Tag Archives: Lake Shore East Condos

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April 25, 2013

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Buying, Lake Shore East

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Lake Shore East Condos – The New East Side Update!

Lake Shore East Condos, particularly new construction, have been selling quickly. The Chandler at 450 E. Waterside, The Regatta at 420 E. Waterside, The Lancaster at 201 N. Westshore, 340 On the Park at 340 E. Randolph and The Aqua at 225 N. Columbus have low inventory; at least low “Prime” inventory. What has sold in Lake Shore East recently?

The Lancaster: 1203 recently went under contract in just three days! It is a 1 Bed / 1 Bathroom but faces West. The west views in the Lancaster are the prime views as those who face east will eventually have their view obstructed with a new development. 1203 went under contract when the list price was $349,000 + 40k for parking.

340 On the Park:  Another great deal in the area was at 340 E. Randolph when 2406 sold (after 2 weeks on the market) for $530,000. 2406 is a north facing, corner 1 Bedroom unit with 1244sf. It appears to have sold without parking for this price.

The Regatta: A combo unit recently sold, unit 1011 having just over 1500sf. The unit had great views facing north and also slightly east. The unit sold after 45 days on the market and closed for $692,000.

A penthouse unit also recently sold. Unit 4301 sold for $1,340,000 and took just around 4 months to sell. This unit had an oversized terrace as well as a balcony off the master bedroom.

The Chandler: A foreclosure in the Chandler, 450 E. waterside, sold for $801,101. It was unit 402 which is a 3 Bedroom / 2.1 Bath facing North which gives you views of the River, skyline, Navy Pier, Lake Shore Drive, etc. This unit did sell with parking and actually sold for over list price. The original list price was $789,000. The unit had an offer within a week.

 

Paul Blackburn is an Illinois licensed Broker & Realtor with @ Properties in Chicago. He can always be reached via e-mail at Paul@PKBlackburn.com

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March 28, 2013

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Condo Buildings, Lake Shore East, Lake Shore East

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THE CHANDLER 450 E. WATERSIDE – LAKE SHORE EAST

450 E. WATERSIDE  – LAKE SHORE EAST

450 E. Waterside, also known as “The Chandler” is located in Chicago’s Lake Shore East neighborhood. For those of you not familiar with this area, Lake Shore East is located on the south side of the River where the river meets Lake Shore drive. The Chandler is one of the newest buildings in the Lake Shore East neighborhood.

The Chandler in Lake Shore East - 450 E. Waterside

The Chandler in Lake Shore East – 450 E. Waterside

What I like about The Chandler 450 E. Waterside

The Chandler, located at 450 E. Waterside, was one of the last buildings completed by Magellan as condos in the Lake Shore East neighborhood. It is slightly more expensive than its sister building, the Regatta built one year prior. The majority of the units in the Chandler are upgraded with Snaidero Cabinetry and most have great views, at least for the time being. The building is situated on the far North East corner of Lake Shore East. This allows it to have prime views of the River, Navy Pier and both the North and South skyline of the city.

The building boasts a phenomenal indoor rooftop pool and sundecks on either side of the pool complete with an outdoor whirlpool. The sundeck makes for amazing Air & Water Show watching. The building has a fitness center and media room on the second floor as well as a party room off the lobby which opens out onto an outdoor deck with River and Navy Pier views.

Most of the floor plans in the building are very functional and make a good use of the space. There is very little wasted space in condos at the Chandler so 1000 square feet is a true 1000 square feet versus some buildings that have obnoxiously long hallways and “nooks” which eat up space. All units will have Hardwood Floors, Granite and SS Appliances. Most will have updated cabinetry and all units with the exception of a few will have a balcony.

What I don’t like about The Chandler

I love the building and the build quality. Some of the South Facing  units, specifically the 04 tier will eventually have their view blocked when new buildings are built on the vacant lot directly to the South of The Chandler. There is some talk about a building going just East of the Chandler but I’m not sure if any of those claims can be substantiated at this time.

The building has a new rental cap. The specifics are a bit vague but it appears that new owners will not be allowed to rent their units until the rental percentage drops to around 30%?? Currently the building has roughly 44% tenant occupied units.

What do condos sell for in The Chandler?

One Bedrooms start around $310,000 in The Chandler and move up from there depending on floor height and view. Units facing North sell for a premium since these units have the protected and much preferred River view. These units tend to be larger. However, be warned that a couple tiers on lower floors facing North do not have balconies.

Two Bedrooms in The Chandler start in the $500’s but they are the smaller square footage Two Beds around 1100 to 1250square feet. Larger Two Bedrooms will start in the high $600’s and can exceed well over $750,000. The Chandler does have three bedroom units but expect to pay over a million for any 3 Bedroom with some going well over 2 million and others competing with some of the most expensive condos in the area.

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November 14, 2012

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Condo Buildings, Lake Shore East

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The Regatta 420 E. Waterside Condo – LAKE SHORE EAST

420 E. Waterside also known as The Regatta is located in the Lake Shore East neighborhood. Lake Shore East is on the south side of the river where the river meets Lake Shore Drive. 420 E. Waterside was built in 2007 and has a total of 322 units. The Regatta has a combination of units from Studios to large penthouses and north facing units enjoy sweeping views of the River and the north city skyline.

The Regatta 420 E. Waterside

What Amenities Does The Regatta, 420 E. Waterside, Have?

The Regatta is a full amenity building as it has a full fitness center, party room, lounge/library, indoor pool, media room and outdoor sundeck equipped with grills. There are proposed plans in place for the expansion of the fitness center but unfortunately this would only happen with a special assessment which would require a 2/3 vote by the condo association. Therefore it would be safe to say that the current fitness center is going to stay as-is. In all reality the size of the current fitness center and the equipment inside is perfectly fine for the building.

What do condos sell for in The Regatta, 420 E. Waterside?

Condos in the Regatta start low and can quickly get expensive. First, thing to note is that the most expensive view is the North View. This is because facing North you see the River, Navy Pier as well as the skyline to the north and west (think Trump Tower, Wrigley Building, Tribune, etc). The South views in the building, while not bad, are partially obstructed by The Lancaster (201 N. Westshore) and The Shoreham (rental building).

STUDIOS: There are not many studios in the Regatta and therefore not many change hands. One recently sold for $193,000. Going forward you can expect to see any studio coming on the market priced similarly.

ONE BEDROOMS: There are different sized One Bedrooms in the Regatta starting at around 647sf and moving up to over 1,000sf. The 647sf One Beds will actually sell in the high $200’s because they are facing North. The much larger 778sf and 825sf One Bedrooms will sell for roughly the same (high $200’s) because they face north. If we move up the scale to the South Facing 994 and 1000sf units you will notice that the sales prices are in the low to mid $300’s depending on floor height. Lastly there are a couple tiers (the 10 tier and 13 tier on certain floors) which face North. These North facing units which will be just under 900sf will sell in the high $300’s and low $400s (with Parking) because of the view.

TWO BEDROOMS: There are several different Two Bedroom options in the Regatta and again just like the One Beds, view makes a big difference. The smallest 2 Bedroom in the Regatta is the 03 tier which is 1182sf. These typically sell in the low $400’s and yes they face South. The next cheapest is the 01 tier which is significantly larger at 1530sf however it is important to note that much of this square footage is in the hallway and master bath. These will sell in the very high $400’s to the low $500’s. Though a couple owners currently have them listed in the low $600’s (06 pricing), they will not achieve such a price.

The North and East facing 2 Bedrooms in the building will sell from the mid $600’s to the low/mid $700’s. They range from 1350 to just over 1500sf.

THREE BEDROOMS: Three Bedrooms in the Regatta sell for anywhere from the mid $800s upward to well over $1 million

 

My Thoughts on The Regatta 420 E. waterside

I like the building. The lobby has the most intimate feeling of any building in Lake Shore East. The North Facing units are of course my favorite. There is a high percentage of rentals in the building but some rental restrictions have recently been passed which will lesson investors buying into the building. The overall build quality of the building is solid. The builder was Magellan which does build great quality and had the master plan for Lake Shore East. The best value in the building are the assessments. The assessments include EVERYTHING with the exception of electric. They include Cable (decent package too), High Speed Internet, Heat, A/C, Water, Cooking Gas and then of course all the amenities. You only have an electric bill which is very minimal.

Lake Shore East Tax

There is a special property tax associated with condos in Lake Shore East. Long story short the developer (really the city/county) sold bonds to pay for all the land improvement work (think parks, sewer system, etc). Therefore you’re looking at an additional tax paid twice a year. The price will vary depending on the unit but a basic 1 Bed can run you around $800 PER YEAR and a basic Two Bed may run you around $1200/1300 per Year. Again it is minimal but just something you should know!!

 

Paul Blackburn is an Illinois Licensed Realtor and Broker with @ Properties in Chicago. For further information about the Regatta, other buildings in Lake Shore East or other areas of the city please e-mail Paul at Paul@PKBlackburn.com  For general information about buying condos in Chicago visit www.BuyingInChicago.com

 

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July 18, 2012

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Downtown, Lake Shore East, Luxury Sales

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BUYING A CONDO IN LAKE SHORE EAST “NEW EAST SIDE”

Condos in Lake Shore East can be broken down into two categories: The new and the old. The new buildings are easy to spot in person; they are The Lancaster (201 N. Westshore), The Regatta (420 E. Waterside), The Chandler (450 E. Waterside), 340 On the Park (340 E Randolph) and of course The Aqua (225 N Columbus). The first building and the only condo building actually located directly on Lake Shore East Park is the Lancaster. It also, however, the only building NOT to have an indoor pool.

The other buildings of Lake Shore East are the older buildings such as: Harbor Point (155 N. Harbor), Park Shore (195 N. Harbor), 400 E. Randolph and The Buckingham (360 E. Randolph). My favorite of the older buildings is The Buckingham due to its views, updated yet intimate lobby and updated common area space.

So if you are looking in Lake Shore East what should you know when you first start looking?

Special Tax: For starters you should know that the newer buildings have an additional tax similar to an SSA. This is a special tax which came about to pay for the initial improvement of the land. This tax is minimal and will vary depending on the unit but it is something to keep in mind when shopping in the newer buildings.

Understand your view: Understanding your view is very important, but most important for those looking at East Facing units in the Lancaster. If you are in an East Facing unit in the Lancaster and you look down you will see a vacant piece of land. Originally this was going to house roughly 4 buildings. Since the real estate crash however these plans have been scrapped and no new plans have come to fruition. It is highly doubtful that any development will start on this land for at least 5 years, but you should know that it eventually will.

Also note that there are two very prized views in Lake Shore East. The MOST expensive is the view of Millennium Park which can be had from 340 E. Randolph, 360 E. Randolph, 400 E. Randolph, and 155 N. Harbor. The views of the park are not only of the park but also capture the lake as well as the city view along Michigan avenue.

The next award winning view are the views of the River which, while they can be had from The Aqua are most popular in The Chandler and The Regatta.

Possible Rental Restrictions: Due to the timing of the new buildings in Lake Shore East some buildings have rental restrictions in place such as The Regatta and 340 On the Park. The Chandler is also in the process of implementing limitations on rentals which will require you to live in your unit for a couple of years before renting out. These are not necessarily negatives but are simply things to keep in mind when looking at the units.

WHAT ABOUT PRICING?

Newer Buildings: In your newer buildings One Bedrooms will typically start in the low $300’s with the exception of The Aqua and 340 On the Park which will be higher. Two Bedrooms will typically start in the high $400’s and Three Bedrooms from the mid to high $600’s. Of course prices will always vary depending on availability, building, view and square footage as well as upgrades.

Older Buildings: One Bedrooms can start as low $200k with Two Bedrooms in the high $300’s to low $400’s and Three Bedrooms, while much more rare in the older buildings, can be found in the 700 to 800 price range.

Paul Blackburn is an Illinois Licensed Realtor and Broker with @ Properties. He can always be reached via e-mail at Paul@PKBlackburn.com For more information about buying condos in Chicago and what you should know about the Chicago market visit www.BuyingInChicago.com