live work space within 30m of west river north? (Chicago: for sale, apartment)

[rzzzz]

I need to be able to get to the area near the Chicago-Brown stop in 30 minutes by 7 in the morning. El, bus walking or biking.

Is there any place where this commute is possible where I could find a live work space for $400K?

I don't care if the neighborhood has cool restaurants or bars but a decent grocery store and place to run would be nice.

The other option I'm thinking of is to get a studio condo in that area then find a workspace somewhere else.

[marothisu]

Are you talking about home + office type of set up or an actual storefront type of deal?

Look within the Noble Square/East Ukrainian Village/Ukrainian Village area around Chicago Avenue (or somewhere within walking distance of it). The Chicago Avenue bus runs all night and links right up to the brown line stop (as well as the Red line stop and Blue Line stop). At 7am, the traffic there isn't too bad and 30 minutes would probably take you from west of Western Avenue even. During rush hours though, it could take awhile - like Chicago & State to the Chicago Blue Line stop at 6pm could take 20 minutes.

There's been a number of new homes and buildings built in the last few years around there, and especially lately south of Chicago ave. You should be able to find a 2 bedroom condo type of thing for under $400K. Prices have been rising there as they build more, so you might have room (MIGHT) to make money too off of it in that area.

Here's a few examples I found in the area I was talking about for your budget:
* http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/91...01248202_zpid/
* http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/71...33200023_zpid/
* http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/83...80827287_zpid/
* http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/93...60202401_zpid/
* http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/21...87923946_zpid/


You could also go in either south or north direction, though south would be harder but you might be able to swing something in Chinatown for that. To the north, I bet you could find stuff in Roscoe Village kind of area which is along the brown line itself.

[rzzzz]

not storefront, but I guess I didn't think of that. that could work.
i just make musical instruments and other random stuff so could use some space. a full on house would work too but I just assumed those are going to be more like $650K+. I was thinking south loop maybe still had some legit "live work" lofts but it's all kind of yuppie stuff now.

[rzzzz]

thanks for the links. What is wrong with the place at 918 Damen? It dropped $100K since 2008.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by rzzzz

not storefront, but I guess I didn't think of that. that could work.
i just make musical instruments and other random stuff so could use some space. a full on house would work too but I just assumed those are going to be more like $650K+. I was thinking south loop maybe still had some legit "live work" lofts but it's all kind of yuppie stuff now.

Ah gotcha. That's cool - what kind of musical instruments do you make? You could probably get a full house along the same thing west of Western Avenue for under $400K sometimes. The area isn't bad - but you might still have to guard against potential robberies and burglaries. I think it would be under 30 minutes at 7am going there but who knows. You might have to see for yourself once if you can (I've only going west at that time of day, not east).

Like this:
828 N Fairfield Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 is For Sale - Zillow


As far as lofts go, they exist in Printer's Row still but who knows how much they are. There are actually some lofts in areas like Ravenswood and Lakeview along the train lines too.

[knitgirl]

Here's a site that has listings for work spaces of the type I think you're looking for: Spacefinder | Chicago Artists Resource

[tommy_407]

I also looked for live/work type loft since I do woodworking and had lofts set up like this previously. Check out Pilsen dude. There should still be a somewhat sizable community of live/work lofts in Chicago. I only know of one I looked at in Pilsen before I just settled for a regular old apartment.

[emathias]

If you search, you can find a few along the Green Line heading west, and along Ravenswood heading north. Depending on their exact proximity to various forms of transit, they could be 30 minutes to River North. East Pilsen or the western edge of Chinatown are also places to look into.