WICKER PARK — If $2.2 million was out of your range when a sandstone and brick home with purple trimmed windows hit the market last spring, the asking price on the turn-of century Romanesque mansion has been reduced by a whopping $700,000 under a new agent.
Listed with North Clybourn Group's Karen Biazar earlier this month, the Wicker Park Landmark District home at 2024 W. Pierce Ave. now has an asking price of $1,549,000.
Biazar said the price reduction was due to the large scope of the property.
"[The price drop] recognizes and reconciles the enormity of the footprint, cost of renovation and restorations," Biazar said.
The 2.5-story home offers 10 bedrooms, four bathrooms, four non-working fireplaces and a functioning dumbwaiter for transporting items between floors.
Located one block west of Damen Avenue, the 7,000-square-foot mansion, with windows that match a flowering redbud tree in the lush front yard, was built in 1894 for Paul Benson, a major clothing merchant at the time, according to "Wicker Park, from 1673 Thru 1929 and Walking Tour Guide" by Elaine Coorens.
Realtor Edward Waszak, who first put the home up for sale last May, previously said that it could be "an amazing trophy for someone who can restore it to its original grandeur."
Biazar said "the age, style, lot size, location and caliber of construction offers a rare opportunity for the well capitalized experienced investor or end user."
The home has had the same owner for the past 40 years; when he bought the building it was a rooming house, according to Biazar. The owner has continued to informally rent out some of the rooms while living onsite, Biazar added.
Many original details are intact, including original woodwork, pocket doors, trim, fireplaces and doors, Biazar said.
There is also a two-car garage and additional outdoor parking, with potential for up to six cars, according to the listing. The home could be a single-family home or a development opportunity offering multi-unit apartments or condos, the listing says.
The home's living room. [North Clybourn Group]
The home features original woodwork and unique stairs. [North Clybourn Group]
The kitchen. [North Clybourn Group]
The attic. [North Clybourn Group]
One of four bathrooms in 2024 W. Pierce Ave. [North Clybourn Group]
