Pre-War Ambiance In a Small Building: 504 W. Barry in Lakeview
We’ve chattered many times about the large pre-war buildings along Lake Shore Drive on both the North and South Sides of the city.
But there exist a smattering of smaller pre-war buildings outside of the Lake Shore Drive corridor as well.
This 3 bedroom unit at 504 W. Barry, a 1o-unit elevator building that was built in 1927, recently came on the market in Lakeview.
It seems to have all the modern amenities buyers are looking for along side the pre-war ambiance.
The listing says it was completely renovated with a new chef’s kitchen with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
It has french doors and rarely available outdoor space in the form of a private terrace that is 10×13.
The fireplace is woodburning.
The unit also has garage parking, washer/dryer in the unit and is cooled by space pac.
Is this a dream unit for those looking for pre-war elegance without the bigger building?
Pearce Lashmett at Koenig & Strey has the listing. It is agent owned. See the pictures here.
Unit #4W: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in August 1991 for $305,000
- Sold in June 1994 for $320,000
- Sold in August 2005 for $518,500
- Currently listed for $799,900 (parking included)
- Assessments of $681 a month (includes cable and heat)
- Taxes of $7089
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Space pac
- Bedroom #1: 17×12
- Bedroom #2: 16×13
- Bedroom #3: 8×12
- Living room: 24×16
- Dining room: 16×13
- Kitchen: 15×10
- Foyer: 10×8
I see a 6 figure reduction in the future.
This is a really beautiful building, and it was always expensive relative to the neighborhood. This is the first time I’ve seen a unit available in years.
Wish I could afford this.
NICE place. And the assessments aren’t so bad either (given the elevator, size and parking, and relative to similar buildings in the area). But what has this “agent-owner” done, other than to buy it as the bubble approached its peak, to justify a nearly $300k increase? The kitchen looks new (and quite nice), but…
Don’t like that type of wood floor. What is it called?
I’ve seen this unit and it really is nice. I’d buy it if I had the money. As for a six-figure reduction? Highly unlikely.
@Nicoletta: That’s parquet floor. It’s very nice, although I prefer larger squares.
This is a lovely unit. It looks very spacious. Given that the price includes parking and a very generous amount of outdoor space, I think it’s well priced.
I love it. Bottle of champs is already on ice on my outdoor patio. Just in time for winter in Chicago.
No peligrino in the kitchen, no deal!
I’d forgotten about this building. Gorgeous.
I toured this property yesterday and omg! The kitchen and bathrooms are gorgeous, and it has central air. This is the only property of its kind in Lakeview [ pre-war, vintage) that doesn’t have the usual $1,300 + monthly assessment as well….and it includes parking for two cars.
Beautiful place. Does it come furnished? if so, SOLD. i wish. It’s in one of the best neighborhoods in the entire city.
Yuck. And the parquet makes it look like a dumpy Manhattan apartment.
I hate all the prewars in this area.
zzzz….!
This place looks great. I didn’t think the combo of (i) Lakeview pre-war multi-unit building, (ii) parking and (iii) outdoor space, existed. Apparently is does – but for $800k. I would have to see the unit first, but that list price seems really really high. The single family with the ugly facade in Ravenswood probably sold in this price range (personally, I would rather have that single family, ugly facade and all, than this unit given comparable prices).
But wow. At the 2005 price I would be a buyer.
Although I do hate parque floors.
“Although I do hate parque floors.”
Me too, mainly because I prefer the smell of rich Mahogany
“I prefer the smell of rich Mahogany”
Me too. Relatedly, all of my walls are covered with rich, Corinthian leather.
Bought on closout when Chrysler cancelled the LeBaron.
I am starting to feel like quite a cribhater, but…
From the outside it looks like some work was done on brickwork outside the top floor and the bricks were replaced by something white. The effect is quite ugly. Does anyone know what happened there & why?
Love this place. A vintage with not only large rooms and en suite baths, but parking, in-unit laundry, AC, outdoor space, and reasonable assessments/taxes.
That master bedroom picture with the faces on the pillows is freaking me out, though.
“That master bedroom picture with the faces on the pillows is freaking me out, though.”
I was totally gonna buy this place until I saw that!
This place looks amazingly like the apartment set used for the movie The Breakup. I wonder…..
Anyways, seems like a winning combo of features/amenities/location, but maybe the price is still a bit too much – I bet $745,000 wins the jackpot.
“This place looks amazingly like the apartment set used for the movie The Breakup. I wonder…..”
Its very very close to here, I believe it was an apartment on Melrose Ave.?
Doesn’t have granite counter tops. Pass.
This owner/broker’s head is still fully submerged into the punch bowl. It’s not 2006 anymore. LOWER THE PRICE.
Not one dollar over 600k- I dont see how the realtor can justfy a 300k escalation in price during these times. Nice place though
This place is the kind of property that makes me want to keep going to work every day and keep saving my pennies. The only thing that’s missing are herringbone wood floors. The only dilemma for me is whether to buy a condo like this or a SFH at this price point. Yes, the assessments are much more reasonable than the big buildings on LSD, but it’s still a lot more per month than the heat and water bill on a cute little cottage or bungalow. Plus I’d really like to have a yard or a massive rooftop deck for 800K.
Does anyone know if the current owner is the one who undertook some/all of the upgrades. If he/she did, I would imagine that having before and after pictures at any showing would help justify the price appreciation since ’06. That being said, for those that use the lake, this is a very unique opportunity in a great location and a nice looking unit.
Also, is it safe to assume that you can hear footsteps of the people above in a five story elevator building or would this have concrete between floors?
“anon (tfo) on December 3rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Me too. Relatedly, all of my walls are covered with rich, Corinthian leather. Bought on closout when Chrysler cancelled the LeBaron.”
+1! Ha ha ha.
This unit is stunning. Personally, when it comes time for us to buy again in the future, we would like to avoid the shared walls/common areas of another condo building. However, I can imagine the draw of this place for someone who doesn’t mind paying assessments for the convenience of not having to worry about building and/or exterior upkeep. Great hood, nice space. I’ll be really interested to see what this ultimately closes for; my guess is probably around $775K.
War…what is it good for?
It is a beautiful unit with everything everyone is looking for, but older windows and parquet floors. The assessments do not include a $500 per quarter (fund building).It will sell around $750,000 even in this market
did the labaron have Corinthian leather too? i remember it on bigger car.
why dont they list the sqr ft? hard to accept this price unless it is huge.
Cordoba!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsg97bxuJnc
interesting they called it “the small chrysler”.
“did the labaron have Corinthian leather too?”
They all did (at least those with leather as an option–so not the K-Car). It was made up by Ricardo on the set for the commercial (or so he claimed).
Here is some history of the building and unit. Above the ground floor, there are two units per floor that are mirror images of each other. 3W sold in early 2007 for $750 k, which was before the decks were added on the back of the building. This particular unit was a complete wreck when the agent bought it and renovated it which accounts for the relative low price he got it for.
Unit 3W sold in April 2007 for $750K and that was before large outdoor space was added and this is one floor higher. 3W was also renovated (new kitchen, one new bath, space-pak) but this unit has been COMPLETELY renovated with a full gut rehab (all 3 baths, etc.). Very difficult to find gracious vintage apt with parking AND outdoor space AND elevator AND washer/dryer in-unit AND relatively low assessments. LSD vintages don’t have these features and are more expensive with much higher assessments. This is one block from the lake.
Some other factoids: some but not much noice between units; around 2400 sq feet excluding deck, one dog or cat per unit. The brickwork in the facade is intact except there was some fancy mortar that gave it a checkerboard appearance at the top that wasn’t completely recreated during a tuck pointing. The facade is eligible but has not been put into a conservation easement which would result in juicy tax breaks for the owners.