Returning to Chicago

Looking back at the articles I wrote regarding the sale of the boat and the transition to being condo owners in Sarasota it is clear that I omitted a significant fact, which was our intention to also have a place in Chicago.

So here's a bit of perspective. We left Chicago on October 3, 2010 for the Great Loop on our 48 Sea Ray Sundancer, which as readers know is a 6000 plus mile circumnavigation of the Eastern United States.  Except for our attendance at a wedding in the fall of 2011, we did not return to Chicago until mid September 2012 when we "crossed our wake" and finished the loop. In October we sold the Sea Ray and by November we had contracted with Outer Reef to build the 63. Shortly thereafter, we returned to Sarasota for the winter.

When the spring of 2013 arrived we headed back to Chicago to enjoy the summer at our Chicago property on Wrightwood Avenue in Lincoln Park. As fall approached, and in typical "snowbird" tradition, we headed back to Sarasota to avoid the cold and snow.

We took delivery of the 63 in Fort Lauderdale on February 10, 2014, fulfilled three of our four boat show obligations to Outer Reef and headed north. We arrived in Hingham in May of 2014. Shortly thereafter we decided to sell the Wrightwood Avenue property on the basis that we were not going to use it enough to justify the carrying cost and the greater concern that an unoccupied property has too much potential for loss due to human break-ins and mechanical breakdowns.

1030 W. Wrightwood Avenue

My boat insurance agent since 1999, Todd Hague, who was also was a realtor, assisted us with the sale of Wrightwood Avenue. We signed the listing agreement on July 3rd of 2014. Within 8 days we had accepted an offer for 98.8% of the $769,000 asking price. The deal closed on September 12th. In the process we got rid of almost all of our furniture and furnishings. We were now living aboard the 63 full time. Side note: We had nothing in storage either.

Fast forward to February of this year (2019). We closed on the condo property at 100 Central Avenue in Sarasota on February 12 and began the tedious process of setting up housekeeping, which entailed buying furniture and all the stuff you need to run a land based property.

Now with Sarasota fully functional we started the process of finding a condo in Chicago. I say "we' but in reality the energy behind this effort was almost entirely Diana's. Actually the search for the Chicago property began months earlier with Diana studying the Chicago market on line. As this progressed it became clear that we were going to need the assistance of a Chicago real estate agent.

The choice of a real estate agent was incredibly easy. We again worked with Todd Hague. Todd had handled the insurance on our 44 and 48 Sundancers and it was he who had helped us sell Wrightwood Avenue for 98.8% of the asking price. Enlisting Todd for this project was an easy decision.

Diana with assistance from Todd researched multiple properties and narrowed down the ones "we" wanted to visit. So in late May Diana headed to Chicago and together with Todd visited a number of properties. I stayed home with Kodi and participated via the internet.

Diana was particularly impressed with a two bedroom two bath unit at 201 Westshore Drive, which was located in an area  known as the Lakeshore East Development. The asking price was $630,000 plus $60,000 for the parking space.

201 Westshore Drive - The Lancaster

I actually made an offer, which was accepted, and then after 24 hours unwound the deal. The problem that I could not wrap my head around was a long closed-off kitchen. It turns out that the current owners were in some way affiliated with the Chicago Lyric Opera and entertained frequently in their home. They had remodeled the kitchen so it could be used by caterers to prepare and serve food out of the view of their guests. In the process, they had eliminated the walkway that led from the kitchen to the living / dining room and replaced the open space with yet more cabinetry thus creating what we chose to call a "shotgun kitchen." I clearly did not want to go through the hassle and expense of returning the kitchen and walkway to its original state.

The second problem involved a TIF (tax increment financing) arrangement that created the Lakeshore East Development, which had previously been the Illinois Central Railroad yard right in the heart of the city.  The TIF added approximately $2,500 in additional taxes. which when added to the condo assessment of over $12,000 and the real estate taxes of over $12,000 brought the carrying cost to over $25,000.

Plus I was not entirely happy with the location, which is east of Michigan Avenue and just south of the Chicago River. The Lakeshore East Development is a group of high rise towers surrounding a magnificent "central" park (see illustration below). The Lancaster is at the east end with Mariano's supermarket at the west end. Mariano's is a cross between Whole Foods and a traditional supermarket. Except for the market, the area is entirely residential.

Drawing of the Lakeshore East Development
Notice the park in the center of the development

The Lancaster is the building just west of the open space

On June 12th Diana returned to Chicago and together with Todd looked at more properties. One of those was a two bedroom two bath condo on the 39th floor located at 100 E. Huron Street. This is a high rise at the very center of the Magnificent Mile with "magnificent" views owing to its location on the northwest corner of the building.

The Mag Mile starts at the Chicago River and runs north  to Oak Street
and the ramp leading to Lake Shore Drive

Mag Mile looking south
Tall buildings in background (left to right) are the Aon Center, Trump Tower and Willis (Sears) Tower

Hard to read but the diagram gives you a sense of the robust retail and restaurant resources on the Mag Mile

Diana liked the unit but had some reservations. She was concerned about the size of the bathrooms, the valet parking, the two pipe HVAC system, the need to ride two elevators to reach the unit and finally, the status of the Chicago Place Mall. We spent considerable time talking through each issue and ultimately concluded that none represented an obstacle to cause us to reject the unit.

Here's how we "rationalized" the five problems. Given the small size of the heads (bathrooms) on the boat, we decided we could live with these bathrooms, which were considerably (relatively of course) bigger.  They were also both remodeled and upgraded. More on that in the upcoming article where I will describe the unit and its features in detail.

We then reasoned that the valet parking was ultimately advantages for us. The monthly rate for residents was $260 and only payable when we are here. Hence, for a 5 month visit the parking cost is $1,300. We concluded that this was a bargain as compared to the real estate tax and assessment fees for a deeded parking space.

The next issue was the two pipe HVAC system. These systems which are found in older buildings  (i.e., this one was built in 1991) deliver air conditioning during the summer and heat during the winter. The switch is made twice a year and once activated there is no going back even if summer or winter decides it's not over. Another characteristic of these systems is the lack of a thermostat. In this way they are similar to HVAC systems found in older motels. Essentially you have a fan switch with four settings (off, low, medium and high). My experience is that it is hard to "get it right" almost all of the time. Turns out our unit has a thermostat that allows you to regulate the temperature by controlling the fan. Considering that we were looking at the unit in the "dead of summer" (i.e., the months of July and August) and that the unit's temperature respected the thermostat's setting allowed us to reason that we should be OK. The good news is that this proved to be the case and the unit's temperature is totally controlled.

Riding two elevators to reach the unit was also not a problem. But I suspect you are asking why there are two elevators. The answer is simple. 100 E Huron is build atop a retail space that fronts on Michigan Avenue's "Magnificent Mile." This space when originally built contained a mall with Saks Fifth Avenue as the anchor store and other smaller stores on four or five floors. Hence, the first bank of two elevators goes from the ground to the 9th floor to bypass the mall. A short walk across the 9th floor leads to a bank of three very fast elevators that access the condominiums (23 seconds from the 9th to the 39th floor).

The Mall at Chicago Place

The final concern was the partially occupied mall (see photo above) formerly known as Chicago Place. At present the mall has three tenants, Saks Fifth Avenue, T Mobile and Zara (a high end clothing store). In its heyday this was a multi-store indoor mall with a food court. According to our building manager the mall is separate from the residences. Other sources suggest that the unoccupied floors may be converted to office space.

On June 16th we made a cash offer with no contingencies along with a July first closing date. The unit initially came on the market at $680,000 eight months ago and its price had been reduced several times. At the time of our offer it was priced at $630,000. The seller and I settled on a price of $600,000. While it looks like we got a great deal it really is not true. The sellers had originally bought the unit for $630,000 some 13 years ago (not to mention some serious money (estimated at $75,000) to upgrade the kitchen and bathrooms). I seriously doubt we will see the value of the unit increase especially given the number of new condos that are currently under construction. We were buying a lifestyle, not an investment.

We closed on the 100 E Huron property on July 1st. However, due to obligations in Sarasota we were unable to occupy the property until Saturday, July 20th.

In the next article I will provide a complete description of the unit along with photos.

Written by Les.