Metro Pulse/Urban Renewal

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1712 WASHINGTON AVE.

2-bedroom apts: $425/month

1-bedroom apt: $335/month

Contact, well, me: Matt Edens:
414-6671
[email protected]

by Matt Edens

This column didn't exactly go as planned. You see, the house I had initially planned to write about was a great little Victorian cottage over on E. Fifth Avenue in Parkridge. Actually, I'd written about it twice before. And both times it sold to someone who first found it here in the pages of Metro Pulse (the first time to somebody all the way from California). So, being a shallow, self-aggrandizing sort, I figured I'd pat myself on the back a little and do my damnedest to go three for three.

It wasn't to be. A week after being listed, that house on Fifth Avenue has a contract on it. Which is something to brag about in its own right (say it again, slowly: "a week after being listed, that house on Fifth Avenue has a contract on it"). Maybe, just maybe, the notion that Parkridge is a great place to find a great house for a great price (under $70K in that case) is starting to sink in. So I'm not really complaining, even though it left me stranded with a deadline looming.

Which brings me to this house at 1712 Washington Ave., just a few blocks away. I didn't initially intend to write about this place since my wife and I are proud owners of about 1/20th of it. But I said "what the hell," and asked my editor. And he said "what the hell," too. So here we are. Oh, this might be an opportune moment to mention that my [managing] editor is the equally proud owner of 1/60th of this place. Conspiracy theorists— feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

Although, if it's a conspiracy, it's a damned big one. This house has, all told, about 30 owners. It all started longer ago than I'd care to admit, when the city put this abandoned, used and abused house up for bid. Rather than run the risk of further abuse, a few neighbors and I (I live just a few doors down from it) formed a company and raised enough money to buy the place by selling shares to a pretty diverse group of folks. Some were neighbors, some were old house enthusiasts, and some were looking for a tax write-off. Some were all three.

And now, after juggling a complicated financing package that includes funds from the city's Rental Rehab program, a loan from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and historic preservation tax credits, the project is almost complete and, barring acts of God or jihad, should be available for June occupancy. Historic restoration work on the house—a George Barber-designed Victorian built in 1889—focused on the exterior, partly due to budget concerns and partly because the place had been stripped of most interior detail (right down to the staircase). So while one of the new apartments—there are two 2-bedrooms and one 1-bedroom—will have some original trim and one original fireplace (non-functioning), all the apartments will have:

brand new carpet and drywall

all new kitchens and baths

healthy amounts of closet space

all new electrical systems

washer/dryer hook-ups

new central gas heat and air

full insulation

double-pane replacement windows

Come January, I may move in.

And since the project was in large part financed by HUD funds, tenants cannot exceed certain maximum annual incomes based on household size (for a one-person household the max is $21,840, 2 people/$24,960, 3/$28,080— roommates count toward those totals). But if you qualify, it's worth it—a brand-new, but hardly cookie-cutter, two-bedroom apartment a mere $425 a month. No wonder Parkridge is developing a reputation for great space at a great price.