January 29, 2010 – Yesterday we told you about the large scale Chicago real estate development that Sedgewick Properties is planning for Uptown. But this new project called Lake View Station certainly isn’t the first for Sedgewick. The report in Crain’s pointed out that this developer has more than one Chicago high-rise that should be fairly well-known to buyers.

The Marquee Michigan Avenue is another of Sedgewick Properties’ condo towers. Located on 1464 South Michigan Avenue, this tower has 214 one to three bedroom condos and is FHA approved. There are still units available at this tower. Prices for the one bedroom units have been running from the low $200,000s which two bedroom condos have been listed from the mid to upper $200,000s. For a three bedroom condo at the Marquee you can expect to pay from the low to mid $400,000s and up.

The Terrazio, located on 1935 South Wabash Avenue, is a seven story building with 180 Chicago condos, including terrace level units. The one to three bedroom condos start in the $190,000s and go up to the mid $400,000s and this development is FHA approved. No closings have happened yet though at this high-rise.

Building amenities at the Terrazio include an aria rooftop lounge and solavista courtyard. The lounge features a sun deck, tranquility pool and pergolas. There is also a dig run, benches, grilling area, fitness center and business center.

Besides these Sedgewick Properties developments, you can find other great Chicago homes for sale by following the link.

[tags]Marquee Michigan Avenue, Chicago Homes For Sale, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

January 28, 2010 – In what looks to be the largest Chicago real estate project proposal of the year, Marty Paris of Sedgwick Properties announced plans for a $350 million mixed-use development on the Uptown lakefront. The new complex, currently named Lake View Station, would be the largest North Side development in decades, according to a Crain’s article this week.

If all goes according to plan, ground will be broken this year and the development will be built in three phases. Three towers, between 20 and 45 stories high, are to be located close to Montrose Harbor. There will around 850 Chicago condos and apartments, some of them senior housing, a 200 room hotel, fitness center and large grocery store. The entire project is expected to take five ears to complete, and with the housing market still not in full recovery some are skeptical about the scope of the project.

But Marty Paris was quoted in Crain’s as saying that, “It’s going to happen. But it’s not going to be easy to get done. It’s one of very few parcels left available on the lakefront in the best of the North Side neighborhoods. To us, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Mr. Paris is in the process of trying to lease 100,000 square feet of retail space for a grocery and fitness center. He believes that if he can secure those leases, it will give me leverage to lock in financing for phase one, which will be a two story retail building with parking on top. Then next year he plans to move ahead with the first 20 story high-rise that will contain 150 condos. That will be located to the north east of Clarendon and Montrose Avenues and have Clarendon Park on two sides of the development.

Before Mr. Paris can do anything though he will have to get a zoning changed passed along with around a $40 to $50 million TIF subsidy from the city. Add in winning over the Clarendon Park Neighborhood Association and he has his work cut out for him. But it is certainly nice to see some news about bigger Chicago real estate developments in the works.

[tags]Lake View Station, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

January 27, 2010 – Here are the details on the other two lots of Cityscape condos to be auctioned this weekend.

The major difference in lot #3929 North Western Avenue is that the six three bedroom, two bath condos located on the top three floors of the building are currently leased. The two lower level retail spaces are not though. Again, these units have a fireplace, stackable washer and dryer, either a pair of private balconies or one balcony and one deck. The interior finishes are also high-end, as in the other groups of condos. The attached parking garage is the same as the others, with nine total spaces, three of which have lifts for more parking.

The appraised net sell-out value of this group of units is said to be $2.7 million.

Parcel #3935 North Western Avenue is again a mix of two street level retail spaces and six three bedroom, two bath condos on the upper two floors. The finishes and the attached garage are the same as the other parcel. However, units 1S, 4N and 4S are already sold. Those are two of the residential units and one of the retail units. This fact has brought the appraised net sell-out value of the remaining five units down to $1.7 million.

[tags]Cityscape Condominiums, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

January 26, 2010 – Here are the rest of the details about the groups of units at Cityscape Condominiums this Saturday.

Parcel #3911 North Western Avenue consists of two street level retail spaces and six Chicago condos located on the top three floors of the building. The condos are three bedroom, two bath units. Like the units in the parcel we detailed yesterday, these condos have a fireplace and either two balconies or one balcony and a deck. Other perks include a stacked washer and dryer and what is described as “top of the line finishes.” The attached garage has nine parking spaces with three of those equipped with lifts for additional parking. The appraised as is value of this parcel is $2.6 million.

Parcel #3917 is pretty much identical to the above lot. This one also has two retail spaces on the lowest level and six condos on the upper three floors. The condos have the same details, namely the fireplace, balconies or deck and interior finishes. The parking garage also has the same number of spaces.

This lot of condos is under construction and the only difference is that unit #4S was supposedly sold in February of 2009 for $599,000.

The estimated appraised net sell-out value of parcel #3917 is also $2.6 million.

The other two lots of Cityscape Condos will be detailed in part two of today’s Chicago real estate blog.

[tags]Cityscape Condominiums, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

January 25, 2010 – The auction for Cityscape Condominiums that is scheduled for this coming Saturday probably won’t be for the first-time home buyer. The units in this Chicago real estate development are being sold in bulk. So unless you have the urge and funds to become a landlord or you are an investor, you may be priced out of the bidding. We will list the groups of condos set to be auctioned and give you an idea of what they are worth, according to information provided by auctioneer Rick Levin.

Parcel #3905 Western Avenue consists of 6 two bedroom, two bath Chicago condos that have 1,400 square feet each; 2 two bedroom, two bath condos with 1,275 square feet each; 3 one bedroom, two bath plus den condos with 1,200 square feet each; 1 retail unit with 1,200 square feet and another retail unit with 1,130 square feet.

The condos come with two balconies or one balcony and a deck. They also have a fireplace, stacked washer and dryer, standard interior luxury condo finishes and one indoor parking space. The retail spaces come with four parking spots.

According to the appraisal provided by the auction company, this Cityscape Condo parcel net value has been estimated at $4.1 million.

We’ll post about the other condo parcels being auctioned tomorrow, and as always we will keep you updated with the latest information on pricing and sales of .

January 22, 2010 – All of you Chicago real estate auction fans only have a week to get ready for the next event. Rick Levin is at it again and this time it’s at Cityscape Condominiums. The development is located on 3905-3935 North Western Avenue and the auction is set for January 30th, a week from this Saturday. This is part of a larger auction of unfinished Chicago condo buildings and developments across Chicago and the surrounding area.

The Cityscape Condominiums auction may not be for the individual buyer though. Instead of selling the units separately, they are being sold in groups. The commercial space is being auctioned off as well as the residential, and it is being offered in groups or packages as well.

Cityscape Condominiums had a selection of two bedroom condos that ran from 1,200 square feet of living space on up to three bedroom units that sized up with 1,860 square feet. The condos had been listed anywhere from the $350,000s on up to the low $610,000s when the project was being marketed.

The auction won’t be held at the development, but rather at the Hyatt Rosemont on 6350 North River Road in Rosemont. The bidding starts promptly at 11AM. We’ll have more detailed information about these Cityscape Condos tomorrow, so be sure to check back with us. And as always we’ll keep you updated on any more upcoming auctions of .

January 21, 2010 – It looks as though at least for the beginning of 2010 we will continue to see price cuts from Chicago real estate developers. With credit still hard to obtain, new FHA qualification rules and still an oversupply of new Chicago condos, more developers are opting for lower prices instead of digging their heels in and waiting for the market to turn. According to a recent Chicago Journal article, the term “Bargainville” has been coined for the deals on pricing of downtown condos.

Gail Lissner, VP of Appraisal Research Counselors, was quoted in the article as saying that, “Several buildings have undergone substantial re-pricing of their entire unsold inventory in order to quicken the sellout of the property. Other buildings have opted for individual loss-leaders, testing the effects of particularly well-priced units on their sales pace.”

One of those towers with significant price reductions is Ontario Place. The 47 story condo conversion high-rise is located on 10 East Ontario Street in River North. The CJ report states that developer American Invsco has cut prices as much as $150,000 on some of the unsold one bedroom condos with upgrades. The new prices on those units are running in the $219,000 to $245,000 range and a free parking spot with an estimated worth of $40,000 is being thrown in with some deals.

The unit floor plans at Ontario Place range from convertibles to one bedroom, one bath and two bedroom, two bath condos. Features include oversized private balconies, upgraded kitchens and cabinets plus Whirlpool appliances and granite counter tops. The floor-to-ceiling windows have thermopane glass and each unit comes with lots of closet space and individual thermostat controls.

Building perks include a 24 hour doorman, fitness center, spa, sauna, lockers, roof top pool and grilling area, bike storage, dry cleaning pick-up, 24 hour convenience store and digital cable is offered.

We can probably expect to see more price slashing on Chicago Condos as the spring buying season gets into full swing.

[tags]Ontario Place, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

January 20, 2010 – We haven’t heard much about the Trump Tower lately, but a bit of interesting news about the high-rise surfaced today. Back in 2003 before pre-sales began at this luxury mixed-use Chicago real estate project, Donald Trump had a “Friends and Family” program that allowed certain individuals to buy the Chicago condos at a much lower price than they were marketed. Trump later decided to try and terminate those sales contracts and charge a higher price, but several buyers sued and won. Now according to a Crain’s report, one of those buyers has made a good profit on reselling two of those Chicago condos.

David Radler, who was convicted and served time for attempting to steal from the Sun Times, bought two condos in the Friends and Family deal at Trump and then sued when Trump tried to back out of those contracts. The suit was settled, and Radler paid about $1.8 million for a three bedroom unit on the 41st floor in the 92 story high-rise. That condo, along with two parking spots, were sold for $2.3 million this past November (2009), according to the article.

He and his daughters also bought a smaller condo next to the three bedroom for about $687,995 in September of 2008 and also sold it for $975,000 about five months after closing.

Andrew Glatz of Crown Heights Realty which is handling several resales at Trump Tower told Crain’s that the profits on these two condo sales have been the exception rather than the rule. He said that many investors have either broken even or lost money when reselling and that, “The friends and family are the only ones who did okay in this building so far.”

Many investors have had a hard time turning a profit on Chicago Luxury Condos, and developers are having a difficult time competing with flippers for buyers.

[tags]Trump Tower, Chicago Luxury Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

January 19, 2010 – It looks as though Chicago real estate developer Belgravia Group is lowering prices on another of their projects besides 565 Quincy. They have also reduced prices on the townhomes at Union Row. The sales pitch on the development’s website says, “Don’t let this be your Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda moment.” The prices have been cut around 30% and the townhomes have from 3 to 4 bedrooms and all have a 2 car attached garage.

According to the developer’s list, the 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath homes have gone from $535,000 down to $374,900. The 4 bedroom, 4 bath Chicago townhomes have gone from $699,900 down to $499,900.

Specifically, the 2,288 to 2,366 square foot, 3 BR / 2.5 Bath townhomes that were priced from the $530,000s to $570,000s are now from the $370,000s to $390,000s.

The 2,460 square foot homes that were priced from the $580,000s to $610,000s are now priced in the $420,000s.

The 2,728 square foot 4 BR / 3 Bath homes are priced in the $510,000s and the 2,901 square foot homes with 4 BR / 4 Bath that were listed from the $680,000s to $710,000s are now being sold from the $490,000s

Finishes include oak flooring, skylights, Kohler sinks and fixtures, GE stainless steel appliances, a kitchen island or breakfast bar, full length bath mirror, walk-in closets and security system.

So if you’re shopping for Chicago Townhomes you may want to check out Union Row.

[tags]Union Row, Chicago Townhomes, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

January 18, 2010 – One Place Condominiums is another Chicago real estate development with affordable and smaller units with economical floor plans. One Place is located on 1 East Eighth Street in the South Loop. The 96 condos in this mid-rise have from one to two bedrooms, including a two bedroom, two bath unit with a split-floor plan that is under 900 square feet, according to a recent profile in the Tribune.

“We removed all the wasted hallway space that, in other developments, eats up square footage, which the buyer ultimately pays for,” developer Harlan Karp was quoted in the article as saying about One Place. He also said that sales have been “brisk.”

Finishes include hardwood flooring in the common areas, carpet in the bedrooms, stainless steel kitchen appliances, 42″ cabinets, granite counter tops, a balcony and washer/dryer hook-up. Building amenities include a fitness center, green roof top deck, bike storage, business meeting room and resident storage lockers. One Place is also pet-friendly.

Prices on the remaining condos start from about $195,000 and go up to more than $315,000. Parking is an additional $35,000. Be sure to check back here at the best Chicago Real Estate Blog for the most up to date information about pricing and deals.

[tags]One Place Condominiums, Chicago Real Estate Blog, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]