Apartment easy access to I-55 and River North (Cicero, Bolingbrook: sublease, rental market)

[seable]

Relocating to my new job in Bolingbrook just off I-55.

I just found an convertible APT in Loop West on 45th floor with Sears Tower view for $1650 with parking. 1 min off the I-90 exit, so I can get on highway to work in the morning easily. And seems can get to subway within 1-10 minutes depends on the line.

Is this a good enough deal I can pull the trigger?

I'm looking to purchase a condo in downtown in couple of month and heard it's easy to sublease out the room if I find my condo within a year?

[Drover]

Seems a little pricey for the area, but then I'm not sure what the asking price is for a place near there once you get past, say, 7 or 8 floors. Parking alone is probably worth $200/mo around there so I guess that helps to explain the somewhat inflated price.

In terms of getting to I-55, you might be better off going down Halsted and getting on 55 at Canalport. I-90/94 from the Loop to about Cermak absolutely sucks at rush hour. But then I've never tried driving that stretch of Halsted at rush hour so maybe it's no better -- try them both out I guess. In either case, the reverse commute outbound on 55 is pretty much a cakewalk. There's a ramp closure right now on Cicero (I think?) causing backups as that practically doubles the volume of traffic lining up to get off at the next ramp (Central?) but that's a temporary situation. The inbound reverse commute isn't as trouble-free but it's still pretty easy until you get to about Damen or Ashland. But the that final couple miles can take 15 or 20 minutes. You might find some useful surface-street short cuts with practice.

[seable]

The rent is actually $1435/m and the parking is $215. Shall I sign into it?

I was thinking about somewhere I can get on lake shore drive, however I really don't have the time in town to looking for apartment.

[knitgirl]

I would not pull the trigger til I did that drive several times - that commute is going to suck!

[snoylekim]

Sounds like the OP is east of the expressway. I have needed to make that drive more than a a few times from a similar location , so my suggestion is :
Outbound : Take Desplaines south to Roosevelt , turn right on Roosevelt and angle on to the expressway on the Union spur - There is less traffic and fewer lights on Desplaines. stay in the right leaves on the expressway and exit for the Stevenson .. The delay on the Stevenson can be the backup at the Cicero exit , because Central is closed..Cicero was busy anyway because of Midway traffic .. Hey, the expressways are sometimes not express ..
Return - Don't exit the Stevenson and enter the quagmire on the Kennedy- Circle northbound - that's always jammed up . Exit at Cermak , and then take the right at the Chinatown/EL light, then quick left onto Clark Street .. That's usually a pretty quick trip up to Roosevelt, then take Roosevelt west over to Jefferson Northbound ..

As far as the apartment goes .. from the description , sounds like a convertible in PT .. with an upper floor premium ..all I'll say is if the OP looks a little more , they can do better on a nicer 1 bedroom in the general area for about the same price , although I hear the rental/condo rental market for the area is pretty tight right now ..

[Jandur]

Seems awfully pricey for a convertible, even a nice one.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

I would not pull the trigger til I did that drive several times - that commute is going to suck!

Actually the revere commute on 55 is relatively painless.

[ChiGuy2.5]

Your commute would be better than mine! But that price does seem a little high. What floor is it on? Amenities? You should look into south loop since that will probably be cheaper.

As far as subleasing, you are probably going to have trouble at that price. But without much more details, its hard to say.

[aragx6]

Relatively is, well, relative, but he's looking at about 40-45 minutes; usually a little longer in the evenings. I wouldn't say it sucks except in the case of bad weather. That's about the same as the commute I did. A helluva lot better than having to deal with nearly any other expressway, but nothing to scoff at nonetheless.

[snoylekim]

The Stevenson can get really interesting when you get west of Harlem ... it seems to get heavier as it behaves as an intra-suburban expressway .. some of the worst traffic I've ever hit on it is between Plainfield and 355- 294 and Harlem or Cicero ..in either direction outbound or inbound .. Plus there's always a lot of truck traffic on weekdays .. The big rigs and dump trucks start merging on around California and this picks up until you get a bit further west .. Love it !!