Shedding some light on the luminiferous California Estates

To the best of my recollection, the first time I ever encountered the word luminiferous was nearly six years ago, on the sign pictured above. The only other time I’ve seen the word was yesterday – the sign is still in place on a series of vacant lots at the corner of California and Bloomingdale in Logan Square.

We first wrote about California Estates, a development where 16 single-family homes were offered for sale, in April of 2006. The homes were priced from the $670s, but quickly bumped up into the low $700s. We revisited the project in November of that year, and again in January of 2008, when six of the seven homes that had been built had been sold. Joe Askins shot a video tour of the seventh home, which was priced at $949,000.

It appears that California Estates produced a lot more heat than light for the original buyers.

1822 N California sold for $668,500 in July of 2006. It went through a foreclosure, and resold early last year for $435,000.

1830 N California sold for $718,000 in September of 2006, and resold last April for $435,000.

1828 N California sold for $707,500 in August of 2006. The 4-bedroom, 4-bath home has been on the market since last July, and is currently priced at $549,000.

And the remaining 9 lots? According to public records, 7 are still owned by the original developer, and two were apparently sold to a third party.

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