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We recently wrote about the wave of existing buildings playing catch-up to the amenities and in-unit creature comforts offered by Chicago’s new downtown high-rises and rental condos. The landmark Belden-Stratford apartments, built as a hotel in 1922, is one of the buildings undergoing a renovation under new ownership. I visited the Belden-Stratford yesterday to shoot ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on September 19, 2012
The tower portion of the 43-story, 450-unit apartment high-rise at 360 West Hubbard in River North has risen eight stories out of the ground. An aerial view makes it clear that the west-facing units will enjoy a great view of the rooftop sundeck and pool at the East Bank Club. The building is scheduled for ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on September 13, 2012
The Coast (center left, above) and 500 North Lake Shore Drive (center right, above) have both reached their full height and are proceeding toward planned occupancy next spring. If all goes according to plan the 49-story, 499-unit Coast, 345 E Wacker, will open in February, making it the first of half a dozen new high-rises ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on September 12, 2012
Have you ever wondered how your landlord decided how much to raise your rent? You might be surprised to learn that the amount was determined by sophisticated “revenue management” software similar to the automated systems that airlines have long used to continually reset ticket prices. The two most commonly used products are YieldStar Price Optimizer ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on September 7, 2012
The spate of stories you’ve been reading recently about record-high rents and low vacancy rates might have you wondering whether Chicago landlords have put their properties on auto-pilot and laid back to enjoy the feast. They haven’t. The addition of thousands of units to the market during the past several years, along with the competition ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on September 7, 2012
Was it only 5 years ago that we reported that Related Midwest, despite a weak real estate market, was forging ahead with plans for The Peshtigo, a Ralph Johnson-designed condo tower at 515 N Peshtigo Ct in Streeterville? The Peshtigo may have been Chicago’s most unfortunately-named high-rise. Although Related’s marketing staff likely named it for ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on July 19, 2012
The Bond Companies’ website is touting delivery of 200,000 square feet of retail space in the Fall of 2013 at The Maxwell, a 3.9 acre mixed-use development underway between Clinton and Canal, just north of Roosevelt Rd. As you can see from the photo, shot yesterday morning, only a small piece of skeletal façade remains ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on July 18, 2012
As of 9:30 last night, 17,511 ads had been posted yesterday in the Chicago > housing > apts/housing for rent section of Craigslist, almost all of them by Chicago’s sleazy apartment rental services. Scores of rental services are repeatedly advertising the same apartments in an attempt to frustrate you or mislead you into calling them. ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on July 17, 2012
It’s anecdotal data only, but what I’ve been hearing during the past month is that a number of major landlords have been reducing or completely eliminating their reliance on apartment finders / rental services to bring them tenants. Several large landlords will no longer pay commissions to any of the rental services. Others have become ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on July 9, 2012
It’s a common tendency among renters (and home buyers) to go for the max – to rent or buy as much housing as they can comfortably (almost) afford. Once renters determine that they can afford, say, $2,000 a month, they typically begin looking for apartments in that price range. The trade-offs are often narrowly conceived: ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 27, 2012
If you’re searching for an apartment in any of the lakefront communities covered by YoChicago’s at-a-glance apartment lists and maps, you’re wasting your time by searching on Craigslist. Our lists are comprehensive, and include links to property websites, where you can get accurate, up-to-date information directly from property owners and management companies. Accurate information is ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 25, 2012
What’s there to be said about this Craigslist ad from My Place Apartments, other than that it’s an almost perfect metaphor for what you can expect from this company and other Chicago rental services? We’ve previously written about the company’s soliciting deadbeats, felons and strippers as clients, and its apparently fraudulent Google reviews. And, we ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 21, 2012
AMLI Evanston, a mixed-use development at Chicago Ave and Kedzie St in Evanston, appears to be making rapid progress toward its goal of occupancy by spring 2013. When complete, the project will include 214 1- to 3-bedroom apartments, 19 of them live / work, and 7,600 square feet of retail space. When I stopped by ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 19, 2012
If you were searching for a River North 2-bedroom with an indoor pool you might start by filtering Craigslist on 2+ BR apartments and typing the following keywords: River North indoor pool. That search, performed late yesterday, returned a flood of bait-and-switch ads – 1,000 of them, all placed yesterday! Refine your Craigslist search by ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 15, 2012
Planned Property Management, one of Chicago’s largest property owners, has over 3,000 apartments for rent in the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and Lake View neighborhoods. Planned is student-friendly at all of its buildings, working closely with students and accepting of in- and out-of-state co-signers. The vintage building at 596 W Hawthorne in Lakeview East has ...
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Posted by sponsored post on June 14, 2012
1225 Old Town, the new 16-story, 250-unit apartment tower at 1225 N Wells St in Old Town, is ahead of its construction schedule and anticipates welcoming new residents beginning in July. According to David Bach, an associate with Hines Interests, online leasing began May 1st, the rental office across the street opened May 15th, and ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 11, 2012
1575 Oak offers studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments in a contemporary 8-story building with outdoor and garage parking. Apartments feature large new kitchens, baths and hardwood floors, and wall-to-wall windows with sweeping views of downtown Evanston, which is steps away. 1575 Oak is a 3-minute walk from the Davis Street Metra and CTA El stops. ...
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Posted by sponsored post on June 5, 2012
Five years ago yesterday we were reporting that Thrush Companies was planning an 8-story mixed-use building with 155 1- to 3-bedroom loft-style condos at Madison and Racine in the West Loop. The property went into foreclosure in August of 2009, was acquired by an affiliate of MB Financial Bank a year later, and remains vacant ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on May 31, 2012
The renovated vintage midrise at 860 Hinman is home to two of Evanston’s favorites – the Brothers K coffee house and the Lucky Platter restaurant. Along Main Street and around the corner on Chicago Ave residents find a good selection of one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants, together with Starbucks and Whole Foods. CTA and Metra stops ...
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Posted by sponsored post on May 30, 2012
Residents of 1225 Old Town, the new apartment tower about to open at 1225 N Wells St, could look forward to a feast of nearby grocery shopping options: a Jewel, a Dominick’s, two Potash Markets, two Treasure Islands, two Whole Foods and a Trader Joe’s – for starters. All of those grocers may have a ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on May 29, 2012
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