Turn east off of Sheridan in Rogers Park and you’ll quickly run out of road, as just about every street cul-de-sacs at the edge of a beach or a lakefront park. On several of these streets you can find new rehabs of decades-old apartment buildings, where two-bedroom homes with lake views and access to rooftop decks sell in the $250s or less.
The floor plans above represent just two of your options in the area, both just a stone’s throw away from Loyola Park’s lawns, paths, and beach. On the left is the 900 square-foot two-bedroom / one-bath at Farwell at the Lake, 1125 W Farwell Ave, a full gut rehab that I toured with Prudential Rubloff agent Steve Breinling last winter. Unit #B-1 has a master bedroom with walk-in closet located directly off the entrance and an adjacent bathroom located off the entry hallway, right across from the front door. From the living room you can access the “L”-shaped kitchen and rear exit, a second bedroom (which was furnished as an office during my visit), and an east-facing balcony. The unit also has access to a 1,000 square-foot rooftop deck. It was priced in the high $230s until last month, when it dropped down into the mid-$220s.
At right is a two-bedroom unit located one block south in a 34-unit conversion at 1118 W Pratt Blvd. Unit #2, marketed by Herlo Realty, is slightly larger than the Farwell unit — it has 1,100 square feet and a second bath — and is priced in the $250s. Although its rooms are positioned similarly to Farwell’s, with a master bedroom in the back and an “L” shaped kitchen and second bedroom off the living room, the front door doesn’t open up right next to a bedroom and bath, which is preferable if you expect people coming and going at all times. The master bedroom doesn’t have a walk-in closet, but it does have an in-suite master bath. The second bath is right next door, which seems a little odd until you realize that there’s no other place to put it. Storage space is scarce, with just one wall closet for each bedroom and a small coat closet next to the entrance. There’s no balcony, but the unit does have a sun room off the living room, and residents also have access to a rooftop deck.