Too Good To Be True? Two Bedrooms in East Lakeview for $215,000
Several of you have e-mailed me recently asking about the new conversion building at 3033 N. Sheridan in East Lakeview.
The building had its “opening” weekend last weekend and couldn’t have picked better weather to launch a new development.
The building was built in 1968, is 16 stories and 143 units, and, from the outside, is nothing much to look at.
The developer is repairing the front circular drive and has already re-done the lobby with slate flooring. The hallways are also being re-done.
There is no outdoor space with the units but the developer is adding a rooftop deck.
There is a bike room, storage lockers and parking available.
There are parking spots for half the units in the building. Outdoor deeded parking is $35,000. Indoor is $40,000. Currently, the developer is not selling spaces with the junior one-bedrooms but a sales agent said that may change at a later date.
I went to the grand opening over the weekend and it was a feeding frenzy. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen so many people looking in one location at real estate. There were literally dozens of people at any one time looking at the units. And they were serious lookers (as several had agents with them.)
Can you really get a two bedroom unit for $215,000?
Yes- and no.
The developer sold 20% of the units prior to the grand launch. Most of those were the cheapest junior one bedrooms and the cheapest 2 bedroom/1 bath units.
The junior one bedrooms were selling like hotcakes. A majority of the 20% sold were those units.
The developer, as is common in conversions now, doesn’t list any square footages with the units.
What’s Available:
Junior One Bedrooms: the bedroom has a partial wall and a window. These are very cute.
- Started at $149,000
- Most of the cheap ones are sold so you’re looking at around $160,000
- Bedroom: 8 x 7
- Living/Dining: 15 x 11
- Kitchen: 9 x 6
- Assessments around $194 a month and up
There’s a one bedroom tier, but this didn’t seem popular and the developer is converting most of those into two bedroom units.
Two bedroom, 1 bath: Non-corner units with the small second bedroom without a window
- Now start around $233,000 up to $270,000 (depending on if you face east or west). The cheaper units are all under contract.
- Master Bedroom: 15 x 11
- Second bedroom: 10 x 8 (no window)
- Living/dining: 19 x 13
- Kitchen: 11 x 8
- Assessments around $250 a month and up
Two bedroom, 1 bath: Corner units, second bedoom has a window
- Start around $275,000 to $306,900 (top floor)
- Master Bedroom: 15 x 11
- Second Bedroom: 10 x 8
- Living/Dining: 19 x 13
- Kitchen: 11 x 8
- Assessments around $275 a month and up
Three bedroom, two bath: These are corner units- most will have lakeviews of some sort, all bedrooms have windows
- Start at $332,900 up to $362,900
- Master Bedroom: 13 x 12
- Second Bedroom: 13 x 11
- Third Bedroom: 11 x 9
- Living/Dining: 19 x 14
- Kitchen 10 x 10
- Assessments around $336 a month and up
Some Caveats:
These prices are the “As-Is” sales price- before there are any upgrades. The developer is selling two different packages:
- Standard upgrade package at $15,000: this includes a new kitchen and baths but finishes aren’t “luxury” (i.e. thinner granite countertops) and new carpeting
- Luxury upgrade package at $40,000: this includes hardwood floors in the living/dining area, nicer cabinet choices in the kitchen, marble in the bathroom
I was pleasantly surprised to see that you could get marble in the bathrooms at these price points.
One sales agent told me that you could put in the hardwood floors and some of the other stuff for cheaper than the $40,000 if you just bought the standard package and did it yourself.
Another said the developer was aware that people want the hardwood so it’s possible you could buy the standard and then pay extra to just have the developer put in the hardwood as well.
The units will have w/d hook-ups but it will be the Euro style units (washer/dryer combo.)
The “as-is” units have popcorn ceilings. It is an upgrade to have them removed. They left some of the models in “as-is” condition so you can see what you get if you don’t upgrade.
As with any conversion- do your homework. The building was an apartment building for decades. You can read renters reviews on various apartment websites.
The developer is not redoing the windows. The sales agent said they were replaced in 1999. The developer is also not redoing the roof. The sales agent said it was replace in 2000.
Is this a deal?
Buyers seemed to think so. The upgraded units were very pleasant. The developer is replacing all the interior doors and putting in crown molding along the baseboard which makes it feel “classier.” The units get good light.
There is concrete in-between the floors so you likely won’t hear much noise from your neighbors above or below you (but, again, review the apartment review websites for more info on that.)
In this market, there appears to be pent up demand for anything that is “affordable”- especially in key locations like Lincoln Park and Lakeview.
At one point during the weekend, here was a breakdown of some of the pre-sales (with a caveat that things appeared to be selling even while I was touring the models):
- Three sold of the three bedroom units (out of 26)
- None sold of the 2 bedroom, 1 bath with a window in the second bedroom (out of 26)
- Seven sold of the 2 bedroom, 1 bath with no window (out of 26)
- The rest of the sales were the junior one bedrooms (about a third of those had sold out of 39 units)
The sales agents were also telling us that the junior one bedrooms would make an excellent “investment.” They used to rent for about $1000 a month as apartments. Feel free to do the math on that one.
Dream Town Realty is handling sales.
3033 N. Sheridan [website]
Great Post Sabrina! I would never have learned about this conversion. Do the units have central air? There appears to be a small air condition unit below the window in the pictures posted.
No- there is no central air. There are units under the windows (which is nicer than in the windows) in the livingroom and the master bedrooms.
The heat is also controlled by the building. So it gets turned on in the winter and turned off in the summer. You can apparently control the amount you get in your own individual unit. But the heating costs are going to be “group billed”- separate from your assessment. I was told the costs per month will range from $40 to $65 depending on the size of the unit.
Stay away from this disaster! Kroupa Development have been shopping this thing on the apartment market for months now, and the last thing you want to own is a condo in majority rental building. Search http://www.svn.com properties for sale to see the listing for the whole building.
I was one of the last tenants out, at the time they were showing the building like crazy, trying to re-sell it for rentals. They orignally had my corner, 12th flr, 1 bedroom apt, listed as a 2 bedroom for $440K (not a lakeview, no parking). The Jr 1 bds they sold en mass on day 1 and then nothing…
Isn’t Kroupa the company that did the conversion about a block south on Sheridan?
I’ve heard some really, really bad things about that one, including an asbestos problem that caused the building to be evacuated in late 2007. Be very careful with this conversion.
From some of these later comments, perhaps this conversion IS too good to be true. But these cheaper price points would attract some traffic in that area.
No central air? I don’t care how granite the countertops or how stainless the kitchen appliances are if theres no central air. I’d rather live in a place with normal countertops and outdated appliances/carpet/pergo floors but with central air than a place with a wall unit.
Plus this building just looks ugly from the exterior. Like a circa 1970s gov’t building or college dorm.
roof and window special assessment to come down the pipe…
How do you know? I would be interested in buing an unfinihsed unit, and I could do it myself over the next couple of years.
My girlfriend lived in this building (along I think with every other 22 yr old female who moved to chicago the last few years) the elevator (sometimes both banks) was always broken…hmm special assesments!
That’s where my fiancee lived when we first started dating. Her 1BR was pretty large… I wonder if that’s the 2BR/1BA floorplan now. She moved into my 1BR a few blocks south a while back, but now that we’re soon to be looking for a 2BR condo under about $400k and love the area we may have to take a look. We’d have go higher than 6th floor, though, because I hated having the 151 bus announcements wake me up in the morning!
you have to go above 10 to really get away from the street noiuse, sheridan is pretty loud between the traffic and the duffy’s drunks
Thanks for finding out all this information, Sabrina! It’s nice to have someone looking out for the rest of us.
This place is scary. I remember there was a fire in one of the units in 2005 or so. You buy one of these places and and you are asking to get hit with special assessments.
my fiance & I are looking to buy in the area and cant find anything that looks worth buying under $250-so we are interested but would rather hear from buyers than renters…are there any buyers out there that have seen this place…we would love central air too but we are realistic that it just doesnt exist in our price range…any buyers thoughts would be great!
Regarding the Jr. 1 Beds – am I reading that right – 8×7? Those certainly sound like studios that were sectioned off. I hear a lot of people in the high rises have been doing this – trying to pass off studios as 1 beds – 8×7 is obscenely tiny for a bedroom. Oh, and no central air? No thanks!
I thought Jr 1 bedrooms were sectioned off studios hence the Junior….Sabrina do you have any clarification on this?
I’m not an agent- so I don’t know what the “official” Chicago classification is.
Most of the “junior” 1 bedrooms I’ve seen have not had the full wall.
From what I understand, to be considered a bedroom in Chicago, the room must have a closet. (it doesn’t have to have a window.)
Any agents know the official difference between a studio and a junior 1 bedroom? Or is it all a marketing ploy?
I went and looked at these units too. They showed me the nice 1 bed 1 bath unit on the second floor, then they showed me my actual unit on the 11th floor (if I were to buy). The walls were moldy, water damage everywhere, slanted floors, absolutely gross!! The rehab is not a guy, all they do is paint and put down new crown molding. STAY AWAY FROM THIS BUILDING!
A junior 1 is basically a studio with a wall for a bed area. It can’t be classified as a 1 BR because there is no closet in the room. and honestly, if you go look at a Jr 1 you will feel like this “bedroom” is a closet. it basically fits a bed behind the wall and a nightstand. you may as well upgrade to a 1BR at the other bldg this guy redid at 2930 N Sheridan.
stay away from anything that Kroupa does… the project before the Sheridan building, they left without fixing the roof..and now we are stuck with an $800k bill… THEY BLOW!