We Love Authentic 2-Bedroom Brick and Timber Lofts: 1872 N. Clybourn in Lincoln Park
This corner 2-bedroom loft at 1872 N. Clybourn in Lincoln Park has been on the market since April 2011.
The building was converted into residential lofts back in the early 1990s so many of the authentic loft features were preserved including wide open living spaces, exposed brick, 14 foot timber ceilings, and 10 foot windows.
At 1400 square feet, it also has a second floor den.
The kitchen has 42 inch cabinets and granite counter tops but black appliances.
There is deeded parking included and central air but it looks like it has coin laundry in the building (although another listing in the building says in-unit washer/dryers are allowed.)
The loft is listed $50,900 over the 2005 purchase price- which is appreciation of nearly 14%.
Will this loft get the premium from the 2005 price?
Timothy Mertzlufft at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #302: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1400 square feet
- Sold in April 1993 for $151,500
- Sold in May 1999 for $265,000
- Sold in May 2005 for $369,000
- Originally listed in April 2011 for $419,900
- Currently still listed at $419,900 (parking included)
- Assessments of $370 a month (includes heat and a/c)
- There is a special assessment
- Taxes of $5568
- Central Air
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- Bedroom #1: 16×11
- Bedroom #2: 12×11
- Den: 12×11 (second level)
No.
1) Who wants 1400 sq ft on two levels?
2) It only has one bathroom. 2/1s are a bitch to sell. I know.
3) It’s been 99 days and it hasn’t sold. It must not be a good deal. The least they could do is drop the price to $399K. If it was worth more than $400K it would have already sold.
4) Unit 507 with 2 baths and 1700 sq ft went under contract when listed at $449K. On a relative basis that would have been a better deal.
5) Buyers (and CCs) have this thing about the last purchase price. No one is willing to let these guys sell for more than they paid.
I love the bones. I’m a bit old now to have the cramped loft bed, kitchen I’ve gotten too picky, and the bathtub I’ll pretend I didn’t see. Basically this place is not for adults and needs to be priced as such.
Where to begin:
1 bathroom
Black appliances
On Clybourn (high traffic area no less)
Short lofted areas
Menard’s kitchen island
Not to mention that bizarre shower tub that is 4 steps up and would require you to duck (if you are more than 4’6″) to get into it!
High assessments
Not a top floor
Common roof deck (not a plus)
Special Assessment is a nice selling point as well
$300/SF (probably includes the crawl spaces, I mean lofted areas)
Overpriced and nobody wants.
it is not a bad looking loft though. if they adjust the price as recommended, it will sell. 1Bath seems to be the biggest problem.
I’m amazed that the assessments are that low, if HVAC is included. Uninsulated walls; might be quite cold in winter within three feet of wall perimeter.
That shower is scary! Sure hope the tile is not slippery when wet.
One bath…with low ceilings and stairs to the tub…hideous. Too many levels…its really more like three with all the split levels. No one could stay here with even one baby…there is no room to grow in this space…can’t grow a family and can’t grow old. People are looking for longer term homes and this is not it.
I am scared, somebody hold me please?
I remember looking at a loft in this building back in the late 80’s. It was much newer then & I liked it a lot. The unit I looked at had a flight of stairs up to a mezanine level “office”–big enough for a desk–and then a flight up to the roof level bedroom which opened out to a small private deck & gorgeous skyline view. Everything was perfect for me as a single 20-something guy, until I realized that the only bathroom was on the first floor so I’d have to stumble down two flights of stairs from my bedroom & balcony to relieve myself (or keep a can handy!)
The renovation of this building into lofts was done by good architects & it had an excellent reputation back then–though standards have come up a bit over 20 years!
Not happening at $300/SF, maybe $220-230/SF.
That’s a nice loft.
But until Clybourn becomes more friendly to non-motorists, with traffic calming, and better accomodation for pedestrians and bicycles, this area will continue to have a windswept, desolate feel to it. That’s too bad, given the thriving retail scene there. There’s huge potential to take it to the next level. The abandoned feel of the area would make me not consider this place, personally.
“The abandoned feel of the area would make me not consider this place, personally.”
The abandoned feeling of being across from Jayson H&G, Aldi and Trader Joes? Really?
Not the block of Clybourn I’d say that about.
What a god awful mess of exposed (and diagonally oriented) ductwork, bizarre stairs to nowhere, track lighting, ceiling fans, and other miscellaneous shit. Plus cramped bedroom spaces where the ceiling cuts of the windows
Beyond ugly. Irredeemable.
That “second bedroom” appears to have a ceiling height of around five feet, unless those are super tall books and custom oversized shelves to hold the special super tall books. How can they call this a bedroom – it looks more like a crawl space. I’d guess 275 to 300.
I could handle the 5′ ceiling more than going up steps into my bathtub. Is there a separate shower, or do you have to be a contortionist to just bathe in this place?
“The abandoned feeling of being across from Jayson H&G, Aldi and Trader Joes? Really?”
OK, maybe not “abandoned”, but somehow not a charming area to choose to stroll around. Compared to Armitage/Halsted or Milwaukee/Damen shopping areas, for example. Not enough people on the streets on Clybourn.
The multiple surface parking lots directly north of the building that I see on street view certainly don’t help.
“I’m amazed that the assessments are that low, if HVAC is included. Uninsulated walls; might be quite cold in winter within three feet of wall perimeter.”
Should not be an issue if the windows are properly sealed. Also I’d wager that the heat is not included in assesments. Might have been a typo if it suggested that it was included.
I suspect that it will sell around $365 to $375 before September. Someone who is not thinking about the future (aka single guy with no kiddies) will be the eventual buyer.
I like the location and recall this as the building where they had those balconies painted in a hideous teal shade. Anyone else recall them being painted in a funny shade of green?
so if someone puts up a platform and creates 2 short spaces under a 14 foot ceiling–which is apparently what was done with the one bedroom & the den above it–does that count as additional square footage?
I was trying to figure out the layout here, and basically the one bedroom that has windows gets the bottom 2/3 of them & has around a 7 1/2 foot height (guessing); the “den” above that gets 1/3 of the windows, and gets maybe 6 feet of height (though some headroom less because of ductwork). Then there’s the other 5 ft. tall bedroom which looks over the kitchen & gets light from kitchen windows.
“OK, maybe not “abandoned”, but somehow not a charming area to choose to stroll around. Compared to Armitage/Halsted”
5 minute walk to Sheffield/Armitage, so the charming stroll is merely “steps away”.
And, except for weekday mornings, anytime I’m around there there are quite a few people walking. Sidewalks *are* too narrow, tho.
“Then there’s the other 5 ft. tall bedroom which looks over the kitchen & gets light from kitchen windows.”
When we were designing our lofts my architect explained that you could no longer do that unless there was 7.5 feet headroom above the lofter area. Also where we did have second levels (some bathrooms and closets with drop ceilings and storage above were installed) we had to bring the fire sprinklers into the covered spaces as not to create a fire hazard.
I’m sure that this is grandfathered in legally when they received their occupancy permits however I do not think that you will ever get a permit for this again.
This is a cookie cutter loft. People used to buy lofts to get out of the cookie cutter white square apartments. Now all the lofts look all the same–I’m so bored. Agreed that it is a low assessment that includes that heat and ac. Probably the special assesment was to cover last years heat bill! It was cold!
I again bet that the assesment does not include heat and air.
I was wrong. just checked Redfin and several units that are up for sale or sold listed HVAC as included in the assessments. That is almost as unusual as the City allowing a permit for a suspended bedroom with 5 foot ceilings.
bb… Funny that i thought it had more of a loft feel than most other cc lofts. The one on duane st that opened up from your ellison link.. A touch nicer….even had anons slate table.
bahahahaha this place is hilarious
the short ceilings in the bathtub and lofted area make me LOL at the fact that they think this is a great location that demands $300 a square foot for their upgrades they epic failed at
I have been actively looking for a loft for several months now and have seen a good many lofts. I wouldn’t call this loft “cookie cutter”. Cookie cutter to me is the long bowling alley floor plan with the 3/4 walled in bedroom behind the kitchen. I really like the corner exposure and light in this unit. But what is up with that Hobbit sized step-up tub. Not a fan of the low ceilings in the lofted space as well as the bedroom. It’s overpriced.