Was The Emerald One of the Greatest Deals of the Bust? 123 S. Green in the West Loop
This 2-bedroom penthouse in The Emerald at 123 S. Green in the West Loop came on the market in June 2015.
The Emerald was built in 2008 just as the bust was hitting. The developer slashed prices in 2010 in order to finally sell the units.
See our March 2010 chatter about the price cuts here. Several of you thought, even at the lower prices, that these units were still not a deal.
This corner penthouse has 15 foot ceilings and North and West exposures.
The listing says the unit has $50,000 in upgrades.
The kitchen has stainless steel appliances, Italian stone counters and a tile backsplash.
It also has a “spa-like” bath and custom Hunter Douglas blinds.
It has the other features buyers look for including washer/dryer in the unit, air conditioning and garage parking for $35,000 extra.
According to Redfin, this unit sold for $381,000 in 2010.
It is listed for $203,000 more in 2015, or $584,000 with the parking space.
Was The Emerald one of the best deals of the housing bust?
Raj Patel at Core Luxury Real Estate has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #1201B: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1250 square feet
- Sold in June 2010 for $381,000 (according to Redfin. Public records show that parking was included but it doesn’t show the selling price)
- Originally listed in June 2015 – I couldn’t find an original listing price
- Currently listed at $549,000 plus $35,000 for parking
- Assessments of $547 a month (includes heat, a/c, gas, doorman, exercise room)
- Taxes of $6210
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 15×11
- Bedroom #2: 13×11
Living area is tiny… no way in hell I’d pay $584k for that shoe box.
You could get a nice townhouse in Dearborn Park or University Village for this price. Why do people like this neighborhood so much? It’s nice, but not for Lincoln Park price.
“Living area is tiny”
But its a penthouse!! Think of the living *volume*!!! Look at all that luxurious stone!!!! Custom blinds!!!!!
Love the master bathroom pic. Can someone have enough crap on the vanity (remote included). De-clutter!
Wow look at all that 2009 shlock crammed up in this place, the backsplash, the mismatched tile/sink finishes, the developer special cabnets/sinks
585k and not even enough room for a sectional couch? good luck with that
doesn’t appear that anything has been done to this place, especially not to justify a 200k appreciation
“Spa-like bath”? Maybe it’s the spa at the Holiday Inn on Harrison. Neither bathroom features a rainfall shower head and/or frameless shower door (which means there’s also no steam shower).
Just for fun, I googled “spa-like bath” and came across this:
http://www.hgtv.com/design/rooms/bathrooms/15-dreamy-spa-inspired-bathrooms-pictures
Who needs a TV in the bathroom? Sitting on the sh*tter too long can lead to hemerrhoids, ask Groove.
As a nearby neighbor who plans to move in the next 18 months, I hope they get as close to this price as possible. As a realist, I know that they won’t. This price is at least $75k more than it should be. Even the parking is at least $5 too much.
Just a reminder:
The furniture won’t be there when you move in. Crib Chatter isn’t a design site. You can repaint the walls and bring your own couch. You can even change the backsplash.
So if you’re just going to trash the seller’s furniture, I will delete your comment.
Not sure that it will command that price but that area has been a successful buy for several buildings. Not far down the road at RD659 (Randolph and DesPlaines) I had a friend that bought a 2/2 back in 2008. Despite the threat of using two floors for public housing and adding a Fiat dealership into the retail space his unit als has appreciated.
At that time he asked me for opinions and I recall that I liked the amenities at Emerald better but it was much more expensive. I recall a promotion to get a free “green” moped when buying an Emerald unit. Wonder if these sellers still have the moped. Perhaps they can throw that in to make it full price offer. Ha ha….
These prices make me want to list my place, but then I remember that I’d have to either buy/rent in this environment. $422/sf seems rich for the relative quality of the unit & building and for me there’s a perception problem having the price start with a ‘5’. $475K including pkg seems like a good number if one wants to be in this building/location, although it likely goes higher.