Two weeks ago, The Thrush Companies slashed the prices for 10 of the roughly 30 homes that are still on the market at 740 Fulton, the 14-story high-rise in the Fulton River District. We were a bit late getting the scoop, and five of the 10 discounted condos have already been sold, but considering the amount that Thrush is taking off the listing prices, it’s better late than never.
Manoj Mukkada from Keller Williams Realty and the MyCityHome Group is handling sales, and he says that prices are all over the place. Not surprisingly, the homes that received the biggest price cuts were snatched up first. For example, Mukkada says one of the tower’s penthouses was originally listed at $1.08 million and was reduced to the $790s. Another was originally priced in the $870s and sold in the $670s.
Mukkada says his favorite of the five remaining discounted condos is unit 1109, the 1,050 square-foot two-bedroom / two-bath on the 11th floor, which currently serves as a model unit. It was listed previously for more than $400,000 and is now priced in the $300s with parking included.
Mukkadda says survival will come down to which developers will be willing to acknowledge that the market has shifted, and he expects other developers who are sitting on large numbers of unsold units to come to the same realization soon.
“It’s like the story of the two guys in the woods,” Mukkada says. “The bear is coming out, and the one guy is putting his shoes on, and the other guy says to him, ‘Why are you putting your shoes on? The bear is going to run faster than us and take us out.’ And he says, ‘No, I just need to run faster than you.'”
I couldn’t help but wonder how residents who bought in 740 Fulton a year ago feel about the price reductions, but Mukkadda believes there’s a sense of understanding among the building’s residents.
“Most of the people that live in the building, the consensus is, they really love the building, so they’re happy that the building is getting sold out,” Mukkadda says. They probably are less worried about the price reductions affecting the value of their homes because they know they won’t see any appreciation on their condos until the building is sold out, he adds.
If they cut the prices, they will buy.
..Maybe the time are cathing up with Thrush. Can you say cash crunch? ..maybe it’s their someone shaky reputation. Does anyone know if their project at Racine and Madison is dead in the water?
No one, I repeat, no one really loves that building. It’s viewed by many as the worst building architecturally in all of Chicago. These units wouldn’t be a deal if they were paying people to take them.
Melissa,
It seems like you’re trying to create a shaky reputation where none exists. Thrush has had a great reputation in Chicago for a long, long time.
I’ve known George Thrush for over 30 years, and that’s one of the reasons I bristle at this kind of cowardly rock-throwing.
If you have some facts, state them, tell us how you know them, and give us some reason to believe them.
WGC,
While not a huge fan of the building its not on my uglydar for Chicago. There are many buildings built during the boom I think are abhorrent to the sight and hangover inducing. This isn’t one of them.
I agree with the developer’s quote. Some, but not all, developers did get the memo and are slashinng prices. The deeply down volume will almost exclusively go to those developers that acknowledge this first.
I don’t see anything wrong with the design of the building. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s not ugly either. What I don’t like is the location. A bit of a dead zone.
Joe,
I’m not a coward, nor am I a fool.
I can’t disagree with you about George Thrush specifically, but other company affiliates who work with Thrush are less than scrupulous in my opinion.
I believe that there was a significant ‘parting of ways’ with one of the above mentioned less than stellar ‘affiliates’ a few months back.
I have lived in a Thrush property for over 7 years and I’ve had dealings with Thrush for over 10 years. I love my home and I’m proud of where I live but it hasn’t been without it’s interesting twists and turns. First hand knowledge..aka facts include, but are not limited to: Defective balcony installations, faulty roofing/construction, nonexistant tuckpointing and even some fly by night sales people wielding empty promises – not uncommon problems in new and/or conversion projects, but problems none the less. In my experience, most people just leave the problems behind instead of hanging in and fighting – deep pockets will, more often than not, win every time.
Do you know if their most recent project at Racine and Madison is on life support? I had heard that Thrush ran out of funding. I noticed the old restaurant that they bought out is now back on the market…
Melissa,
Your clarification helps people understand where you’re coming from.
Without doubting your experience, I’d argue that it doesn’t equate to a “shaky reputation.’
You’re correct that one of Thrush’s key executives left the firm recently. I’ve also known that individual for a number of years and have never heard any negatives about him.
I don’t have any specific info about Madison & Racine – but not many new projects are starting these days.