The Park homes are located on the south east corner of the new lakeshore east park. There are totally 25 park homes for sale, as of October last year when I was showing it to my clients, we have been told that 7 has been sold, including one of the penthouses on the top. Right now you do not need to purchase the Park Home, you can also rent there. The price starts at $6,000 for the town homes. This is not bad for a family wants to stay in downtown Chicago! All the residents live at the Park homes are allowed to use all the amenities at the new built 80 story Aqua building.
Park Homes for rent at the lakeshore east
April 29th, 2010 · Uncategorized
→ No CommentsTags: aqua building·aqua building chicago·lakeshore east park park homes·park homes·rent the park homes in chicago
Short sale two bedrooms at the 450 waterside is pending
April 29th, 2010 · Uncategorized
This short sale unit at the 450 waterside is a split two bedrooms with large new kitchen, new bathrooms, wood floor through out the unit, large balcony facing the south, it has around 1,200 square feet, the listing price was $389,000, I am surprised to see it has been on the market for over a month’s time as this kind of units normally sold for around $450 – $500K. The Chandler has lap indoor pool, big gym, whirl pool on the roof, sundeck on the roof with great views to the city.
→ No CommentsTags: chandler indoor pool·chandler whirl pool on the roof·short sale two bedrooms at the 450 waterside
Chicago Retail Space – Lakeshore East Downtown Chicago
April 26th, 2010 · Uncategorized
In response to this post about Roundy’s breaking ground on the New East Side, I have received a ton of questions about the new Chicago retail space and its features. The developer, Magellan Development, has been kind enough to share some information with me about the project and its future. Not only will the Village Market Center be the home to a grocery store, multiple restaurants and other retail outlets, it will also be another part of the green village being developed on the New East Side. The space will be eco-friendly and designed to seek silver LEED accreditation.
Roundy’s at the new Village Market Center
Anchoring the new retail development will be a 55,000-square-foot bi-level Roundy’s Supermarket, which will not only be the first tenant of the Village Market Center, but also the first traditional grocery store in the New East Side neighborhood. Magellan, in its efforts to turn the New East Side and the Lakeshore East community into an “urban village” is happy to bring this kind of shopping to the area. A market will bring the neighborhood closer to an all-inclusive village where you can live, work, eat and shop.
Roundy’s is a leading grocer in the Midwest, with nearly $4 billion in sales and 20,000 employees, but this will be its first location in Chicago. Founded in Milwaukee in 1872, it operates 151 retail grocery stores under the Pick’n Save, Copps, Rainbow and Metro Market banners in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Magellan and the New East Side are excited to welcome the company.
“We are excited about opening new stores in the city of Chicago,” said Robert Mariano, Roundy’s chairman and CEO. “We look forward to serving customers at Lakeshore East and the surrounding neighborhood.”
Other Tenants of Village Market Center
The center will also host a number of restaurants. Already joining Roundy’s at the Village Market Center is a new location of the famous restaurant group, III Forks Steakhouse. A breakfast cafe will also be added for New East Side residents to frequent for coffee in the morning or brunch on the weekends. More retailers and vendors will fill out the 105,000-square-foot space by completion.
A Green Retail Space in Lakeshore East
The southwest corner of Lakeshore East will host the retail center that will contribute to the overall green initiative of the community. The Village Market Center will feature:
- A 15,000-square-foot, un-irrigated green roof
- Pedestrian promenades
- A recycling program for all of its tenants
- High efficiency appliances
- Window systems to help limit the resources needed to heat and cool the complex
Additionally, the development will be made to lower the impact of the automobiles of its shoppers and workers. Since it’s within walking distance of many residential developments, bike paths and public transit routes, it should encourage patrons to walk over to shop and eat. There will also be public storage for the bikes of patrons and employees who ride to the Center to work and shop. For those who drive, there will be preferred parking for fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles.
Lakeshore East and the New East Side area have always been great places to live, because of their great location. Now, they’ll be a convenient place to live, too, with shopping and dining even closer than it was before!
→ No CommentsTags: chicago retail·chicago retail space·downtown chicago retail·roundy's grocery
1 bedroom just closed at the 195 Harbor unit 1907
April 20th, 2010 · Uncategorized
The one bedroom unit at the Park shore has just closed yesterday for $220,000 without a parking space. This unit 1907 is overlooking at the new designer lake shore east park, it has great views of the grand park and the Buckingham fountain. I was at the closing for over 4 hours. The delay is due to the new change of the RESPA which does not allow the title company to attach a list of the cost under line 1102, but the lender required that for closing as otherwise, they are afraid of not able to resell the loan on the secondary market. After waiting for more than an hour with managers talking to managers, they have agreed to prepare a list but does not call it an attachment:-)
We are so glad that we get to close the unit, it is not the seller or the buyers’ fault, only current rules. So my recommendation is to find a mortgage broker, not going to a bank to ask to get a loan, it is very difficult these days.
→ No CommentsTags: 1 bedroom just closed·195 harbor·unit 1907 just closed
Showing of a three bedrooms unit at the Park Shore
April 15th, 2010 · Uncategorized
I had a showing of a three bedrooms unit at the Park Shore last night, this unit is on a high floor with great views to the lake and the south shore line. This unit has put in new wood floor, granite kitchen counter, nice balcony overlooking at the lake.
Park Millennium just contracted
April 15th, 2010 · Uncategorized
After a couple showings and comparing, my client really likes the one bedroom plus den unit at the 222 Columbus Dr unit 2401, so we have a contract in pending now. This unit has great view to the new Millennium park, you can see the faces and the plaza in the living room. You also can see the new designer lakeshore east park. This unit has great upgraded granite kitchen counters and SS appliances, tile is in the entry way and the whole kitchen area, the living room and the study has laminate wood floor. I am very excited for my client, they love the building too!
Park Millennium has indoor lap pool, party room, terrace, gym, 24 hour doorman, on site managemen office works 5 days a week. Grocery store in the building and Pedway in the building.
→ No CommentsTags: 222 columbus dr·lakeshore east park·one plus den at the 222 columbus dr·pedway in the building·the park millennium·upgraded granite kitchen·view to the millennium park
Park Millennium sold in the last 6 months – 222 columbus Dr
April 8th, 2010 · Uncategorized
There are 9 units sold in the last 6 months at the 222 Columbus Dr. They are including one bedroom and two bedrooms, sold price from $200,000 – $360,000. There are 4 short sales and 4 foreclosures, one conversion sale. Since there are so many foreclosures and short sale in the buildings, it is very hard for the regular sale to get a competitive sale price in the neighborhood. Although, people might argue about their listing is not a foreclosure listing, but since the majority sale are foreclosures and shortsale, the buyers could only use that price for the competitive market analysis when they provide an offer.
Also, this building’s renter to owner ratio if higher than 50% which is higher than the required 30% so it is very hard to get a loan, there are only a couple private lenders in the buildings that the buyers could consult, the down payment is higher than 20%. For new investors, they are not allowed to rent their units out until the ratio is better, that being said, if you are an investor and bought a very cheap unit in this building, you can’t rent it out for the moment.
But for cash buyers who wants to live here for a few years, this is not a bad choice since you could get a one bedroom for as low as under $200,000 with newer kitchen and appliances, the one plus den is starting at $269,000 for asking price. The building is a full amenity building with indoor swimming pool, nice gym, party room and sun deck, it is also has pedway linked underneath the building.
→ No CommentsTags: 4 foreclosure units sold at the 222 columbus·4 short sale sold at the 222 columbus·foreclosure at the park millennium·indoor swimming pool·last 6 months sold at the 222 columbus·nice gym·pedway at the 222 columbus·short sale at the park millennium
4 units pending at the 340 on the park – 340 E Randolph
March 30th, 2010 · Uncategorized
Currently there are 4 units pending close at the 340 on the park, the 340 E Randolph building. The listing price is from $860,000 to $1,550,000. From 2 bedrooms facing north to 3 bedrooms facing south. This building is one of the best in the neighborhood, the price per square feet is higher than some of the neighborhood buildings, but from the 4 pending sales we could see that the economy is getting better. The listing prices of these units are similar to years ago, not even drop more than 5%.
Right now the grocery store is starting to built behind the 340 on the park, this will make the value of the property going up.
→ No CommentsTags: 340 e randolph·340 on the park·4 units pending at the 340 on the park
Foreclosure at the 400 E Randolph is pending
March 24th, 2010 · Uncategorized
The foreclosure unit 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms at the 400 E Randolph is pending yesterday, the listing price is $289,900, this is a great deal in this building as all the two bedrooms start from over $350,000. The building has just finished remodeling it’s new gym, new swimming pool. This is a full amenities building, even has shuttle bus to downtown every 30 minutes. There is a restaurant on the 7th floor which has great pizza and pasta…
→ No CommentsTags: 400 e randolph·400 e randolph free shuttle bus·foreclosure 2 bedrooms at the 400 e randolph·foreclosure at the 400 e randolph
Rental showings at the 420 and 450 Waterside
March 24th, 2010 · Uncategorized
I have showed a couple of the studios and one bedrooms at the Regatta and Chandler building yesterday. The one bedroom at the Regatta is around 800 square feet, nice kitchen and bathroom, wood floor through out the unit, but there are no windows in the bedroom. The Studio at the Chandler has a bonus balcony, nice walk in closet, so it is hard to decide as the view is better in the Chandler unit but the space is bigger at the Regatta unit. The Chandler building was built in 2008 and the Regatta was building in 2005, so both are very nice and have full amenities.
These two buildings are located on the south side of the Lakeshore East Park, next to the Chicago River, the lake shore path, the Navy Pier. You could see the fireworks on the balcony of the 450 waterside building. Plus a new store, the Roundy’s is going to open next year.
→ No CommentsTags: 420 waterside·450 waterside·chandler·chicago river·lakeshore east park·navy Pier·regatta builing·rental showings·roundys·studio
2 bedrooms foreclosure unit at the 222 Columbus Dr. – the Park Millennium
March 17th, 2010 · Uncategorized
I just want to see the 2 bedrooms foreclosure unit at the 222 Columbus Dr, unit 2708, the list price is $294,900. This is a split two bedrooms with around 1,140 square feet. The unit is facing north east has great views to the lake and the Chicago River, the Navy Pier, the cruise boats and the new Aqua garden. There are some appliances missing in the unit, such as oven, microwave, washer and dryer. The walls needs to be painted and the part of the bathroom mirror is broken. But overall, the unit is in good condition. I think this is the first two bedroom foreclosure unit in the building. I can’t imagine the price is under$300,000, you can get a two bedroom unit in such a new building. Let’s see how long this will take to sell.
The Park Millennium is located in a central location, linked to the Pedway system, so that being said, you do not even to get out of the building to go to the airport. There is a grocery store in the building, indoor lap swimming pool, nice gym, party room, sun deck, on-site management team weekly, 24 hour door man.
→ No CommentsTags: 222 columbus dr·24 hour doorman·aqua garden·chicago river·indoor lap swimming pool·navy Pier·on-site management·park millennium·pedway·two split bedroom foreclosure
Rental showings at 8 E Randolph and 222 Columbus Dr.
March 9th, 2010 · Uncategorized
I had a few showings at 8 E Randolph and 222 Columbus Dr, some one bedroom units and some 2 bedrooms units. My client likes both buildings and prefers with one unit. The rental price is ranging from $1, 685 to $1,875. But these prices are a lot lower than 2 years ago.
8 E Randolph is a new building, built in the heart of downtown, really central location, close to the train, the buses, the malls, the movie theaters and all the restaurants. The one bedroom units are very large, they are around 875 to 925 square feet depends on facing west or east. The kitchen all has granite counter tops, nice cabinets, washer and dryer in the unit, nice bathroom with granite floor, great closet spaces and a balcony…
222 Columbus has pedway underneath the building, cross the street from the big bean and the Millennium park, grocery store in the building, nice indoor lap pool, sundeck, grill and party room, basic cable is included in the rent, granite kitchen with lots of closets…
Both buildings are still have some studio to 2 bedrooms available.
→ No CommentsTags: 222 columbus·8 e randolph·basic cable·big bean·granite kitchen·indoor lap pool·millennium park·party room
Roundy’s has broken the dirt at the new eastside
March 8th, 2010 · Uncategorized
I noticed that the Roundy’s has started to dig the dirt on Friday, there were lots of trucks parked next to the new lakeshore east park, behind the 340 Randolph and the 360 Randolph building. So I hope this is great news for everyone. Since we have lived here for a few years, from 2005, I have heard about they are going to build a new grocery store, at that time, they were talking about Treasure Island, but then since the economy go west, we heard that the store has backed out, so now we are so happy to see that Roundy’s is finally coming, we do not need to go so far any more. This grocery store has around 55,000 square feet, also has some restaurants!
Normally we would go to Trader Joe’s or Dominicks once a week, since the grocery store in the neighborhood is not big enough. Now we can save the trip!!!
→ 1 CommentTags: 340 e randolph·360 randolph·new eastside·new lakeshore east park·roundy's grocery store
The cheapest one bedroom at the new east side
March 4th, 2010 · Uncategorized
New east side is a new name for the neighborhood east of the millennium park, next to the lakeshore dr, south of the Chicago River and north of the Randolph street. This neighborhood has mixed age of buildings, the oldest one is 400 E Randolph, the outer drive east building which was built in 1963, the Buckingham was built in 1982, the Harbor Point was built in 1973, the Parkshore was built in 1991. Then there are all these new develop building started from Lancaster, to Aqua which has just been finished. So the cheapest one bedroom in this whole neighborhood is at the 400 E Randolph, which was listed for $155,900, you do have some view to the new lakeshore east park. So if you want to live in this neighborhood and do not have so much money to invest, here is not a bad choice.
→ No CommentsTags: 400 e randolph·aqua·buckingham·cheapest one bedroom·chicago river·harbor point·lancaster·millennium park·new east side·parkshore
One bedroom for rent at the 400 E Randolph just got contracted
March 2nd, 2010 · Uncategorized
So my client decided to pick the outer drive east building – 400 E Randolph, since this is a great central location, next to the new lakeshore east park, the grand park and the millennium park. Walking distance to the Michigan avenue and the lake front too. When summer comes, there are free concert at the millennium park almost every night, I saw lots of families, young gatherings are sitting on the grass, enjoying the nice music. At the new Lakeshore east park, in the summer, at the kid’s playground, there is water shooting out of the ground, so we call it a small water park. You would see kids running around sometimes young adult too in the hot summer days.
The 400 E Randolph building offers free shuttle service to a few downtown locations every half an hour, this is very convenient for people wants to do grocery shopping. Or just go to work or catch a bus on Michigan Ave. The building has just finished remodeling the gym and the swimming pool. Right now it has all the new equipments in the nice looking gym, the pool is even more spectacular, the lights on the doom are changing automatically in the evening, this is one of the scenery in the neighborhood. They have also added a kids’ play room, which helps a lot of the moms especially in the winter, when it is hard to go outside to play. The building committee has also decided to reduce the monthly assessment for the year of 2010, this is never heard of in all the other buildings, that means they have a strong reserve. The building also offers a restaurant on the 7th floor, called the Seven, it has great pizza and chicken wings. So if you do not want to cook dinner, you will have some choices there.
→ No CommentsTags: 400 e randolph·400 e randolph free shuttle bus·free concert·grand park·indoor swimming pool·michigan ave·millennium park·new lakeshore east park·one bedroom for rent·remodel gym·the Seven·water park
Registration classes at the Daley Bicentennial Plaza
February 24th, 2010 · Uncategorized
Feb 22 was the online registration date for classes, I was so lucky to get to register a couple of classes for my daughters. I can see that the number is changing very fast during the registration. That means the classes are so hot and the price is so reasonable, that’s why there are so many people like to register classes here. Also I would like to point it out that there are more kids in this neighborhood compare to years ago.
This Sat the park district is still open to walk in registration, that means for people who would like to register to classes can go there to check it out. I still like one music class, so maybe I will go there to see if we will get a chance to register. The classes include preschool, tennis, ballet, tumbling, basketball, moms and pops. I remember that we started to come to the moms and pops classes while our older daughter was 9 months, I got to know lots of people in the neighborhood, our kids get to have lots of friends, so thanks to this program. I always recommend this program to new moms and they all love it.
→ No CommentsTags: ballet·bitty basket ball·Daley Bicentennial Plaza·online class·preschool·tennis·tumbling
Swimming at the North Harbor Tower – 175 N Harbor Dr
February 24th, 2010 · Uncategorized
We went swimming at the North Harbor Tower, this is a very nice indoor pool. The temperature feels very comfortable, we have really enjoyed it. We used to live in this building, this is one of the amenities that we miss very much. Although we have a roof top pool, however, we could not use it during the winter time since our winter is so cold. Actually our pool is heated, but I still could not have the courage to jump in:-)
North Harbor Tower currently have one bedroom available starting from $1,315, this is a great deal in this neighborhood, some of the units do have washer and dryer just being put in recently.
→ No CommentsTags: 175 N Harbor·indoor pool·north Harbor Tower·one bedroom
Rental showings at the 222 Columbus Dr and 400 E Randolph
February 24th, 2010 · Uncategorized
Today I was represent the potential renter to show a couple one bedroom unit at 400 E Randolph and 222 Columbus Dr. These two buildings have big difference, 222 columus dr is a new building so everything in the unit is quite new, updated kitchen and updated bathroom, the view is looking a the Illinois center, when you go to the window, you will be able to see the Chicago River and the Lake. The unit at the 400 E Randolph is not very updated but usable, the view is very nice to the like. The building has lots of amenities, such as new gym, indoor pool and shuttle bus to downtown. The price is around $300 difference, so it is a hard decision. I like both units and I am sure they will both be rented soon.
→ 1 CommentTags: 222 columbus dr·400 randolph·chicago river·one bedroom unit·rental showings·updated bathroom·updated kitchen
