Here’s another deal I found out about via Bob Darrow‘s price reduction roundup post on his Your Windy City Guide blog yesterday: In an effort to spark sales at the Motor Row Lofts, developer Paul Zucker is taking 20 percent off the next five contracts.
The deal comes about four months after Zucker was hit with a $9-million foreclosure suit filed by First Bank of Missouri, and sales at the rehab development have been at a standstill.
“It’s been absolutely horrendous,” @properties sales agent Peter Diaz says of the recent sales history at Motor Row, which is located at 2301 S Michigan Ave in the South Loop. Not a single sale has been recorded since @properties took over sales about a year ago, and in that time some of the condos have been put up for rent.
Initially, it was announced that all of the remaining homes would be offered for rent, but Zucker later pulled back and is now offering just four rental units. He’s reluctant to rent them all, because the development’s landmark status enables the first occupant of a unit to get an eight-year tax freeze, so if Zucker rents a unit, the tax freeze applies to him. Then, if he chooses to sell the same unit, the tax freeze isn’t transferable.
Before calculating the 20-percent discount, prices for the 26 available condos range from the $270s to the $660s — with the discount, it could be from the $210s to the $520s. The four rental units are priced from $1,550 to $2,350 per month.
With the 20% price reduction, someone will probably sign a contract. I just if after awhile will the lofts all become rental?
Out of 52 units / 22 are owned. This building
will not be all rental. Fantastic tenants live in this building. As bad as 2008 was for everyone, the developer, Paul Zucker has lived up to his status of taking care of the building & keeping the price points up as long as possible. It would have been wiser to give the discounts in early 2008, but again we have to give him credit for keeping the value up for the Motor Row area. If you want an honest opinion on any of the units, living here – email me – solomotorrow@yahoo.com.
I will give you a honest opinion regarding any of your questions.
The picture above is the BEFORE picture. Mr. Boyer – please update the picture.
Is it much different now?
Mr. Okojie:
Here’s what the lofts looked like as they neared completion last year.
Here are a couple of shots that people took from Flickr.com :
You will need to paste the links…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reallyboring/3108070227/in/pool-1097448@N20
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmakat/2744590629/in/pool-1097448@N20
http://www.flickr.com/photos/solomotorrow/3556512203/in/pool-1097448@N20
Thanks, Solo.
Those are some beautiful pics
AUCTION – Keep an eye out for great deals soon.
Crain’s is reporting on the auction – but then we already knew about it since we’ve been engaged to do some marketing work for the developer. The Crain’s report is inaccurate in a few details, including the number of units in the project and the prospect of rentals.
Look for a ton of video from Motor Row in the next few days. In the meantime, visit Sheldon Good’s Motor Row page for some details.
Ms. Jyoti has a fantastic BLOG & has a great section about the MOTOR ROW DISTRICT.
http://chicago-architecture-jyoti.blogspot.com/2009/09/lofts-in-motor-row-historic-district.html