Apparently, Edgebrook Lutheran Church was set on fire by an arsonist last night. The preliminary details are reported here, here, here, and here. I went out this morning to see if I can snap some pictures of the disaster zone. Sure enough, there were still some fire crews out there this morning around 9 am, wrapping up the admirable job they performed overnight. It was so cold outside that my hands went numb after only 3 minutes. I can only imagine what these firemen must have gone through last night, with the water splashing in sub-zero temperatures. A fireman friend of mine who lives in North Edgebrook was busy elsewhere last night fighting a fire in Greektown, on Halsted Ave. Folks, we owe our firemen a huge debt of gratitude, for doing the best they can to keep us safe. Here are the pictures from the aftermath of the Edgebrook Lutheran Church fire.

Addendum: More news trickling in, and what happened at the bond hearing …
Addendum:The above pictures are now also posted on 60646 Blog’s Flickr Page where you can view them as a slideshow
Addendum:Just found a 6:41 minute dispatch communication on the night of the fire, on YouTube. Hat tip “firefighterdispatch”
Addendum:Here’s a video of the firefighters’ efforts, on YouTube. Hat tip “SRResquire”

It’s an annual ritual: The uptown Edgebrook Community Association holiday tree lighting ceremony. Aside from fabulous cookies, coffee, and hot chocolate, there is caroling going on, and, of course the lighting of the trees on the triangle surrounded by Caldwell, Devon, and Lehigh Avenues. Kids and adults had a good time again, at this year’s event. Many thanks to the St. Mary of the Woods’ Girl Scout Troop who assisted with the decorations. Enjoy the pictures and video, below.

It’s been a homecoming of sorts, at my old (business) stomping grounds when I was associated with a real estate company that displays the Rock of Gibraltar, about five years ago. 6430 N Central Ave. in Edgebrook’s central business district, has been home to RE/MAX Cityview for the past year, and is now my new office as well.

The three years I spent at RE/MAX First Class Realty in Skokie were rewarding, from a business point of view, as well as socially, as I met a number of new and familiar colleagues, and Skokie clients. But given the fact that my business centers around Edgebrook, Sauganash, Gladstone Park, and Forest Glen, there was a need to relocate back here. Obviously, in Edgebrook, we’re not suffering from a shortage of real estate offices, and since I bleed RE/MAX red-white-and-blue, the decision to join RE/MAX Cityview was fairly simple. My sincere thanks go to the owners of RE/MAX First Class Realty in Skokie, the Kontos family, for providing me with a first-class business environment during the past three years, and for whom I have the utmost respect. I will miss them and most of my colleagues there, but it was simply time for a change.

RE/MAX Cityview in Edgebrook is owned and operated by Robert and Ramina Padron, a super dynamic couple who are on the fast track to turning this office into a neighborhood real estate powerhouse. I’ve only been here about two weeks, and I already feel at home. Here are a couple of snapshots of my cubical, and of our conference room:

My new office

Conference Room

During my first week, not only did Rob help me hook up my computer to the office/printer network, he also FIXED my PC with a printer problem that I was having for about the past year. And that’s because Rob is not only the broker/owner of this office, but he also has a information technology background. Right up my alley. Rob and the office staff have really done a tremendous job in making my transition super easy, as switching offices even within the RE/MAX system poses some significant administrative challenges. As if that wasn’t already enough of a nice welcome, check out what I ran into the other day, walking in to the office:

Welcome sign

I’m really not much of a ham, actually, more a shy kinda guy, but I suppose that at least all the visitors to Happy Foods now know that I work at RE/MAX in Edgebrook. Thanks Rob and Ramina. You guys really know how to make your new associates feel welcome. And I’m not even talking about the delicious designer cookie basket I found on my desk on my second day in the office.

So, now that we’ve got the big news out of the way, it’s time for you to visit me at my new digs. Whether you’re selling or buying real estate in Edgebrook, Sauganash, Forest Glen, Gladstone Park, or anywhere else in Illinois for that matter, contact me. I am as close as your phone, or email program.

I’d been working with buyer clients since March of this year who were looking to purchase a luxury home in Sauganash. The list of potential candidates was not extremely long, but was sufficient to get a good feel for what types of amenities/space/finishes/feautures one could expect in a Sauganash home in the $800,000 to $1,700,000 price range. The main search criterion was that the home had to be newer (one to five years old), if not new construction. We visited almost all of them, and my clients finally chose 5735 N Kostner Ave.

This home was built in 2007 on a 40′ x 125′ lot, but had never had any occupants since it was constructed. Its predecessor was a ranch without a basement. The developer tore down that home and excavated the ground to make room for a basement which boasts 9-foot ceilings today. In addition, this luxury residence offers two floors of living space, with a total of six bedrooms, 3 full baths, and one half bath. This property is 2 minutes walking distance from Sauganash Park, and since pictures are worth a thousand words, I’ll let you have a look at them below. I recommend that you click on the full-screen button to let the images really come alive. Enjoy.

Comes this question from Linda H. via our “Contact Us” page:

Has anyone heard anything on the development of the ‘Shops at Forest Glen’..how long that will take or if it is even going to happen etc..?

What Linda is referring to, of course, is the parcel commonly known as 5353 N. Elston Ave. Chicago, IL 60630. Since it’s close enough to the homes of our Indian Woods neighbors, it might indeed be interesting to know what’s going on there. I’m sure our Forest Glen neighbors in Jefferson Park are just as eager to find out about the status of this project as well. Here’s what this fairly large parcel of land looks like, at the moment:

Future site of 'Shops of Forest Glen'

5353 N Elston Ave.

A quick peek at the permit that is attached to the chain link fence around this parcel indicates that the wrecking and removal of a 1-story warehouse was permitted on February 11, 2009. Well, that seems to be done and over with. The slate is clean, however, I wasn’t able to find a permit allowing the building of a new structure. And that may be just one of the reasons there hasn’t been any activity here, even though a Bobcat excavator is waiting patiently on the premises. The owner(s) may still be waiting for a building permit. Another theory might be that the current economic climate has not produced enough interest from prospective tenants, although the sign on the property indicates that “Garden Fresh Market” will be the anchor tenant at this property. I don’t have any definitive answer for you, at the moment, Linda. But if anyone does, please feel free to chime in in our comment section down below. In the meantime, I might just put in a phone call to Ald. Patrick Levar’s office to see what info they can provide us with.

Happy Thanksgiving, from our families to yours.

Image courtesy of Women, Fire & Dangerous Things under Creative Commons

This much is certain: In the past two days, we haven’t suffered anything that even remotely resembles what the residents of Galveston Island and Houston, TX have been suffering from, in terms of mother nature’s wrath. Our hearts and prayers (and hopefully donations) go out to them.
But, in our parts, some of us in the Chicagoland area did have to deal with the aftermath of hurricane Ike’s remnants, as well. Even before Ike came to visit us on its long and destructive journey from the warm waters off the Atlantic Ocean, we were inundated by heavy downpours on Friday night. Now, we Chicagoans are a resilient and weather-hardened bunch (just watch us deal with snow and ice in the winter). But water seepage/flooding in our basements after a heavy rainstorm is a whole different story. In our house in Edgebrook, we haven’t had any water issues at all, ever since we moved here in 2002. Credit for this fully goes to my regularly inspected and maintained flood control system (yeah baby). But some neighbors haven’t been as lucky. Neither was one of my family members whom I helped with his recovery efforts to “dehydrate” his bi-level residence in Park Ridge, this past weekend. You know, I have sold split-level homes in the past, but as of today, I can proudly proclaim that I am intimately familiar with the crawl space structure of a split-level home. I removed 53 flooded plastic bins and pumped about a foot of water/sewage, over an area of roughly 600 square feet, on Saturday. If you own a split-level home, please take this advice from me: Do not use your crawl space for storage, at least not for items that you deeply care about. In all likelihood, it will flood again, it’s just a matter of time, unless your house is protected by a flood control system, like mine.
Driving around in Edgebrook and Sauganash today, I was pleasantly surprised to notice the absence of street closures/barricades, signaling flooding of streets or viaducts. Sure, the effects of Chicago’s rainblocker system could occasionally be witnessed, here or there (slowly draining storm sewers into the main sewer). But for the most part, Sauganash and Edgebrook weren’t as hardly hit as some of the neighborhoods running adjacent to the North Branch of the Chicago river. I didn’t drive through South Edgebrook or Indian Woods though, where the situation could be different, as these neighborhoods are a bit closer to the river.
What were your “water” stories from this past weekend? Send me some pictures, or videos. I’ll publish them here on 60646 Blog, with your permission.

Addendum: If you want to see what the flooding caused in and around the North Park area over the weekend, head on over to “Swedish Colombian’s” Flickr page.

The image below has appeared on so many different Realtor and industry blogs lately that I don’t even know whom to properly credit for having captured it. Well, as I’m in doubt, I’ll credit Bill McSpadden Real Estate for it (not sure where they’re located). Notice the rider below the sign, though. They must have had their fair share of “low-ball offers”.

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…
Well, for a couple of days, at least. My family and I have been engaging in our annual Independence Day holiday ritual: Visiting extended family in the North Woods, where the air is clean, the boating is fun, kids’ laughter is contagious, and the darkness at night gives a whole new meaning to the term “black”. We’re re-charging our batteries, and I’ll be a new and improved Realtor, come Monday morning, no doubt.
To our readership, we hope that you may celebrate a happy and worry-free holiday weekend, and to our servicemen and women abroad and everywhere else, we wish you a safe Independence Day holiday. Thank you for all you do.

On Saturday night, I finally made it to Al Primo Canto in Edgebrook. I had written about the opening of this downtown (or “uptown”, as the long-time residents say) Edgebrook restaurant back in September of last year, but it took me only seven months to get myself over here. We were “pre”-celebrating my sister-in-law’s birthdays, two of which are on the same day (don’t ask, it’s a long story), sometime next week. Anyway, we were a party of twelve, and I was concerned that space might be an issue. These worries were unwarranted. Entering the premises, one is immediately confronted with an intoxicating aroma of fire-grilled goodness that spreads throughout the restaurant. In real estate, we call that “curb appeal”. The interior is designed like a classic loft, with tall timber ceilings, exposed HVAC duct work, and exposed brick walls. In one of the corners of the restaurant, a three-man band was playing soft Brazilian jazz music. Awesome ambiance, complemented by soft lighting.

I am not a restaurant critic, so I thought I snap some pictures with my lightweight Kodak M853 (not the camera I use for real estate) and let the pictures do the talking. Suffice it to say that the food is incredible, especially the fire-roasted chicken. And the lamb, OMG. The dessert – Chocolate Mousse: To die for.

I might add that the restaurant was jam-packed with patrons (unlike the Subway sandwich store two doors down). Despite that, the service was quite attentive and friendly. Prices are reasonable. I even got a chance to chat with the owner on our way out, and asked his permission to post the above pictures on 60646 Blog. He said that it was quite alright, and to tell everyone I know about Al Primo Canto. I guess our businesses are not that different, after all: great service, and a great product spread by word of mouth. And there you have it my friends: Two thumbs up for Al Primo Canto. Don’t miss out on this Edgebrook gem. I know I’ll be going back there for dinner.