Your 4-Bedroom Castle Awaits for Under $370,000: 6721 S. Bennett in Jackson Park Highlands
This 4-bedroom “castle” at 6721 S. Bennett in the Jackson Park Highlands neighborhood of South Shore on the South Side has been on and off the market since March 2008.
It has now been reduced about 45% from its 2008 list price and is being sold “as-is.”
The house was built in 1929 on an oversized 50×135 lot.
It has central air and a 2-car garage.
The house has a bunch of its original vintage character including mahogany beamed ceilings, limestone interior, arched doorways, wood paneled rooms, large original stone fireplaces and the original slate roof.
Check out more of the interior in this 2009 listing video of the property.
The house has been under contract twice in the last year but was recently reduced to $369,000. That is nearly $70,000 under the 1997 purchase price.
Is this house a deal?
Sheila Wilkinson-Sanders at Supreme Manor Real Estate has the listing. See the pictures here.
6721 S. Bennett: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2876 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in May 1997 for $430,000
- Originally listed in March 2008 (I couldn’t find an original list price)
- Lis pendens filed in May 2008
- Was listed in October 2008 for $650,000
- Reduced numerous times
- Under contract at least twice
- Is currently listed “as-is” for $369,000
- Taxes of $8959
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 22×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 12×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 16×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 24×24 (third floor)
- Family room: 33×20 (lower level)
What is this area like? This looks like a great house unless it has structural issues.
“What is this area like?”
The immediate area is nice… unfortunately everything around it isn’t.
The Jackson Park Highlands is situated amidst 27 holes of golf — 18 in Jackson Park and 9 at the South Shore Cultural Center. You can also put in a boat at the harbor. I’d live in the neighborhood if I found a nice enough place (not this one).
As it is, it’s a little scary looking, however with a skilled decorator I think this could be a really awesome place. The neighborhood definitely has some problems but south shore is one of the prettiest neighborhoods in the entire city with great access to parks and the lake. It’s one of those areas I really hope will grow so that the entire city can enjoy it.
“It’s one of those areas I really hope will grow so that the entire city can enjoy it.”
It sounds intriguing and that’s a nice thought, but without el access it’s unlikely.
Well then Milkster, here you go
http://gapersblock.com/mechanics/2011/10/06/transit-2020-an-immodest-proposal-for-the-cta/
I would rather the el not be in the area, so it keeps what seems to be a suburban feel in the city. The owners could easily take Lake Shore Drive downtown since the southern portion of Lake Shore Drive almost always seems to flow.
At any rate, I would take this house over something similarly priced in Oak Park. For that matter, if they transplanted this exact house to Oak Park and priced it the same, I would take this location.
^ So true about the el. What a travesty – it’s such a dense neighborhood.
Jenny, that’s really terrible reasoning. Not everyone can afford a car, and the neighborhood is so dense that there isn’t enough room for all those cars. It doesn’t have a suburban feel in the least as it is. Furthermore, places as far away as Oak Park and Evanston have better transit access.
There’s a reason why this castle which can be had for the same price as a condo in Lakeview has been sitting on the market for 415 days. No one wants it.
Beautiful old house. I dream of being able to restore a house like this.
Needs a lot of work, and this is not a desirable area, which is a real hindrance for a house like this. Likely buyers cannot afford the cost of rehab and the utilities.
Regarding transportation options, more and more well-paid people all the time will be looking for access to rapid transit as gasoline prices climb. Peak Oil is here, and any property with easy access to transit and retail hubs in a city with good native water supplies and fertile hinterlands is going to start to look very good.
This looks like a beautiful home that just needs a little love. I wonder if it has fallen out of contract due to inspection issues. While the el doesn’t go down here, it is at the end of LSD and it does have a garage, so why not drive?
I wish more people would be willing to open themselves up to living along the lake on the southside. It seems like a better option to me both in access to the lake and commuting than living in Albany Park/Lincoln Square/West Ridge/Norwood Park/etc.
“I would rather the el not be in the area, so it keeps what seems to be a suburban feel in the city.”
Just to reiterate what Andy said, South Shore most definitely does not have a suburban feel to it. It is much closer to the density of Edgewater, with Jackson Park Highlands playing the role of Lakewood Balmoral.
Too bad. I was thinking of this as the Sauganash of the south side.
South Shore is underserved from a retail, restaurant, school (etc.) standpoint. What it has is interesting architecture, nearby lakefront and Jackson Park/South Shore Country Club city parks, Lake Shore Drive, and Hyde Park access, and absolute car dependence. It’s similar to Hyde Park, sans multi-national/multi-ethnic demographic and conveniences enhanced by UoChicago’s presence. Jackson Park isn’t a “stroll around and enjoy the amenities” neighborhood like Lakewood Balmoral.
Three years of unoccupied house…I’m not surprised that it’s now difficult to sell this house. I recall it was rundown in 2008.
Jenny, need to get into a car and drive around the other sections of Chicago. Jackson Park and Oak Park share a certain amount of architectural commonality, but that’s it.
Interesting post. I’m going to drive down there and look around this neighborhood, for an outing some Sunday afternoon. I’d be great to be black in the sense that you can get great real estate for low price per sf, and have the schools entirely to your own kind. But it’s been proven that it’s difficult to build equity in african-american neighborhoods as the prices never seem to rise, and keep pace with other areas like the GZ.
Has nobody here ever ridden a bus? Walk to 67th/Jeffery, get on the 14, no stops to 11th/Columbus, then goes around the loop area.
You can take a six-part driving tour of South Shore with a native of the area at this YoChicago YouTube playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0C41E3C6AA5523EB
The first part visits “the Highlands.”
Also Metra Electric South Chicago branch at 71st/Jeffery. As frequent as the L? No. But for a weekday commuter it’d be fine.
“Also Metra Electric South Chicago branch at 71st/Jeffery. As frequent as the L? No. But for a weekday commuter it’d be fine.”
Generally the frequency is every half hour during the rush periods and once an hour off peak… with weekends even stretching to every two hours. They also stop running fairly early… 7 or 8pm on the weekdays if I remember correctly.
“Too bad. I was thinking of this as the Sauganash of the south side.”
Sounds like Beverly is more your speed.
Beverly is not a suitable subsitute for the nash, Beverly is full of hillbillies
Buses are unreliable and make way too many stops. What if your destination is not The Loop but another part of the city? Then you’re transferring from bus to bus and spending your whole life on it. It took me an hour on a Saturday afternoon to get from Broadway to Pulaski on the Lawrence Avenue bus. Then there are the senior citizens who love the bus and ride if for just one block. And what is with the abundance of smelly bus-riders with open sores in Chicago? Does everyone have bed bugs? Is everyone a meth-head? There are a lot of open-sore scratchers on the bus.
I spent some time checking out Humboldt Park this summer. I’m not comparing Jackson Park to Humboldt Park, but it’s another area where you’re relying heavily on buses. Everyone on the North Avenue and California Avenue buses was a single mom with a stroller yapping on a cell phone. None of them move. Not even in 100 degree burning heat when an older gentleman with his handicapped son needed to board. Someone from the back of the bus finally yelled out “You morons! He’s in a wheelchair!!”
If you have to drive everywhere, that’s limiting. Most professionals are going to want el access. Some of the information in this post makes me want to check out Jackson Park, but I already know it would be impractical for my situation to live there. The location is hindering the sale of this house.
I love this house and the materials are incredible. This house is a fine example of a Tribune house from the 1929 competition, I think it won second prize. There are cousins of this house throughout the Chicago area, some smaller, some not as grand that were built from the Chicago Tribune competition. Why pay so much for this house and spend $$$ to renovate, when you can buy a version of this house in Park Ridge, Winnetka, Saganaush, Highland Park, etc.? “The location is hindering the sale of this house.” No, price is hindering this sale, as I think this house would sell if the price were half as much.
The 71st/Jeffery area is too dangerous for Cribchatterers. I used to live near this area on South Shore Blvd. Don’t even think about it.
Agree with M. L.
I would personally never go near this neighborhood. This area is so dangerous it makes the corner of Wilson & Broadway seem quiet and safe compared.
If this house were anywhere up north, it would sell for a minimum of $600K even in its current condition. If it were in LP or Lakeview, it would be $1.5M in its current condition.
For those who are brave and have another 20 years to make good on the investment in time, trouble, and keeping yourself safe in a bad area, it might be a really good thing. Maybe I’m overly imaginative, but I can easily see all city neighborhoods that were once prime enough to build a house like this in them, coming back into favor rapidly and filling up with middle income (or higher) people who don’t want to be stranded in emptying outer suburbs as gasoline prices reach ranges we don’t even want to think about now. I truly believe that all the great city nabes that were destroyed in the post ww2 period will experience stunning revivals. So will all the small midwestern cities that have suffered massive disinvestment and population losses to the Sun Belt in the same period, but that’s another subject for another website.
But you will have to be really brave to tough out a place like this in a location like this in the meantime.
“I would personally never go near this neighborhood. This area is so dangerous it makes the corner of Wilson & Broadway seem quiet and safe compared.”
What are you talking about????
Have you ever been there?
I’ve driven all over this city- taking pictures, going to open houses, checking out properties. My “radar” is pretty good in determining if an area is dangerous (i.e. I might be mugged etc.) Heck, sometimes I get the heebee-jeebees just parking the car- and then I really KNOW that the neighborhood has issues. Sometimes I don’t even want to get OUT of the car.
That wasn’t the case whatsoever with this lovely neighborhood. Plenty of people strolling around the streets when I was there over the weekend. Lovely, well-kept homes (that are fantastic architecturally.) I haven’t looked at the crime report (I DID see several police cruisers driving around- but I’ve seen more when I’ve been in Bucktown checking out the side streets actually.)
Please stop with the hysterics.
And by the way- do you really think houses would be selling for $400k to $500k if the neighborhood was really that “dangerous”? Seriously??? Because you have a LOT of options if you have $500k. Lots of neighborhoods and suburbs. You can live in Old Irving Park. You can live in Portage Park. You can get something fantastic in Oak Park. Heck- I’d bet the crime statistics for Jackson Park Highlands are probably similar to Oak Park’s yet no on is saying “it’s too dangerous. Don’t buy there.”
“Some of the information in this post makes me want to check out Jackson Park, but I already know it would be impractical for my situation to live there. The location is hindering the sale of this house.”
If you don’t have a car- this area probably isn’t for you (simply because I have no idea where the nearest grocery store even is.) So a “commute” to work isn’t even the biggest issue.
It feels very suburban anyway. Every house has a garage. And everyone drives because of the big park that’s nearby that blocks you from most things.
A beautiful home, though with some issues, and a great neighborhood.
Agree with Architect that JPH doesn’t have the same amenities as L-B, but on the other hand it’s cheaper.
I’m hoping that Laura was doing some sort of RogersParkian joking, or else in this case she just has no clue.
Btw, for those talking of neighborhood revival, the Highlands actually has probably lost some cache since the 80s and 90s, when it saw a sizable new influx of non-black residents — still plenty of bougie people around here of varying complexions.
“Have you ever been there?”
Of course she hasn’t… and she never will. Its far too easy for sheep like her (him?) to sit back and talk down about anything and everything South of Cermak as being part of “the dangerous South side”.
“Please stop with the hysterics.”
Thank you Sabrina!!
Can I ask your thoughts on Oakwood too, since people were screaming about how unsafe that was? Probably not as nice as this part of JPH (although some parts of South Shore are very troubled at the moment), but worthy of hysterics?
“Agree with M. L.”
You do realize that ML’s comment was more directed towards the nature of CC posters than the neighborhood itself right? …probably not, otherwise you wouldn’t have immediately proved his point.
“Can I ask your thoughts on Oakwood too, since people were screaming about how unsafe that was?”
Oakwood was more house by house- and block by block. I wasn’t scared to be driving around there either however. I thought it had a great location close to the lake but that it’s one of those areas that people always think will gentrify but it will be another 20 years. There WERE some new developments and houses thrown in among the pretty vintage rowhouses. I think the real problem is that the area has a lot of empty lots- which gives it a bit of an abandoned feel. Jackson Park Highlands is completely filled in- so you don’t get the same vibe.
Yes, I’ve been there. It’s not the immediate nabe itself so much as the surrounding area.
“Maybe I’m overly imaginative, but I can easily see all city neighborhoods that were once prime enough to build a house like this in them, coming back into favor rapidly and filling up with middle income…I truly believe that all the great city nabes that were destroyed in the post ww2 period will experience stunning revivals.”
Please name a few along with your estimate on how long it might take. To someone my age, there is little evidence that some neighborhoods especially on the south side were once vibrant, yet I hear tales of back in the day. Its a shame that there is very little evidence left of the era some of you speak of and that it will be lost completely less than a generation from now.
I understand Laura’s point about potential urban revival: Cheap gasoline and new suburbs destroyed our cities post WW2. I, too, think cities will come back over time but we have to feel the pain of really expensive gasoline before that happens. I think Iran is working on that right now (threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz).
Heck, the Tollway is raising tolls 87.5%! That’s not bullish for the outer suburbs and commuting in general. Imagine $7 gasoline and paying $10 in tolls roundtrip everyday while sitting 2 hours in traffic every day. Imagine that pain if you make only $10 per hour. That day is coming, albeit maybe not for a while.
I don’t know the south side, so I cannot comment on this property or neighborhood. But places like Rogers Park and Uptown were once grand and thriving communities. They may be so in the future also.
” I have no idea where the nearest grocery store even is”
Really? Or just hyperbole?
Dominicks at 71st & Jefferey; Jewel at 75th & Stony (yes, had to look up the exact locations, but knew the Dominicks was right there at the electric line stop.)
“places like Rogers Park and Uptown were once grand and thriving communities”
“some neighborhoods especially on the south side were once vibrant”
People are acting like most of the city was once acceptable to the then current UMC. While the enclaves used to be more spread around–due to propritors wanting to be close to their business, or folks staying in their ethnic hoods–it’s just not broadly true. There’s the obvious shift of the wealthy/carriage trade from Prairie/Grand Blvd to the north side, but other than that, the changes are as much about assimilation and less concern for living (very) near to one’s business.
Perception vs. Reality? Just ran the crime figures on ClearPath for this area vs. about 3200 north…near the lake. About 25% more crime happening up north based on my quick look.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Chicago_violent_crime_map_2006.png
A bit old, but uptown looks like paradise, compared to the south..
““I would personally never go near this neighborhood. This area is so dangerous it makes the corner of Wilson & Broadway seem quiet and safe compared.”
What are you talking about????
Have you ever been there?”
I’ve been to both locations. There is no doubt that Wilson & Broadway is safer.
Icarus – if you’ve got an interest in learning about how the various neighborhoods developed, pick up a copy of Donald Miller’s “City of the Century.”
So many apples to oranges comparisons being made. This block and immediate area is pretty nice, certainly nicer than the immediate area around Broadway and Wilson, on the flip side, Uptown by and large is much nice than this area is as a whole.
M.L., you’ve either never been here or you’ve never been to Wilson & Broadway. I’m not sure which.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-south-shore-slaying-victim-had-a-vision-for-styling-20111221,0,4489942.story
Lotta homicides in South Shore.
http://homicides.redeyechicago.com/neighborhood/south-shore/
“M.L., you’ve either never been here or you’ve never been to Wilson & Broadway. I’m not sure which.”
My entire Chicago residency has been on the south side. I feel relatively safe everywhere on the north side, including Rogers Park, Belmont L station, Lawrence & Broadway, and the Howard L station. I won’t live on the north side because I’m not fond of its Cribchatter culture.
A few random responses:
– The South LSD express buses can’t be compared to local buses on the northwest side. Only Bears game days and blizzards ever really subject the buses to any appreciable delays in the years that I relied on them.
– Historically, the Metra Electric under private ownership once ran a rapid transit like service (e.g., frequently throughout the day). I wonder if returning it to those headways would spark both economic renewal and improved ridership.
– Hyde Park could be playing in a different game entirely in a few years, once the Harper Court and Village Square redevelopments are completed; that may have knock-on effects for neighboring areas with good bones.
– South Shore may be further from downtown than Oakwood, but it has better lake access (no railroad/LSD in the way, better facilities) and many fewer vacant lots — but also, partly as a result, more Section 8 rentals.
– The segregation tax is quite real:
http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2001/10metropolitanpolicy_rusk.aspx