Rehabbing the Vintage Single Family Home: 1722 N. North Park in Old Town
This 6-bedroom vintage house at 1722 N. North Park in the historic district in Old Town was built in 1875.
It was bought in July 2008 and gut rehabbed in the last 11 months to be brought into the current century.
It now has features like a basement with waxed concrete floors, a mud room with wood lockers and a boot/dog wash.
What it’s missing, however, is parking- although the listing says “parking available.”
The listing also says it has a tax freeze until 2016.
Will that be enough to lure a buyer at this price?
Robert Picciariello at Prello Realty Group has the listing. See the pictures here.
1722 N. North Park: 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 3492 square feet
- Sold in July 2008 for $1.435 million
- Currently listed for $2.3 million
- Taxes of $16,920
- No parking
- Central Air
They manage to fit in a dog wash but no parking?
I hope this flipper takes a bath of their own on this one.
wow. overpriced to the extreme. and what the heck is up with that bizarro patio in the back?
Also the back yard is hideous. Not sure what they were going for with their checkboard grass pattern, then again maybe they weren’t either.
The lot is about 30×75, so there’s no place to put parking. They couldn’t install a basement garage, b/c of the landmark district.
The interesting thing is that next door on both sides are curbcuts with uncovered parking, so this place gets a ton of light.
The pictured outdoor space (with the table) appears to belong to the neighbors behind on Orleans. So that’s truly weird, tho the pavers with grass peeking thru is a parking area thing, so maybe that’s the “available” parking.
“So that’s truly weird, tho the pavers with grass peeking thru is a parking area thing, so maybe that’s the “available” parking.”
That actually makes a lot more sense than some bizarro artist intentionally doing a pattern.
The “yard” surface is actually a way to get a hard useable surface, but also maintain a pervious area. It most likely to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff they would have to send into there sewer system.
This house is gorgeous. The exterior restoration is amazing and the interior finishes are pretty nice, though the colors are not to my liking.
2.3 mil is perhaps too high, but I would bet 1.8-1.9 is not unreasonable. Though, really they probably overpaid in 2008 for the pre-rehab property.
“That actually makes a lot more sense than some bizarro artist intentionally doing a pattern.”
It’s a way to have less hardscape, so you don’t have as much water run-off to deal with. I’ve mostly seen it in more rural settings, but it is what I would want to use for a parking pad in the city, too.
No thanks. I’ll buy this one from the bank in a year.
I think there is parking right next to the building, but I’m not sure who owns it.
This is a nice looking property. I’ve walked by it before. I would say though that although there isn’t tons of car traffic, this property is located at a street junction.
“there is parking right next to the building, but I’m not sure who owns it.”
As I noted, there is parking on both sides. The parking to the south (shown in the listing photos) is part of the parcel under a house on Orleans–not a separate parcel, all one PIN. The parking to the north belongs to the next unit north.
Speaking of parking (anywhere in the city), is there any sort of MLS for parking spaces? Or do you have to approach the owner and ask if they are interested in selling?
I completely agree with ME… beautiful job on the renovation (minus the interior paint colors). I quite like the back lawn as well, but think fair price is probably between $1.85 – $2.00 million depending on how convenient the available parking is located. With so many options today in this price range, the parking will be a much bigger deal than a few years ago.
“any sort of MLS for parking spaces?”
Same as the regular MLS. On Redfin, you tick “Other”. Not sure what public MLS search would work best; likely you’d do best with someone with direct access.
Off topic, but spurred by the parking question–came across a vacant lot for sale in Albany Park (-ish). It’s listed for $49,500. Last sale, in May ’06, which was with a house of some sort on it, was for $270k.
So, that’s what you’re looking at for a price decrease in a less desireable northside ‘hood–>a lot used to sell easily for $250k, now it sits for 2 months+–totally vacant for $50k.
Yeah but the $50k lot is a depressed price because it’s too difficult to get construction loans to build anything on it. If the juice starts flowing again any time soon I’d imagine the lot would get sold quickly.
If you want to see something even crazier look up vacant lots in 60636 (west englewood); you can get your choice of vacant lots for less than $10k a piece. Roseland and Greater Crossing is slightly better in the 20’s but I bet if you made any cash offer the owners would take it. cash in hand is better than paying taxes every year.
“Yeah but the $50k lot is a depressed price because it’s too difficult to get construction loans to build anything on it.”
I don’t think by much. I doubt I’d want to spend much more than that on a 25′ lot in A-Park. A nice 2000 sf house with a 1000 sf basement (i.e, ~22′ wide by ~50′ deep, as is normal of older houses in the area) plus a $50k lot would then be about $350k. I think that’s about the outer limit of what you’d spend, isn’t it?
I’m starting to see foreclosures of nice houses in non-prime but still very livable hoods like Bridgeport for 400k. Not that that is new news but lately the condition of the foreclosures has even been getting better.
Look at 3311 S Throop:
661k sale price in March of 2006.
400k foreclosure in June of 2009.
Annual ROR for holding period: -16%
The few banks that want to move their foreclosure inventory seem to do price cuts on them after 90 days on the market.
“3311 S Throop:”
And the ZEstimate? $556,500.
No appliances, short lot. Can’t believe someone paid $661k for it.
The comments on this site are consistently absurd and uninformed. I’m convinced that most of the people who post here don’t actually live in Chicago, as you clearly don’t know anything about the neighborhoods where these properties are located. This is an incredible and unique house in one of the most beautiful and most expensive neighborhoods in the city. It is also one of about 100 houses in the entire Old Town historic district. That means high demand, low supply. There may not be many buyers for $2m plus houses out there right now, but a high percentage of them want to live in this neighborhood. Also, many of these houses do not have parking. It’s never stopped people from paying top dollar for these houses. It will sell at close to ask.
2 Million dollar home, but $40 ikea lighting fixtures and cheap ikea cabinets
BEAUTIFUL renovation and finally a ‘Manhattanesque’ home in Chicago. I can’t believe all the properties you all see on here and you have never seen a ‘patterned patio’ before? Are ya kiddin’? say nearly a thousand properties featured on CC and nothing like this yard?
Anyway…snaps for the immaculate staging and great pics. This is how I would envision the $2 mil rowhouse to end up. Totally worth the price IF I were to have renoed it myself, FOR myself. I do agree with ME however. They most likely overpaid pre-renovation and with the amount of $$$$ invested, what else would you do?
I would have no problem whatsoever offering very close to asking as I see the detail that was lavished on this place.
Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!!
ooppsss I meant to say “say nearly a thousand pics PER YEAR on CC….”
Still can’t believe you have not seen this type of yard before…My parents house in Conn had a huge area like this, very beautiful but a ton of work to maintain.
It’s beautiful, but there might be more of a problem finding a qualified buyer than would have been the case a few years ago. Financing has become almost impossible for a place like this without a monster down payment, for jumbo loans are very difficult to obtain and the lending standards are much tighter.
Even though this is a wealthy and highly desirable neighborhood relative to other Chicago nabes, there are very few people who are in the income bracket that can buy a house like this. A look at the 60614 zip code demographics at http://www.zipskinny.com is revealing. The median income (half above, half below) for 60614 is $68,324, and 13.5% earn over $200,000K. There is no breakdown for the number of residents who earn over $600K, the minimum income necessary to buy a place in this price bracket, but we can figure that it is a tiny fraction of the neighborhood’s residents.
Moreover, 60614 is now a little overstocked with upper-bracket homes, in excess of what demographics indicate there would be buyers for. Add to that the fact that we have far fewer high-income people in the population in these times of economic contraction and dropping incomes, and a population that in every income bracket has been frightened into frugality. This all means that this house, lovely as it is, is going to be much more difficult to sell than it would have been just two years ago.
It’s a different world now, and the sellers will probably have to adjust the price substantially in light of that fact.
Anon
The “yard” is actually on the side of the house; the lot is too shallow for a backyard. It’s very exposed to the street, so any events in the yard will be watched by everyone walking by. Parking is available for rent in several places, and street parking is not too bad if you don’t have to drive every day.
The house is beautiful, but the price might be a little high. While there aren’t many single-family homes in Old Town, this price is close to the top price in the area. Old Town is very desireable, though, so it will probably sell for close to 2 million.
I’m curious about the tax freeze – the historical property tax freeze is only available to the person who applied for the freeze – it expires once the house is sold.
Laura — I don’t disagree with your conclusion or most of your statistics, but the potential buyer pool for this home includes $600K income people from all over the city, not just current residents of 60614. I agree this is still a pretty small group of buyers, and a smaller group today than a few years ago.
Old Town is ‘different’ and ‘unaffected’ by the current crisis. There are no problems in the Old Town ultra-high end, therefore, this home should sell for at least $1,000,000 above asking. Rich people don’t care if they overpay for properties because they are rich. They also don’t care about parking, yards or being right on the street. They’re rich! They have other things to worry about. This will easily sell for $3,000,000 or more.
There ya go. My post is just as ridiculous as Old Town Resident’s. I didn’t think it could be done but I’ve outdid my self this time.
I agree about the financial info you posted Laura, but there is a *tiny, tiny* segment of monied people who are still buying, even at this price point. Of course the uber high level of consumption is not as it was two or three years ago, but it still does exist.
I read an interesting article in the NY Times how even the grande dames/ladies who lunch group are attempting to give the illusion of cutting down or hiding their over the top spending of all things in their lives.
In order to fit in with the rest of society and not be ridiculed for their excessive lifestyle, they are going under cover to avoid the tragic finger pointing that is the result of obscene lifestyle. In the article, a woman who was interested in merely “picking up” a $25 mil penthouse asked the realtor if it was possible for the transaction to be downplayed. She requested that after making her well above asking price offer in order to land this co-op, the RE Agency post a fake listing showing a drastic reduction on their asking price. From $25 mil down to $8 or 9 mil. They did not state if the broker actually agreed to this or the sale occured, but I thought it was hilarious.
Sorry to go off topic, but I think it represents how the upper echelon of the super wealthy folk are still spending in these economic times. They just want their spending to be kept under the radar and do not want it to be publicized…something they had desired, even demanded just a few years ago. Many believed their over the top consumption and lifestyle was something that should be desired…respected even.
Oh, the image problems of the super wealthy!
Good one HD…you had me thinking that you had finally seen the ‘RE light’ and were now actually seriously coming around to the other side of the fence.
Not to be scorned for seeing a bit of truth in your sarcasm, but I do think some of your post is actually true…some still really don’t care where their money goes. Then you have the intelligent ones who are well aware their $$$ will not last forever When one has those type of assets and money, it is easy to be blinded to what is happening all around them…I’ve seen it many times growing up.
westloopelo, the superwealthy cannot be everywhere at once, there are not enough members of the class to purchase all the $1,000,000 plus homes on today’s market. That’s been apparent to most casual observers of the market for quite some time.
I know HD, it is a tiny segment of the buying population and I think most are residing in NYC and not Chicago.
So a question, was there ever a time here in the city where these high end properties turned over without sitting on the market for more than say, two or three months? Or has Chicago always been on the financially conservative/never buy more than you need side?
Someone mentioned the topic of supply/demand. I think this is a key driver as to why there is a much smaller million dollar housing market.
I think it is important to note that Chicago has never become quite as inflated as other cities because supply is relatively been easy to add. Chicago has probably the fewest regulations for construction (creating new supply) relative to other major cities. NYC has less land and more regulation, SF has liberals and earthquakes, Boston has entire sections of the city declared as landmarks. Chicaqgo not so much. Then tendency has been when LP, Old Town, Gold Coast, River North, etc. got expensive, we just tore down cheap old houses or even drifted out west or south to build more affordable housing. Lots of old warehouses, parking lots, etc. Yes at the super high end pricing may attempt to be more resilient because there may be a scarcity, but I think it will always be difficult in the high end market because supply is easier to create. I would say the ultimate example of supply dominating is Houston. Practically no zoning laws. So easy and cheap to build that pricing is very reasonable except for a couple of ultra-desirable enclaves.
On the demand side, there are just fewer multi-million dollar paying jobs. In NYC, Wall Street used to be a dozen banks each with 500+ people earning 7-figure paychecks. Add on private equity, hedge funds, etc. We had some of that in Chicago but not even close. And I use the past tense to make a point.
WTF are waxed concrete floors?
“WTF are waxed concrete floors?”
Have you ever been to Costco or Sam’s Club? Look at the floors.
I think the number of potential buyers is a valid question, however, for the high end houses on the market, it’s not as relevant as determining what makes a house distinctive enough to attract those buyers.
I see the real estate market as a bunch of layers based on location, overall size, price and “content”, by which I mean number and size of bedrooms and bathrooms, common space and extras such as yard, garage/parking and washer/dryer/air conditioning/flooring/basement/etc.
Buyers fit primarily in to one layer, with a bit of overlap into the layers above and below. The sellers have to determine which layer they are trying to attract, then work to make their property stand out from all the other properties in that layer.
So I think the questions to ask are the following:
What is the layer that this house fits? And is it distinctive enough that it stands out from the other properties and buyers in that layer will want to see it and buy it? Is it priced appropriately for that layer?
The house has a lot of positives – beautiful interior and outstanding location among them. The negatives are the exposed side yard and no parking. The price seems to be consistent with single family houses in Old Town, which usually start close to $1 million for the smaller houses. This house is one of the largest in the neighborhood but I don’t know if the size merits a price more than twice the starting price for single family houses.
The landmarking is both a positive and negative. The positive is that Old Town inventory is capped – there won’t be any more houses built in the Historic District. The negative is that you have to live with what you buy – any changes have to be approved, and the Landmarks committee is famous for blocking changes.
Decorative concrete floors are sealed using a heavy duty sealant to maintain the look and to protect them from scratches, scuffs, etc. You then apply a wax coating on top to add shine and to prevent yourself from slipping. Basically a layer of protection that is easily applied that adds durability. There are many products that can be used, most offer about the same protection and shine.
Great basic explanation Sparkly. I do think that the size of this home does warrant the sellers to ask a higher price. Not only the size, but the quality of the renovation work that has been done to it. It is a tricky process to get approval for a house that has the historic designation attached, more so for the exterior than the interior. I purchased one landmarked house years ago and it was an exhausting process to obtain the approval of the committee as it was very tightly run. I did minimal work to it before another party was very interested in it. I was happy to let them take it off my hands as I was tired of dealing with the committee who seemed to be as aged as the house itself was.
“So a question, was there ever a time here in the city where these high end properties turned over without sitting on the market for more than say, two or three months? Or has Chicago always been on the financially conservative/never buy more than you need side?”
Um…yeah. During the housing bubble!
It’s kind of like Harlem real estate WL (to give you something to relate to.) All those lovely brownstones that no one wanted for years but when the housing bubble happened suddenly they were hot and skyrocketing in price. Someone was buying those.
Plenty of $1-$3 million homes sold in Chicago in 2004-2006 (and quickly too.)
But the funny money has gone away (here AND New York.)
Thanks for the reply Sabrina. I was thinking with all those fantastic Lake Shore Drive/Gold Coast Properties there must have been some turnover in the late 90’s early 00’s. I know in the UES, now and in the past as well, the upper most coops/townhouses would sit on the market for some time as most were renovated to a specific taste. If that particular taste was not to your liking, you either spent about half of the sales price on a total rehab that took years or you bypassed in search of one that was finished the way you liked.
My grandparents triplex has been in our family since the building was constructed over a hundred years ago and has undergone at least 4 gut rehabs that I know of. The latest was completed around 10 years ago and probably will be the last one. It needs nothing else to make it complete.
Anyway, I got off topic…
I do have to disagree with your last sentence. The ‘funny money’ is still present in certain parts and segments of society in NYC/The Hamptons?Conneticut. The nouveau riche (hedge funders, Wall Street upper echelon types and bankers) for the most part have lost their standing and $$$$, while the old money guard has retained most of theirs. Well, other than the few who were Madoff’s friends. Those who have retained their status are keeping it well hidden and are claiming they too are ‘victims’ of economics. No conspicous spending on Park Avenue any longer.
“The nouveau riche (hedge funders, Wall Street upper echelon types and bankers) for the most part have lost their standing and $$$$, while the old money guard has retained most of theirs.”
The old money would have been invested in: stocks, bonds and real estate.
What have those done in the last 2 years?
I doubt they’ve “retained” most of their money. In fact, if you look at the Forbes Richest Americans list over the past 20 years it’s amazing the amount of turnover on the list (even among the richest “families”.)
Generation after generation of people living off the dole tends to deplete the piggy bank.
The price was too high to start, and now the interior is not period appropriate; these people don’t know what they’re doing.
“Have you ever been to Costco or Sam’s Club? Look at the floors.”
Sarcasm isn’t one of your strong points
“Decorative concrete floors are sealed using a heavy duty sealant to maintain the look and to protect them from scratches, scuffs, etc. You then apply a wax coating on top to add shine and to prevent yourself from slipping. Basically a layer of protection that is easily applied that adds durability. There are many products that can be used, most offer about the same protection and shine.”
You know these are decorative concrete floors how? There aren’t any pictures and if they did do something with the concrete like staining I hope they let the concrete cure for at least 28 days, did a good job removing the curing compound they applied over the slab and did moisture checks prior to applying this “decorative” finish. I’m sure they have a report from a testing agency stating all of the above.
Waxing a burnished floor is a recipe for slipping and is stupid to note on a $2MM property. You list waked concrete but not the “decorative” finish?
Have you actually ever been on a construction site?
My thoughts exactly, anon 9:42. I guess the exterior had to stay in the proper period due to a preservation ordinance, which I personally appreciate. Here in Houston, neighborhood character is a joke, and being destroyed lot by lot. Heartbreaking.
But this interior…seriously? That interior looks like every other current renovation, and it’s done badly. I agree there’s a cheap Ikea cabinets feel in that mud room, for example. Do these people really think the potential buyer who likes that facade would also like that interior? Outside: ornate purple (queen anne? victorian?); Inside: ubiquitous mid-century-lite. Oh, and they have to be super rich.
The buyer that appreciates that outside will be massively disappointed with the inside. Disharmony! They didn’t have to do some historical movie set inside, but the styles aren’t even remotely complimentary. Maybe post-bubble they haven’t realized they have to try a little harder. If this is the level of thought people in this industry exercise, yet manage to make money, I should give it a try. Good luck, seller!
edit: carpenter gothic is my closest guess. thanks, wikipedia!
“The “yard” is actually on the side of the house”
The “yard” is on another parcel, which is a the same parcel under a house on Orleans. If there is some right of this house in that land, it’s most likely a lease or something. If that “yard” were part of the property, then there would be “parking”.
“You know these are decorative concrete floors how?”
Taking a quick glance at the pics that accompany this listing and knowing that rarely (unless you don’t know what you are doing) do rehabbers apply wax on concrete without going through the refinishing process first. Qnd yes Johnny, it goes far beyond just staining…You can’t just take a concrete floor or even counter, wax it up and you are good to go.
If someone is going to renovate a million + dollar home, I am sure they did not skimp on labor or skip any of the steps along the way. If there is anything positive that has come from the ‘bubble burst’ it is that the amatuer rehabbers have left the business leaving only the most skilled craftsmen to do this work….And I am proud to say I am in the crowd of very experienced and well rounded rehabbers.
“Waxing a burnished floor is a recipe for slipping and is stupid to note on a $2MM property. You list waked concrete but not the “decorative” finish?
Have you actually ever been on a construction site?”
Down boy, down
I GREW up on construction sites and have built homes from the ground up and performed all types of renovations in my own business for over 25 years. Before that as a child and tenn, I would apprenticed with my father, uncles and grandfather on the job as they too are in the construction and renovation business. So don’t try to go there with me.
Also, both my NYC and Florida homes have concrete floors,counters, and built in seating both indoors and out. I and my crew did all the finishing work on them plus a few dozen other homes we have renovated over the years. While it has was not that popular to use concrete years ago, thte trend has caught on well leaving many companies to perfect and manufacture their products along the way.
I know the procedures involved, the products used and the have the know how to pour, work with and apply a number of different finishing procedures. Not only do I know my way around concrete flooring, I have used most every other product on the market right now.
I think you may be looking at the wrong pics as there are a few of them showing the flooring in the foyer and in the mud room. What you are seeing is not tile, it is concrete…decorative concrete.
As I stated in my prior post, the finishing wax formulas today have non slip elements mixed in to avoid accidents from happening. Need a bit more slip resistant for kitchens, baths and outdoor finished concrete? (restaurant flooring comes to mind) there are several manufacturers who offer additives, most made up of sand like materials, that guarantee a no slip surface.
I think when you googled all of this information, you didn’t spend enough time getting the basic facts down or perhaps you have some serious reading comprehension issues as the trash you are throwing at me leads me to believe that YOU do not know what you are talking about nor have you ever been on a site. Regardless…
Google can be your best friend amateur, but it will not do any good to persue these topics if you don’t actually take the info provided and use what you have learned. Get some solid hands on experience, tag along on some ‘big boy’ building projects, build/renovate a few hundred homes as I have. Once you do that, THEN and only then will I take anything you have to say seriously. Nice try though, I am sure a few posters believed what you were trying to do. Sorry you post didn’t work with me… Arse….
Get up on the negative side of the bed today alicia? LOL wow bash when no bashing is warranted.
Alicia says: “The buyer that appreciates that outside will be massively disappointed with the inside. ”
I certainly hope that before anyone becomes a “buyer”, they spend some time inside the property!
Homedelete — your comment was actually ridiculous.
Old Town IS different. This is probably the nicest house in Old Town. That means it will sell close to ask, which is all I said.
“This is probably the nicest house in Old Town.”
OTR:
Could be. And I would live in the Triangle over any other city location–if $$ were not an issue. Do you have any insight into the “yard”/parking situation? The picutred, and much discussed, yard is not on the subject house’s parcel (per various city/county resources) and belongs to the house behind on Orleans.
anon(tfo) asked: “Do you have any insight into the “yard”/parking situation? The picutred, and much discussed, yard is not on the subject house’s parcel (per various city/county resources) and belongs to the house behind on Orleans.”
I’m curious about that too – it does seem odd. The space is directly to the south of the house, and the house has no parking. However I saw a car drive into that space this weekend, and there is a curb cut there. The pictures on the realtor’s site clearly show a wrought iron table and chairs, and seem to give the impression that the space goes with the house.
I think the space belongs to the property that faces Orleans. I’ll try to walk by there and figure it out.
“Do you have any insight into the “yard”/parking situation?”
I don’t. I walk by this place all the time and always thought the yard belonged to the house. There are a few places with goofy set ups / odd shaped lots in Old Town, so I never really thought twice about it.
I have always figured the place didn’t have parking. Again, there are several nice places in Old Town that don’t have parking so I didn’t really think anything of it.
If I had the cash I’d buy this place and I’d be willing to pay ask. There’s no accounting for taste, but to me this is about as perfect as it gets. I think it’s also a perfect example of buying a house as a home, not an investment. If you are lucky enough to land a house this unique, and in this location, you will probably never leave. It’s an heirloom.
The lot to the south of the house is definitely parking for the building that faces Orleans. The northernmost portion of the lot is the part that has the open paving with grass showing through – the south portion where all the cars are parked is solid brick.
There is a wrought iron table and chairs near the house’s side door, as seen in the picture, so I’m guessing that is used by the residents of the house that’s for sale. Don’t know if the space is rented from the Orleans building or if it’s just accepted practice. There are lot of similar unwritten arrangements in Old Town.
The parking area is gated all around, and the house for sale is outside that gate, however that side door in the picture opens out inside the gate, so the owner probably has access through the parking entrance. While that house does not come with parking, there is parking for rent within a few blocks, and street parking isn’t a big problem if you don’t have to drive every day.
“There is a wrought iron table and chairs near the house’s side door, as seen in the picture, so I’m guessing that is used by the residents of the house that’s for sale. Don’t know if the space is rented from the Orleans building or if it’s just accepted practice. There are lot of similar unwritten arrangements in Old Town.”
That would certainly be an important thing to nail down deatils on before buying.
“That would certainly be an important thing to nail down deatils on before buying.”
Oh, I definitely agree. The picture seems to indicate that that section is part of the house, but that doesn’t seem likely.
This house has a 6′ south side yard set back. There is an easement that allows the neighbors to pull into their parking spaces. The homeowner retains use of the side yard. There are trees and foliage in what is effectively a 30′ south side yard. The north neighbor has a 20′ wide garden -lots of foliage. Both neighboring open spaces are protected and cannot be built on due to the Old Town Triangle Landmark District. Lots of light and air from N, E and S.
Covered and secured parking is available two buildings to the south at Orleans House – $200/month. Street parking is permitted and isnt such a burden. Brown line and several bus lines are a short walk. Cabs are plentiful on Wells Street – 1/2 block away. Lincoln Park is 1/2 block beyond there.
The finished concrete floors at the Garden level are cleaner than carpeting so air quality will remain high through changes in season. The garden level floor is hydronically heated, in fact the entire house is heated hydronically – more comfort and higher efficiency than forced air heat.
The real estate tax freeze continues through transfers of ownership. The Illinois Preservation Agency (which approves the tax freeze) requires a relateviely rigorous review before and after the work is completed. In this case interior mouldings are restored and reproduced and the first floor plan is close to the original. The curved stair reproduced and fit to the original walnut balustrade.
I live in Old Town and have been inside this house which is immaculate. All finishes are very high-end. The cabinets are Wood-Mode throughout (sorry whoever said IKEA!) The light fixtures in the master suite are from Artemide (super high end) and the rest were mostly from Lightology, although I can’t argue there might be a couple of IKEA thrown in — not uncommon these days, especially in contemporary homes (check out any photos from Dwell and they’re in there).
Old Town IS different. I have lived all over this city and Old Town is hands-down the best in terms of proximity to the city (you can walk to everything from Farmer’s Market to the beach to the zoo to public transportation to restaurants/gym/drugstore to Michigan Avenue, and YET, you are tucked into this gorgeous enclave of historic homes. And although this home is big, many are small and unassuming — just gorgeous.
Is the house perfect? No. But it is unique and quite stunning inside and out.