Want That White Picket Fence? A 3-Bedroom SFH at 306 W. Concord in Old Town
This 3-bedroom vintage single family home at 306 W. Concord in Old Town came on the market in September 2018.
Built in 1896 on a smaller than average 24×94 lot, it has a 2 car garage.
The listing said the house was “totally renovated” in 2006/2007.
Additionally, a great room and master suite were added on to the back of the house which expanded the square footage to 2500 square feet.
The kitchen has white cabinets, black counter tops, white subway tile, a farmhouse sink and luxury stainless steel appliances.
There’s a separate breakfast room and an office, with French doors, on the main level.
All three bedrooms are on the lower level including the master suite which has a spa bathroom.
There’s a deck on top of the 2-car garage but because of the addition, there’s no backyard.
The house has central air.
It also literally has a white picket fence on the front of the property.
Originally listed in September 2018 for $1.35 million, it has been reduced to $1.295 million.
This is just $45,000 above the 2016 sales price.
Is this house a good starter home in a popular neighborhood?
Emily Sachs Wong at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
306 W. Concord: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2500 square feet
- Sold in July 1996 for $290,000
- Sold in December 2005 for $643,000
- Sold in April 2016 for $1.25 million
- Originally listed in September 2018 for $1.35 million
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $1.295 million
- Taxes of $20,402
- Central Air
- 2-car garage
- Bedroom #1: 16×13 (lower level)
- Bedroom #2: 12×10 (lower level)
- Bedroom #3: 11×7 (lower level)
- Living room: 12×11 (main level)
- Office: 10×9 (main level)
- Kitchen: 12×9 (main level)
- Family room: 17×15 (main level)
HAHAHAHA
1) ESW – can I get a floor plan please?
2) I love OTT but this pricing is too high.
3) anon(TFO): How is the tax valuation?
$1.3M to sleep in the basement! After scrolling through the pictures, I felt like I strolled through Menards.
Over the weekend, 310 W. Concord (literally next door to the West) had a sign out front indicated that it will be for sale soon. Like 306, it is a 3/2 (according to Zillow), with the bedrooms on the main level (e.g. the above ground basement). It will be interesting to see the pricing and whether it puts any pressure on 306 since this has been sitting for 10 months.
looks like they’re just trying to cover those realtor fees
good luck!
At some price point, a floor plan in the listing should be expected. I think over $1,000,000 is safely in the “floor plan expected” category.
If the house was “totally renovated”, it’s certain that they have a floor plan. Not including the floor plan they already have in the listing raises questions.
Floor plans aren’t common in most markets. I don’t know why other than maybe there is a cost involved and realtors/sellers don’t want to spend the money. The other reason is that providing a floor plan could dissuade some people from even looking at a property.
I’ve noticed that almost every listing in NYC seems to include a floor plan though regardless of price.
Does the historic district not allow dormers so they could go up and make a master bedroom suite in the attic space? That would be way better than sleeping the basement for $1million+. I love the preservation efforts but there has to be some give and take to keep these properties desirable.
Marko,
If this is in the historic district, I highly doubt the Old Town Triangle Association would allow anything like that, or any tasteful design which would make the house less functionally obsolete in the name of “preserving neighborhood character”. Hell they tried to stop a family from building an attached garage to accommodate their wheelchair-ridden daughter. They are one of the most despicable NIMBY groups in Chicago; possibly worse than the one I have to deal with in Jefferson Park.
ESW is usually better with providing floor plans so I was surprised given the property that they didn’t include one in this listing.
I think you’re paying way too much for the location here. The interior reminds me of several Chicago bungalows I’ve been in located in West Rogers Park and Evanston, which you could still buy for $400,000 or less. Seems crazy to pay three times that for the same amount of space, even if it is in Old Town.
“Floor plans aren’t common in most markets.”
You’re right Russ. I never thought about this before. In some cities, there is NEVER a floor plan. In Chicago, as we know, it’s hit or miss depending on the property.
Local preferences, perhaps?
It sounds like NYers demand to see a floor plan if they include it with every listing. It must drive NY’ers crazy to look at homes in other markets then. Lol.
“Hell they tried to stop a family from building an attached garage to accommodate their wheelchair-ridden daughter.”
This is still going on. They have now sued the family.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/03/29/old-town-group-sues-family-after-board-rules-family-can-add-garage-to-historic-home-for-daughter-in-wheelchair/
omg talk about a time where “dismissed with prejudice” is warranted.
NY & Floor Plans
One reason I’ve heard for New York always having floor plans is the floor plan being part of the legal offering for co-ops, hence most units for sale had one as part of the documents. Obviously it carried over to the rental market and then condo market eventually. New York apartments are generally even more standard than Chicago 2/3/6/courtyard buildings hence it’s easy to do the plans. There is even a huge online archive of NYC apartment plans (mostly rental brochures) which is pretty interesting for those interested.
Floorplans are also common in the UK and some northern European countries too, so there is no excuse for not doing it here. My realtor neighbor had it done when she sold her unit. I was given a copy of the original sales brochure floorplan from the 20’s when I bought my unit.
Elliot,
That case isn’t as cut and dry as it seems. There was no garage on that spot in the past (ie no historic precedent). As with the above property you can’t buy in a historic district and assume you can make the changes you want (or need) even if you are disabled. That is the point of a historic district. As other owners start to age and need wheelchairs / have trouble with stairs should they be allowed to add elevators to the sides of their house that are visible from the street? Should they be able to install curb cuts so they aren’t forced to park on the street (many homes in the OTT don’t have parking)?
If you look past the people involved the facts support the OTTA.
The preservation board is a major PITA – but the reason is if they make one exception they have to make the same exception going forward and eventually the character of the hood changes. If buyers don’t want to deal with them they can buy to the west of Sedgwick where they don’t have a preservation board. The landmark district in Old Town is actually very small.
@Elloit and @Sabrina – I can’t understand why the owners didn’t know about the restrictions before committing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a massive rehab.
There is a fair compromise: let them build the garage, but it has to get torn down when they sell the house or when the daughter moves out.
Matt that is actually an elegant solution.