When the Old Is Made New Again: A Streeterville 1960s 2-Bedroom at 201 E. Chestnut
This renovated 2-bedroom at 201 E. Chestnut in Streeterville recently came on the market.
The building was constructed in either 1961 or 1962, depending on which listing you look at, and has 120 units.
One unique feature is the extra large recessed terraces.
The terrace with this unit is 27×8 and is off both the living room and both bedrooms. All the terraces also have the unique criss-cross brick floors.
The listing says this unit has South and East/West views towards the park, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Lake.
The listing also says it has been “completely renovated” with new electrical, a new furnace, new a/c and a new washer/dryer.
There are new solid oak hardwood floors.
The baths are new with floating vanities and quartz counter tops. Interestingly, there is also no bathtub in the unit as both baths have walk-in showers.
The kitchen has white shaker cabinets and quartz counter tops along with Kitchenaid designer stainless steel appliances.
The unit has the features today’s buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and valet parking is available for $156 a month. (A steal for monthly parking in Streeterville?)
This unit is also a generous 1600 square feet, a far cry from the 1100-1200 square feet 2/2s that are new construction condos or apartments today.
Are renovated older units a deal?
Gail Spreen at Related Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #22B: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1600 square feet
- Sold in January 1994 for $185,000
- Sold in November 1996 for $235,000
- Sold in May 2016 for $400,000
- Currently listed for $499,900
- Assessments of $915 a month (includes doorman, cable, exercise room, pool)
- Taxes of $7262
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Valet parking for $156 a month in the building
- Bedroom #1: 12×16
- Bedroom #2: 11×14
Doesn’t seem too bad of a deal if can you live with low ceilings, no character to speak of and rental parking. The unit does objectively check a lot of boxes for the money and the terrace is great, provided you can have a grill out there.
Nice enough, but $910/mo assessment + $156/mo parking is a deal breaker.
Looks like the seller is just trying to break even on this deal. Most of his rehab costs were spent on the bathrooms. Assuming $10k each bathroom, total outlay was probably $20k. The kitchen looks to have just been repainted. probably total rehab cost was $30k. factor in another $30k for negotiations. He/she is probably lucky to make $30k.
I hate walking through the front door and landing in a kitchen. Or is there another door?
I wish they hadn’t taken out the bathtubs in both bathrooms. Why not have one bathroom with a huge shower and the other with a bathtub?
The white is really boring, but with low ceilings, the buyer can repaint it without too much struggle.
“Nice enough, but $910/mo assessment + $156/mo parking is a deal breaker.”
Complaints about the assessment again? Really? There is a 24-hour doorman and a pool. Both of those cost a lot of money in a building with 120 units.
It’s 1600 square feet. What’s the assessments on a newer building with 1600 square feet? They’ll be similar.
Sorry to break it to many here, but living in a high rise is expensive. $1000 a month in assessments (when that includes $150-$200 in full cable package, including Internet) is actually pretty much the norm for full service buildings.
I actually think $915 a month is pretty reasonable for the age of this building.
Also- $156 a month for the parking is a complete STEAL in this location. Even if you owned it- you’d pay that much for the space.
As an owner you’d pay:
$75-$100 a month in assessments for lighting, heat, a/c, security etc
$50-$75 a month for property taxes
Why not just rent the spot instead AND it’s valet.
For the space these are really low assessments. $156 parking is a big perk. I bet this sells fast.
I bet $156 parking is a typo… probably $256 or $356
Never noticed this building before. Not too distinctive.