written by Dean Moss on Tuesday, November 3, 8:00PM
On the South Side of Chicago, the ethnically-diverse Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods boasts some of the city's oldest mansions and majestic brownstone apartments. The Kenwood neighborhood contains some of the largest homes in the city. And according to local historians, Kenwood was once one of the most elite neighborhoods in all of Chicago. The Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods today also showcase some new high-rise condominium developments, trendy restaurants, taverns, hip coffee houses and unique bookstores.
The South Side neighborhoods are also the stomping grounds for the University of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry (a favorite play place for my brother and me when we were just kids). Some of the best blues clubs can also be found on this end of the city. I guess that's why it's no surprise the Obamas have called the area home for so long. Hyde Park is where Michelle and Barack Obama shared their first kiss — outside the Baskin Robbins on 53rd and Dorchester, which is now a vacant unit in a strip mall.
Take a tour of Obama's Hyde Park Neighborhood with Google Street View:
Security clearance
The Obamas' Colonial-style home is situated on a double lot and is located near the corner of 51st Street (Hyde Park Boulevard) and Greenwood Avenue (on the Kenwood side). But since Barack bumped up his status from senator to president-elect, the days of strolling past the family's home is long gone. Curious onlookers are quickly chased away by a phalanx of Chicago police officers and secret service agents.
Today, the Obamas' home is guarded by protective fencing and concrete barriers to keep the family secure, according to the Chicago Tribune. Parking is prohibited, and no thru traffic signs on Hyde Park Boulevard — a local thoroughfare running right in front of the Obamas' home — has since been posted. Even CTA Buses have been diverted to nearby side streets. The dozens of neighborhood residents that live nearby are subject to multiple ID checks, questioning and fingerprint registration. Even members of a nearby church have been registered by the FBI.
Chicago Police vehicles are also subject to close inspection by the secret service. Each car's engine and chassis must be carefully inspected for any security breach.
Celebrity status
Neighborhood businesses have definitely felt the impact of Barack's newly garnered celebrity status. Valois Restaurant at 1518 E. 53rd Street, has been a long time favorite dining spot for the president-elect. He'd often stop in for lunch whenever he was back in town from Washington. Today of course, he can't drop by without fanfare, and chooses to order carryout instead. But the owners can still count on the steady stream of reporters who stop by looking for an Obama tidbit or two to share with their readers. The morning after the presidential election, Valois treated some 2,000 neighborhood residents and visitors to a free breakfast.
My visit to the neighborhood included parking my car near the corner of Greenwood Avenue and 52nd Street, exactly one block south of the Obamas' residence. The neighborhood looked like any normal community. There were kids frolicking in a playlot and some college students hanging outside their brownstone apartments. But as I got closer to the home, I was quickly shooed away by both Chicago Police officers and one onerous FBI agent (both heavily armed, I might add)!
Most from the Kenwood and Hyde Park neighborhoods consider living in such close proximity to their now-famous neighbor a real honor — but not without considerable inconvenience!
Visit DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO at BlogChicagoHomes.com.
written by Amy Le on Tuesday, November 3, 6:22PM
NBA hotshot Allen Iverson may be living the highlife, driving around town in expensive cars, eating at the finest restaurants and shuffling past long lines at the hottest night clubs. But even superstars are feeling the pains from one of the worst housing slumps in U.S. history. According to The Wall Street Journal the Denver Nuggets guard has been struggling to sell his home in Villanova, PA, for a year now. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column first reported on it last year. Now a year later the same column reveals that Iverson has dropped the price on the 14,000-square-foot-home to a desperation price of $3.9 million. The former Philadelphia 76er shelled out $5 million for it in 2003 and originally listed it for $6.3 last year.
The home entails
According to the listing, this modern chateau encompasses 14,000 square-feet of award-winning design. It's nestled on four acres of meticulously arranged landscaping and boasts a pool house, stream and cascading waterfall. The home is a haven of tranquility with four complete levels of lavish appointments, beginning in the foyer and great room, which are adorned with floor-to-ceiling Palladian windows, custom rail work and breathtaking moldings.
French doors and soaring ceilings throughout the property lend drama and grace. The master suite boasts his and her floor-to-ceiling marble baths, coffee bar, media area, marble fireplace and slate veranda overlooking the grounds.
Four additional ensuite bedrooms are custom designed to meet the highest standards. Separate guest quarters features living room, bedroom and kitchenette. The entertainment level boast 12-seat movie theater, billiard room, lounge with custom wood-carved bar accommodating 200-plus wine bottles. This main line estate is designed for connoisseurs of fine living.
Misery loves company
Iverson isn't the only NBA star having a rough time getting his home sold. Rasheed Wallace, the Detroit Pistons forward, lowered the price of his Portland, OR, home to $4.9 million from $5.2 million. He played with the Portland Trail Blazers before signing a six-year deal with the Pistons. Wallace's 5-bed, 5-bath Tudor-style home sits on more than two acres of land. Wallace purchased the property in 2000 for about $3 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
I guess while money can buy you anything, it can't sell your home.
Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.
written by Amy Le on Tuesday, November 3, 7:39PM
NFL bad boy Adam 'Pacman' Jones ain't no Ed McMahon, but the two have a little more in common these days then they'd like to admit. The recently signed Dallas Cowboy cornerback joins the infamous list of celebs hit with foreclosure notices this year. I recently blogged about the housing woes of McMahon, Jose Canseco and Evander Holyfield.
Jones has defaulted on the terms and conditions of a mortgage with U.S. Bank, according to a notice of foreclosure sale published last Thursday in The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville.
Punting the home
The home, which sits on 30 acres of land, is located at 4282 N. Chapel Road in a Nashville suburb. The property will be sold June 27 on the steps of the old Williamson County Courthouse to the highest bidder.
The estate features a main house that is close to 3,000 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and two guest homes that are each 1,200 square feet. The house is also near Trinity Elementary School and features a two-acre lake stocked with fish, two barns and guest quarters with game rooms, and a view of tree-covered hills and farmland. Tax records show he purchased the property in July 2006 for $1.5 million. Jones put the home up for sale in May for $1.8 million in preparation for his move to Dallas.
Jones was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in April. He had reached a financial settlement with his former team, the Tennessee Titans, regarding his contract situation. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported in April that 'Jones will forgo the $1.25 million performance bonus that he earned in 2005. Instead of repaying the Titans a portion of his signing bonus, he agreed to make a $500,000 donation to a charity of the Titans' choice within the next two years.'
Sources told ESPN reporter Ed Werder that Jones's new contract with the Cowboys will be for four years with no guaranteed money. By restructuring instead of transferring his existing deal, Jones gives up nearly $7 million in guaranteed base salaries over the next three years.
Pacman's penalties
Jones missed all of the 2007 season while serving an NFL suspension for a series of criminal shenanigans off the field. The cornerback has a lengthy criminal wrap sheet that includes a fight and shooting in a Las Vegas strip club in 2007 that left one man paralyzed and two others wounded.
Between assault charges, drug possession and avoiding his parole officer, it looks like Jones spends more time in court rooms and police stations then he does at home, so maybe he didn't have time to read all those late payment notices being mailed to his house. I mean, who would have the time to notice house payments with all those legal bills pilling up?
Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.
written by Amy Le on Tuesday, November 3, 6:55PM
What would $100 million buy you? For a Russian business man it got him Donald Trump's 80,000 square-foot Palm Beach mansion.
The Palm Beach Post reported last month that the property, located at 515 N. County Road in Palm Beach, FL, sits on six acres and has 475 feet of unobstructed oceanfront, making the price per linear foot $210,526. The goliath of a home boasts 9-bedrooms, a 48-car garage, private art gallery and two guest houses. And let's not forget about the Donald's special touches to the home, like the pricey marbles, 24-karat gold fixtures in the bathrooms and the gargantuan fountain in the driveway. The unnamed buyer is considering tearing down the recently remodeled mansion and possibly subdividing the property, according to The Post. The estate is nestled on 475-feet of prime oceanfront.
Trump paid $41.35 million for the estate in 2004. He bought it from bankrupt Abe Gosman, a former healthcare magnate and Palm Beach philanthropist. The real estate tycoon poured $25 million into renovations of the home after he purchased it. When Trump initially decided to list the property, the original asking price for the mansion was $125 million. When the sale is completed, according to The Post, 'it would set a record for Palm Beach [real estate], surpassing the $81.5 million paid in April for the home of billionaire businessman Sidney Kimmel.' The buyer of that home at 1236 S. Ocean Boulevard was former Goldman Sachs partner John L. Thornton. Now maybe the Donald can finally hire a new hairdresser with of all that dough.
View homes for sale in Palm Beach
Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.
written by Amy Le on Tuesday, November 3, 7:26PM
Here comes the repo man. While Ed McMahon is better known for his curtain call on 'The Tonight Show,' Johnny Carson's former late-night sidekick is among the latest celebs to get bit by the foreclosure bug. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that McMahon was $644,000 behind on a $4.8 million loan for a home in Beverly Hills, CA.
According to the newspaper report, Recon Trust, a division of Countrywide Financial,
Foreclosures up
Some 243,353 households, nearly one in 519, received a foreclosure filing during April, according to the U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac, an online marketplace that tracks foreclosed properties. That figure was up 4 percent from March and surpassed the record of 239,851 set in August 2007.
Last month, the 'King of Pop himself,' Michael Jackson, was able to avert the auction block of his Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbra County. The 2,700-acre ranch was slated to be auctioned off on May 14 after Jackson defaulted on loan payments. But Jacko eventually worked out a deal to sell the loan on the property — estimated at $23.5 million — to Colony Capital, a large real estate investment firm.
Meanwhile, Jose Canseco, the former Major League Baseball slugger turned book author and steroid expert, is also trying to tag out the repo man. Foreclosure documents show Canseco owed a bank more than $2.5 million on his 7,300-square-foot home located in the Los Angeles suburb of Encino.
I guess fame and fortune can't buy you everything, and these days, it can't always buy you a lovely house.
Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.
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