The Rare 4-Bedroom Roscoe Village Townhouse: 2044 W. Roscoe
This 4-bedroom townhouse at 2044 W. Roscoe in Roscoe Village just came on the market.
While the building may not look like townhouses from the street, it actually has a bigger complex behind the Roscoe Street façade that houses 6 townhouses.
This unit is in the back of the complex, so it does not face onto Roscoe.
It has custom wood work on the main level, including a wood ceiling.
It has an antique fireplace mantle and exposed brick.
The kitchen has wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances along with a large kitchen island with slate floors.
This townhouse is unique because it is has the coveted 4 bedrooms, which is very difficult to find in a townhouse.
But even more rare, all 4 bedrooms are on the second floor.
The third floor has a family room with a deck and a full sized bath.
There is 2-car attached parking included.
It’s unusual to find any townhouses in Roscoe Village, let alone right in the middle of all the shops and restaurants.
With single family homes in the neighborhood scarce at under $1 million, will this townhouse, priced at just $749,000, go under contract this week?
Jennifer Ames at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #1N: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 2300 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in May 1999 for $380,000
- Sold in August 2006 for $718,000
- Sold in May 2012 for $625,000
- Currently listed for $749,000
- Assessments of $265 a month (includes water, exterior maintenance, parking, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $9605
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 15×14 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 10×14 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 10×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 11×13 (second floor)
- Family room: 13×19 (third floor)
I looked at a similar unit in the building a couple years back and liked it a lot, plenty of space inside and out, great parking and a decent location, albeit slightly far from the train. The exteriors were in rough shape however, though a big external refresh was promised to be coming. Not sure if it ever happened. If not I will be surprised this sells anywhete near ask. The rustiness of the iron beams, considered their permanent state and “normal”, was a turnoff as well.
The truss and beams looks like Red primer, which is odd as the railing at the ends is painted.
Is the deck on the 2nd floor owned by this property? There appears to be an emergency exit out of the adjacent property
definitely a unique space basically a 2 floor layout with party room and deck on the 3rd floor. This is much more appealing than the 4 story layouts i’ve seen.
“slightly far from the train”
It’s almost exactly half a mile, and a straight shot, unless you cross the street to get coffee. sub ten minutes, easy.
Floorplan:
http://www.bestfloorplans.com/best/pdfviewer.aspx?g=bcc71f7c
Not quite sure where that 4th bedroom is hiding.
Wonder how big the garage-level storage is; very little hidden space in the unit aside from master closet.
The 4th bedroom is the office/den on the 3rd floor… realtors do that with these townhouses… I looked at some that had the office/den on the 1st floor and was a horrible 8×8 room that if you closed off you could maybe fit a bed in there but yeah terrible to say its a 4 bedroom when it is clearly not.
8×8 is fine for a nanny.
“The 4th bedroom is the office/den on the 3rd floor”
But Sabrina sez:
“all 4 bedrooms are on the second floor.”
Maybe Gary can chime in.
The one I looked at was also advertised as 2300 sq ft and had 3 bedrooms on the second floor (of the unit, third floor of the building since these sit over the parking garage) assuming the same footprint goes with the same square footage there is no way all four bedrooms are on the second floor and I expect this is really more of a 3 bedroom plus office.
Yeah, and a half mile to the train is my outer limit, hence “slightly”. I’ve done it (and then some) and my current .2 miles is noticeably better. Train proximity is huge for some of us.
“The 4th bedroom is the office/den on the 3rd floor… realtors do that with these townhouses”
You’re right Sonies. I went to look at the bedroom location again and there are only 3 bedrooms on the second level. The fourth “bedroom” is really that space on the upper level.
But why stretch the truth? Why not just call it a 3/3.5? Those sell just as quickly- especially ones where the 3 bedrooms are on the same level (which is actually also rare in townhouses.) How many 3-bedroom townhouses are for sale in Roscoe Village, a very popular neighborhood? I don’t get it.
There is so little inventory- of everything- both 3 and 4 bedrooms.
I think RV is one of those nabes where people are going to “stay put” for a while after investing so much money in their houses and enjoying all the cool retail and restaurants. Lots of kids around here too. If the day-care facilities are good and the schools of magnet quality I’d say this area is going to be “stable” – even stagnant – for a long time.
“If … the schools of magnet quality”
It’s amazing how much you talk about CPS while knowing so little about CPS.
The (continuing) issue is all of the people who bail for the burbs when the oldest kid gets to be about 12.
Interior finishes are far better quality than exterior finish materials: Fancy-pants kitchen coupled w/clumsily-detailed vinyl siding.
“The (continuing) issue is all of the people who bail for the burbs when the oldest kid gets to be about 12.”
But I thought that everyone’s kid was a genius and that they would all get into magnet schools because their parents went to the University of Chicago or NYU and so the kid has to be equally as smart.
Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?
And actually, if EVERYONE was fleeing to the suburbs when their kids turned 12, wouldn’t there be a ton of houses/condos/townhouses on the market in the best school districts like Blaine and Bell as the parents fled? Why isn’t that the case? Are all the children just 9 years old right now so in 3 more years there will be like 50 properties in each of these school districts coming on the market?
I wonder…
Go to the Noodles & Co by the Mariano’s on Western to get an idea of the average age of kidlets in the Southport area.
“if EVERYONE was fleeing to the suburbs”
Didn’t say that.
But, yeah, that’s when people in this area (broadly speaking) leave for N’ville or New Trier or wherever.
“everyone’s kid was a genius and that they would all get into magnet schools”
Wrong terminology. Are you sure you have kids in Chicago?
Correct terminology is “selective enrollment” schools.
My observation is that the Blaine/Bell parents get a free CPS ride for elementary school and then send their kid to a private high school if the selective option is not to their liking. Or flee to the suburbs. I know plenty of examples from each option.
” send their kid to a private high school if the selective option is not to their liking. Or flee to the suburbs. I know plenty of examples from each option.”
Yep, with some number fleeing at/around 7th, on the basis of test score track record and understanding the rubric and a desire to integrate into the chosen burb pre-HS. Which is reasonable, if unfortunate.
“My observation is that the Blaine/Bell parents get a free CPS ride for elementary school and then send their kid to a private high school if the selective option is not to their liking.”
We’ve chattered about this in the past.
How do you suddenly get your kid into the best private schools if they’re in 8th grade? You have to have your child in these private schools from kindergarten on up. They have very few slots to allow newbies in for high school.
If you’re counting just Blaine and Bell, suddenly there would be a few dozen kids who would need to suddenly enroll in one of the private schools. And that’s just from those two grade schools (and not Hamilton, Alcott, etc. etc. )
Good luck.
By “private” do you mean the secular high schools like Parker and Lab, or are you including the Catholic secondaries as well? With the notable exception of nearby St. Ben’s, Catholic elementary and high schools are separate entities with no “automatic” link.1
I’m sorry but unless your kid is clearly a genius, wasting all that money on some overly expensive private school is a fucking HUGE waste of money.
“You have to have your child in these private schools from kindergarten on up. They have very few slots to allow newbies in for high school.”
No, you don’t. Latin, for example, has 63 JK spots and 40-45 9th grade spots.
Is it competitive? Without a doubt. But so is the JK admission.
“unless your kid is clearly a genius”
If the kid is *clearly* a “genius”, it’s probably best to home school ’em, so as not to waste their time with grade-level crap.
well also if its a genius they’ll probably get into a magnet school anyway
“I’m sorry but unless your kid is clearly a genius, wasting all that money on some overly expensive private school is a fucking HUGE waste of money.”
ummm, nonny?
“If the kid is *clearly* a “genius”, it’s probably best to home school ’em, so as not to waste their time with grade-level crap.”
A genius kid, as opposed to virtually all of the kids in sees, should be able to school him/herself.
A kid who is really up there (not even at genius level) should not have any trouble testing well enough for those portions of the sehs entrance score. It’s no cakewalk generally, but for an actually gifted kid the tests should be trivial.
One of my coworkers is bailing from Bell due to his daughter’s complaints of being unchallenged. His daughter is not considered a genius and he doesn’t think she is that much smarter than a regular kid.
“One of my coworkers is bailing from Bell due to his daughter’s complaints of being unchallenged. His daughter is not considered a genius and he doesn’t think she is that much smarter than a regular kid.”
is she in the gifted, err I mean options, program? are they moving?
“I’m sorry but unless your kid is clearly a genius, wasting all that money on some overly expensive private school is a fucking HUGE waste of money.”
“well also if its a genius they’ll probably get into a magnet school anyway”
Is sonies having (or has had) a kid? he used to annoyed about any school discussion, now he seems annoyed (and uninformed) about schools but not annoyed at the discussion of such.
fuck no, i’m doing the world a favor and not reproducing
also sick and rambling so theres that
“is she in the gifted, err I mean options, program? are they moving?”
In either case, bailing to go where?
I know someone who did the reverse–bailed on expensive private school bc ‘not learning enough’ to justify the expense. Now neighborhood CPS kid. This was in like 4th or 5th grade.
“’I’m sorry but unless your kid is clearly a genius, wasting all that money on some overly expensive private school is a fucking HUGE waste of money.’
ummm, nonny?”
Actually, I think pretty much every type of kid besides geniuses stands to benefit from an expensive private school. Sure, a private school is great for brilliant kids (making sure they’re challenged, not having their time wasted by disruptive kids in big classrooms, etc.). But if your kid needs any special attention (reading, speech, social issues), even only for a short while (and, despite how we all view our kids, every kid needs such attention at some point), a private school is going to handle it far, far better. If one can afford a top private pre-K through 12 school, and the kids can get in, it’s a no brainer. We got ours in at one in Chicago. Had we stayed, it would have been a strugle, especially now that the younger is in school, but we would have made it work. In our current area, there are a few Latin/Parker/British type schools, and they’re pretty much the same cost. But my compensation is back to where it was as a first year (a little under, actually), and our mortgage payment is basically what it was in Chicago (only for a house and not a 2/2.5), so a traditional top of the line private school is just not in the cards right now.
I’m not sure what program she is in at Bell and the family is moving to the north shore. They are about to close on a house. The daughter will have to change schools in the middle of the year, but she’s desperate to leave.
I was able to get into Lab school as a high school student. I have no idea how many students they let in as freshman and I’m not a genius (good grades, good test scores, not “genius level”).
It’s also easier to get into one of these elite private schools than the CPS magnet schools. I read magnet schools have an acceptance rate of something like 15% and I thought elite private schools had around a 40% acceptance rate.
“the family is moving to the north shore”
That’s a big change bc one kid is not feeling ‘challenged’. And buying a pig in a poke, at that.
I guess his daughter is extremely unhappy there. I can understand that. I was absolutely desperate to get out of Catholic school when I was in elementary school to the point where I took scissors and cut up my uniform so there was no way I could be forced to go back. I ended up transferring to North Park Elementary and was much happier.
“extremely unhappy there”
That’s usually about more than not feeling challenged, is totally understandable (especially if the kid is like 10+, rather than a 1st grader) and really really sucks. But for most people the first thing is to change schools w/o moving–but I can totally see unhappy = get out of the neighborhood, too.
Closed in February at $740k.
740K?! Ouch. When I looked at these places in 2014 I think it was 100K less or more and I couldn’t see it-still can’t.