A fond farewell to Marina City

[Steely Dan]

After 16 years of ownership, I'm finally selling my condo in marina city.

I took one last stroll down memory lane visiting the roof deck this evening.

Here are a few scenes from 60 floors up in the heart of Chicago.



























This was where I proposed to my now wife over 11 years ago. And though there are more buildings in the way now, we finally got a proper fireball sunset tonight just like we did then.

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures! Were you living in it until now? Or did you move out long before and rent it out?

[Steely Dan]

I bought the condo back in 2007.

I moved out in 2012 when I moved in with my then fiance.

Been renting it out for the past 11 years, but I finally got tired of the constant tenant revolving door.

[hkskyline]

Curious how much units in there cost to buy and rent? I suppose rent is probably sky high which is why the tenants come and go so quickly?

[Rooted Arborial]

Most of these photos make Chicago look amazing, but #1 and #8 - River North views - make me wonder what the hell happened in that area.

I know that area has noteworthy buildings within it, but the abundance of beige blandness there is a striking contrast to the rest of the central part of the city.

Was it mainly bad aldermanic judgement or is it that the wealth of the city had limitations which the rest of the central part of the city has been able to disguise?

Is River North the price paid for the other stunning views?

[MolsonExport]

possibly the best pad of an SSP forumer.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Curious how much units in there cost to buy and rent? I suppose rent is probably sky high which is why the tenants come and go so quickly?

Marina City is quite inexpensive. The older Chicago highrises generally sell/rent for very affordable rates. Chicago doesn't really have restrictions on building, so tends to have lots of housing filtering with the older properties. The good part is low entry costs, the flipside is low property appreciation.

These are awesome pics, BTW. I was in the area all last week, but never got this amazing view. Spent most my time in the South Loop area.

[The North One]

Why sell? Did the city jack up property taxes?

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by The North One

Why sell? Did the city jack up property taxes?

It is easier and somewhat more stable for landlords to lease properties on the outskirts, as long they're decent.
Same here in metro Paris. Especially when a suburb is well served by the mass transit system.

Buildings in the inner city are more expensive to maintain, so you have to find some sort better-off tenants.
On the decent outskirts, buildings are more modern and/or of a lower standard (no luxury highrise or historic stuff), so you can make sure you get regular tenants when your property is fairly maintained.
It doesn't work if your tenant has a feeling you fool them, though. Your stuff has to be maintained honestly.

Downtown living is just overpriced, obviously for tenants, but even to landlords oftentimes.
It is harder to make it profitable.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Curious how much units in there cost to buy and rent?

My unit is a 500 SF studio w/175 SF balcony on the 33rd floor looking west down the river canyon.

My last tenant was paying me $1,600/month.

I'm currently under contract to sell it for $190K.

Originally Posted by The North One

Why sell?

See post #3.

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I bought the condo back in 2007.

I moved out in 2012 when I moved in with my then fiance.

Been renting it out for the past 11 years, but I finally got tired of the constant tenant revolving door.

I never really wanted to be a landlord; the great recession kinda forced me into being one.

At first it was great, as I had a reliable tenant in there who stayed in the unit for 7 years (very rare for a studio).

But I've had 3 different tenants in it over the past 4 years, and the prosect of having to now find a fourth tenant got me interested in pulling my equity out and doing something else with it. I don't want to have to tenant hunt every year.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Damn, I remember when you bought that. Feels sorta like the end of an era, but sounds like it was becoming more hassle than it was worth while trying to raise a family

[nomarandlee]

Great views and space.

Did you ever bother with AirBnB rentals? If so, how much did it typically command? I'd think such a signature building would be well suited to commanding higher short-term rentals.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

Did you ever bother with AirBnB rentals?

Short-term rentals are illegal at Marina City, per the condo bylaws.

All leases must be 1 year minimum.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I'm currently under contract to sell it for $190K.

Are you sure? I thought you would make more money of it.
You would make something like a million dollars of this thing out here! Or more.

You could keep on leasing it to students whose parents can afford it, but I'm not saying it's any proper economic role model.
My own country's economy is somewhat slower than it should be because of those rental things.

It is regarded as some kind of safe investment over here, but lacking boldness or innovation.
Like it would actually be cowardly.

The government wants people to take more risk with their money, to put it in innovating businesses.
You must admit, it makes sense somehow.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Are you sure?

Uhhh...... yeah.

I don't know much, but I am pretty sure about that one.

I mean, l think I would know the sale price of a condominium unit I own that I am currently under contract to sell.

But technically, you got me, cuz I did round up ever so slightly.

The contract price is $189,900.

Right in line with other recent comps in the building.

Closing will hopefully be in several weeks.

[mousquet]

^ Bwahaha... Bon, ok, I will just shut my mouth if that makes you feel any better.

Dude, you live in a world that's different from mine.
That's all I will add to this.

[xzmattzx]

How did you take care of rental paperwork? Was that stuff hard, or was it informal?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

How did you take care of rental paperwork? Was that stuff hard, or was it informal?

Marina City has a population of ~1,500, so it's run like a small town. Everything is by the book and letter of the law.

I first became a reluctant landlord when I moved into my fiance's bigger place in the West loop and I was so underwater on my condo from the '08 crash that I refused to sell it at a massive loss. Being that I was hardly the only person in that boat at that time, the MC management company hooked me up with a free workshop the city did (still does?) for first time landlords to go over rules, regs, and responsibilities, and most importantly for me, to make sure all forms and paperwork are properly and legally filled out to protect all parties.

It was a very beneficial Saturday afternoon spent because I had no idea how to be a landlord prior to that.

And after 11 years of it, I'm ready to be done, especially because I have zero desire to grow in that business. my old condo unit is now handsomely above water after the pandemic real estate spike, so even though rates are high, it still was a good time to finally unload it and move the equity into something more passive and long term.

[Rooted Arborial]

Because of the photos here, I looked up Bertrand Goldberg's works and the images from when Marina City was newly finished have a drastically different feel.

These towers were not close to anything nearly as high and the views from them were way, way more expansive for all of the occupants.

It is stunning how different the area is now and how thrilling it must have been for people when they first came upon these two (then) cutting edge, soaring, futuristic creations.

[CTroyMathis]

Awesome photos. I remember when you mentioned ages ago you had moved-in there.