, crown molding, a grand entry foyer and staircase.
There is no central air.
There are no pictures in the listing of the kitchen or the baths.
Originally listed in March 2012 for $725,000, it has been reduced to $599,000.
That is $26,000 under the 1991 purchase price.
The house is a short sale.
The listing calls it “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Is this a deal for someone with the vision to restore it?
Bobbi Eastman at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.
158 Michaux Rd: 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 5092 square feet, coach house, 2 car garage
- Sold in March 1991 for $625,000
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in October 2010
- Originally listed in March 2012 for $725,000
- Reduced twice
- Currently listed as a “short sale” for $599,000
- Taxes of $25,455
- No central air
- 5 fireplaces
- Bedroom #1: 17×14 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 16×15 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 16×23 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 17×13 (second floor)
Do you say “restoration” instead of “rehab” when it’s at this price point?
Looks like it would be a great house for entertaining. I would love to host a party where people get together and watch some UFC! Heck, you could probably host a UFC fight in the main hall it’s so big!
Beautiful house and doesn’t look to be in bad shape at all, though who knows about the kitchen and baths. The public rooms look like they still have some of their splendor.
Price seems quite fair, though property tax would have to come down quite a bit if it sells at this price point. As a fan of Chicago architecture, living in a Jenney-designed house in a community with the history and architectural grace of Riverside sounds very enticing.
Hey, it is just blocks from the park and zoo…I might have to change my mind about SFHs. Oh, wait…
OT This week’s Realtor’s Say the Darndest Things ..from a realtor i encountered at an open house:
“In addition to being a Realtor, I am also a Loan Officer. Having the financing in place is the most important aspect of the home shopping process. Do not hesitate to get pre-qualified so you know for sure how much you can afford.”
“Eastlake”
Repro hardware available here:
http://www.rejuvenation.com/search?q=eastlake
“As a fan of Chicago architecture, living in a Jenney-designed house in a community with the history and architectural grace of Riverside sounds very enticing.”
Yeah… this is a pretty amazing combination for architecture/history buffs. Especially if it truly does have all of its original trim/fixtures/doors as the listing claims. Im normally not a fan of the burbs, but a project like this could definitely suck me out there for a few years.
spectacular place!!!
If all door knobs are original groove may weep with happiness. the french doors next to the fireplace look to be missing knobs/pulls
i would love it if the restoration keeps the wall paper, or replicates it. most likely wont happen 🙁
Great looking home. What would be a ballpark estimate for restoring this? Unfortunately, I need at least 6 fireplaces in my potential home.
Temporary thread hijack (apologies in advance)…
Does anyone know how to get plans associated with building permits from the city? I’m looking for original plans for when my condo was originally built. I was able to get the survey from the seller’s lawyer, but I was hoping the city has plans with more detail on file. Calling around to the city’s buildings department hasn’t gotten me very far yet.
“Does anyone know how to get plans associated with building permits from the city?”
If you can establish that you’re the owner, you should be able to request them from the Building Department and have their third party vendor print them for you from microfilm. Calling is never productive with the Building Department – you have to go in and then act really stupid and nice to get anything. However, the plans will probably not be that helpful, since the permitting plans often aren’t that close to what actually gets built, and all the MEP stuff isn’t on the plans anyway. They might be a nice to have but don’t trust them for anything without verifying.
What is the word on Riverside? I see it is close to La Grange (sort of). Similar vibes?
JJJ: Thanks! I want the plans to use as a starting point to find suitable places to run wiring in the house. Before I start punching holes in my drywall, I want a ballpark idea of where it is going. Thanks again.
“Does anyone know how to get plans associated with building permits from the city? I’m looking for original plans for when my condo was originally built. I was able to get the survey from the seller’s lawyer, but I was hoping the city has plans with more detail on file. Calling around to the city’s buildings department hasn’t gotten me very far yet.”
You can submit a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request with the City:
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bldgs/supp_info/bldgs_foia.html
It was easy and inexpensive. Yes, they are serious when they say you have to submit a notarized affidavit from yourself saying that you own your home, but whatever. It worked like a charm and with any luck, the only time you will have to speak to an actual person is when you show up at the copying outsource place with your $25 in cash (or whatever it was) to pick up your plans.
Here’s a link about Charles Eastlake — http://www.buffaloah.com/a/archsty/east/index.html
I associate his influence with circa 1880ish homes.
Thanks, H. Great info. I saw the FOIA form, but assumed it was for other purposes. Good to know I can use it for this.
Cool house neat project but I wonder if that structure was all original. Looks like some additions on the side/back. If I owned this home I’d update with improvements. Not a fan of trying to recreate the exact look of the day it was born. Not my style at all. I’d make sure not to get too modern or out of character with the interiors however 100 year old hardware and windows are stuck with 100 year old technology.
Bet you could be a long shot finalist for the remote series of This Old House next season. usually they film one in Boston and the other in another town.
This is in contention for my favorite house ever posted on CC.
Riverside is beautiful and has great housing stock but there is nothing to do there at all. You need to leave town to do anything other than pick up dry cleaning. For what you’ll pay to live in Riverside you will not be happy having to shop for groceries/supplies in Brookfield…. Or trek to Forest Park/Oak Park for a decent restaurant. Better off in Oak Park
Forest Park for restaurants? What’s in FP other than Gaetano’s and Golden Steer?
Fabulous Home! If only it was close to a quaint, cutesy downtown area. If it was, I may be tempted.
I hear the schools are good in Riverside also.
I live in Riverside in one of the Jenneys. Happy to address some of the comments: Mundy house is a beautiful home. Needs a lot of work but has much of the original woodwork, doors, hardware, etc…. having gone through this myself, I’d estimate $500k for restoration. Jenney homes designed for entertainment and full of natural light. Re:possible additions- most likely – could confirm at Riverside Historical Museum – they have plenty on the home.
Riverside is a great place to raise a family. Tons of kids. Pick up game of some sort on our block every day. I don’t know what Kristina is talking about that there’s nothing here. We’re small – only 8,900 – but have a great grocery store (Riverside Foods), a couple of decent restaurants, active library, an art center, flower shop, gift shop, wine bar, pub, icecream store, 2 coffee shops, dance studio, swim club, close to forest preserves and bike paths, and strong schools. Minimal thru traffic so can’t attract a Starbucks or Barnes&Noble.
It’s a quiet place – almost sleepy – but close to bigger suburbs and Chicago. Can walk to Metra stop – then 20 minutes to Union Station. Close to Eisenhower & Stevenson, O’Hare and Midway. Next door to Brookfield Zoo. Not for everyone. Most homes are fixer uppers.
“We’re small – only 8,900 – but have a great grocery store (Riverside Foods), a couple of decent restaurants, active library, an art center, flower shop, gift shop, wine bar, pub, icecream store, 2 coffee shops, dance studio, swim club, close to forest preserves and bike paths, and strong schools.”
Thanks for the info Riversider. Despite Riverside being one of the “inner” suburbs, I don’t think people are very familiar with it because of its small size.
I grew up in Riverside and my parents still reside there. The elementary school for this house would be Central, which is located in the center of town and is the lowest rated of the elementary schools that service the village. Hollywood, which serves the small part of Riverside that is west of 1st Avenue and caters to the Hollywood section of Brookfield, as well as Blythe Park, which serves a smaller Eastern section of Riverside, are the two most desirable K-5 schools as Central and Ames have several apartment buldings (some section 8) that feed into them. While Riverside-Brookfield continues to rank highly, do not let that fool you. The area around Riverside has changed drastically over the last 5-10 years. Riverside itself is still beautiful. The taxes are pretty steep, but you can argue for them to be lowered. (They may argue since it is a short sale that you are buying at a distressed price).
If I was ready to call suburbia home again, I would restore this house in a heart beat. I would just make sure to set aside the college tuition like prices for Fenwick when my yet to be born children reach that age.
Riverside……if you like Mayberry…..you found your destination……if you like the boom-boom-boom of car stereos ……keep your foot on the gas pedal
I walked through this house today did a thorough examination.
I am a restoration contractor very qualified and i estimate the total cost of this renovation at $900,000.
It is a beautiful house and would be worth restoring to its original condition.