APRIL 9, 2006
1365 W. GRAND AVE
This is a three story mixed use property that contains a nice storefront, three small apartments, and a coach house. All units are currently occupied, and the buildings appear to be well-maintained. Grand Avenue is considered the southern frontier of the Wicker Park gentrification area. Grand Avenue itself has always been a fairly stable commercial strip, with a minimum of abandoned and incompatible use parcels.
Grand Avenue is one the few near north side streets that a straight shot east, into the booming Michigan Avenue/New East Side commercial areas. Grand runs under the freeway and Michigan Avenue. As a result, over time, it can be expected to continue to benefit from its unique access to the downtown. It is far less congested than the major arterial streets to the north, such as Chicago Avenue, Division Street, and North Avenue.
This property is also unique to the extent that has a coach house behind the commercial building. There might be some improved parking opportunity. Please see the MLS fact sheet for details on units, leases, and operating information.
Larry: This is as close as I could come to the property you showed me when we met at the Investors Club. It is located just south of the Noble Square area, and is technically in “West Town,” which is used for any area that does not have a neighborhood name. I consider the area safer than the Noble Square/East Village area.
ACCESS/TRANSPORTION: SUPERIOR
NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATION: ABOVE AVERAGE
APPRECIATION POTENTIAL: ABOVE AVERAGE
POTENTIAL FOR RE-USE: AVERAGE (NEEDS ZONING ANALYSIS)PROPERTY MAY BE TOO VALUALBE TO TEAR DOWN
INVESTMENT POTENTIAL: TO BE DETERMINED, BASED ON CONDITION AND CURRENT TENANCY; RE-USE UNCERTAIN
1239 N. MARION CT
This is a three story apartment building of unusually small rental units. Condition seems sub-par, but inside condition may be adequate, based on MLS description. Huge parking slab out back.
East Wicker Park is a very unusual neighborhood to the extent it is cut off from the general city traffic flow by Milwaukee Avenue which runs northwest, and the blue line transit track which runs parallel to Milwaukee as it surfaces in this neighborhood. Nevertheless, the area is a very old, the blocks are intact, and the housing is very eclectic. It reminds me of Old Town in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, before it became so trendy. There is a steady gentrification going on the in area, but there are some low-income pockets as well.
Marion Court is about two blocks long, and basically middle-class. The street is undergoing a major paving program this spring. What is so unusual about Marion Court, is that for some strange reason, there is no alleyway behind the block. And so the back of 1239 Marion Court is on another side street, which is, North Honore. As a result, this particular parcel has east and west street frontage. Consequently, it may be possible to design a new building that has new condos on Marion, and garage access on a paved, semi-residential street. Additional density might be possible due to the double frontage location.
What I most like about this location is that both Marion and Honore have access to the gentrifying commercial strip along Division Street. Division Street has the potential of becoming another Damen Avenue, which is trendy Bucktown’s main shopping street. So even though this address is close to Milwaukee Avenue, neighborhood shopping is trending towards Division. When and if the southern reaches of Milwaukee Avenue begin to gentrify, this area of east Wicker Park has the potential of becoming another Bucktown. The chaotic local street pattern, the depressed status of Milwaukee Avenue’s commercial blocks, and the pockets of low income housing have all been negatives.
It appears to me that this area is close to turning around over the next decade.
ACCESS/TRANSPORTION: AVERAGE
NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATION: ABOVE AVERAGE
APPRECIATION POTENTIAL: SUPERIOR
POTENTIAL FOR RE-U8E: SUPERIOR, BUT )NEEDS ZONING/ALDERMAN APPROVAL
INVESTMENT POTENTIAL: CURRENT LEASES/NET INCOME UNKNOWN; RE-USE IS MAJOR CONSIDERATION
2014 W. CORTEZ ST
This is a very well maintained four unit building in Ukrainian Village. It is located on a very stable residential street, which consists of smaller two story properties. The property is just doors away from Damen Avenue, which is the main street which connects Ukrainian Village to Wicker Park and Bucktown.
The property is frightfully expensive, averaging over $300,000 per unit. Here are some considerations which may partially explain the current price:
• The building appears to have been rehabbed already, and the units command solid middle-income rents.
• The building extends all the way to the alley; there is no garage and no backyard. Hence every square inch of the parcel is utilized for rentable space. One of the units is a duplex on the back of floors one and two.
• Ukrainian Village has limited condo opportunities due to the fact that most buildings are smaller, well-maintained, and too expensive to be torn down.
• The property changed hands in 2004, and the mortgage recorded at that time was for $600,000.
Still, checking out the inside of the building might be interesting. The first and second floors have no windows on the east and west sides, due to other buildings, and that might be a determining factor.
ACCESS/TRANSPORTATION: AVERAGE
NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATION: ABOVE AVERAGE
APPRECIATION POTENTIAL: AVERAGE
POTENTIAL FOR RE-USE/CONVERSION: TO BE DETERMINED
INCOME POTENTIAL: AVERAGE, WITH NEAR TERM CONVERSION ONLY STRONG POSITIVE, IF FEASIBLE
Peter Fugiel © 2006