From the vault: Nelson Street in West Lakeview

Recent conversation among the Chattering class regarding the values and desirability of homes in West Lakeview brought to mind this video from January 2007, showcasing all the homes for sale on the 1800 and 1900 blocks of West Nelson Street, just east of Hamlin Park.

For its narrator, Bob Darrow of @properties, the two-block stretch between Damen and Wolcott avenues was a microcosm of the changes the neighborhood had experienced throughout the mid-2000s.

Revisiting the video gave me a chance to check up on some of the properties Bob had mentioned, and to see how Nelson Street is doing now. The answer to the latter question is easy — Redfin shows nothing for sale at the moment. For the latter, I dug through in Redfin’s sales history for a while, and eventually found some updated info for three homes:

  • 1924 W Nelson St: As Bob said, this home was under contract in January 2007 and destined for demolition. It closed the following month for $558,000 and was quickly replaced by a four-bedroom / 3.5-bath single-family with a two-car garage. That home was listed for $1.09 million in 2008 and sold for $845,000 in 2009.
  • 1852 W Nelson St: This home, still under construction in early 2007, was “pushing the envelope” in the neighborhood — it was a 6,000 square-foot home on a wide corner lot, priced at $2.5 million. Bob thought that was a little steep, but guessed it would still sell for more than $2 million. In fact, it did sell for the full $2.5 million in the summer of 2008.
  • 1842 W Nelson St: Bob didn’t offer any opinions on this new brick home’s $1.32 million price point, but felt that the home was comparable in size and style to one at 1832 W Nelson St, which had closed in 2005 for $1.06 million. At some point in 2007, the Yo staff posted a note under the video stating that “a local source” had questioned the accuracy of the comparison between the two homes and had suggested that 1842 would sell at a price similar to 1832’s. We now know that 1842 sold in spring 2008 for $1.2 million, essentially the midpoint between its original list price and 1832’s closing price.
(Visited 49 times, 1 visits today)