Uptown conversion's one-bedrooms selling from $160s to $220s
Posted 6/6/2008 by Joseph Askins
According to our New Home Notebook, the North Side has fewer projects with homes priced at or below $250,000 than any other area in town (those other areas being the Loop / downtown and the Far North, Northwest, West / Southwest and South sides).
Many of the North Side's starter homes are in large conversions - think back to Kroupa Development's 252-unit Sheridan Tower and 143-unit 3033 North Sheridan, both in Lakeview East.
One conversion we haven't written about is Polo Tower, a 189-unit rehab at 4180 N Marine Dr in Uptown. The project still has 83 one-bedroom / one-bath condominiums available, all priced from the $160s to the $220s, according to @properties agent Ginger Bonneau.
Units have been reconfigured from their original apartment designs in order to add more closet space, Bonneau says. Every home has been finished with granite breakfast bars, stainless-steel appliances, shaker-style cabinets, marble bathroom vanities, and cast-iron bathtubs.
Building amenities include a rooftop deck, a new laundry area (units do not have washer / dryer hookups), a dry cleaner, on-site management and two full-time building engineers. Rental parking is available for $150 to $200 per month.
Marine and Lake Shore drives are immediately east of the building, meaning that residents on the eastern side of the Polo Tower should have unobstructed views of Lake Michigan and Montrose Harbor. Bonneau says the northern views are just as impressive, and south-facing units get "at least a slice of the lake, plus great sunlight."
Comments
6/6/08
Local Realtor said:
Can't opine about 3033 because I haven't been there yet, but the Polo Tower has been one of the most NOTORIOUS condo conversions on the North Side for the better part of a decade! They've already gone through several developers/brokers; the rent-to-own program presented to the tenants was apparently a bust; the few "model" units on display include some poorly-designed spaces with tiny galley kitchens…the ONLY thing this place has going for it is the lakeside location! And people wanting that can do much better elsewhere in the same nabe.
UptownR said:
This is in my neck of the woods (I live VERY close). It's a bit stripped down in terms of ammenities (i.e. no central air), but the prices are accordingly discounted compared to other high-rises in the area. Polo Tower has residents of all ages, but seems to be packed with young 20-somethings. It's definitely a first-time owner kind of a building.
Does "Reza" of Middle-Eastern restaurant fame still have a stake in this building? After he and his cohorts took control of the building a few years ago, they did the neighborhood a great service by driving out the few remaining drug dealers in the building. That little corner of Buena Park is now a really great place to live, and has very little crime–even though it's technically part of Uptown.
6/7/08
Edgewater said:
I've heard that this building has problems. Not just with the conversion, but that there is deferred maintenance or poor build quality.
UptownR said:
It was a bare bones rental building for years. There is no HVAC–just concrete slabs and typical partitions. The facade looked like crap when I moved into the neighborhood a few years ago, but it has since been refurbished. Since there is no mechanical, there's not much else to this building other than the plumbing and the elevator–which I've never seen.
This building is pretty stripped down high rise living, but it's priced that way. The other two highrises on the block–The Waterford and 720 Gordon Terrace–are nicer buildings and have higher prices and assessments. Polo Tower isn't the same kind of building, but it serves a purpose at its price point.
6/24/08
aj said:
i rent at polo and it is very barebones. i will not purchase a rehabed unit i would rather buy an old unit and rehab myself. the building has alot of problems like plumbing old windows ugly old ac units hanging out the windows etc. im sure huge special assessments are soon to follow. i guess you get what you pay for. btw some of the residents are really nice but mostly pretentious people who think they live on park avenue!