Condominiums in Edgewater - Part 2

By: LeRoy Blommaert

In Part 1 in the series on condominiums in Edgewater, we focused on “firsts.” In this second part we will take a more statistical approach, beginning with a decade-by-decade analysis.

A decade by decade analysis reveals some interesting statistics. As was highlighted in Part I, the first Edgewater condo declaration was recorded in April 1964. (It was for the low rise building at 6121 Sheridan.) Hence the decade of the 1960s was only part of a decade for condominium development. There were only seven condo declarations recorded in the 1960s: one in 1964, two in 1965, two in 1966 and two in 1967. All were on Sheridan Road; all were north of Hollywood; all were constructed as condos; and all but the first were high-rises. These seven condos accounted for 1,137 residential units, for an average of 162 units per building.

The 1970s represented a major boom in condominium development, but mainly through conversion rather than through new construction. The decade started out slowly, with no declarations in 1970 and three or fewer in the years 1971 through 1976; however, the last three years saw a significant increase: 15 in 1977, 8 in 1978 and a remarkable 33 in 1979 – a number that has not been surpassed since (at least not through 2004). More remarkably, those 33 declarations accounted for an astounding 3,107 residential units – a number that is unlikely to ever be surpassed. For the decade, there were 69 declarations recorded, accounting for 5,209 residential units, averaging 75 per building. Of the 69 declarations, 20 (or 29%) were for Sheridan Road buildings. However, it was with respect to the number of residential units, that the real story is revealed. Out of the 5,209 units, Sheridan Road accounted for 4,656 (or 89%) of the total. The conversion of the three Edgewater Plaza high-rises south of Bryn Mawr alone accounted for 1,674 units. The conversions west of Sheridan Road were just beginning. However, it is significant that the first conversions in every Edgewater neighborhood but one occurred during this decade.

The 1980s were almost the reverse of the 1970s; they started out strong, but then quickly went into a steep decline. There were 14 declarations in 1980; followed by 5 in 1981; after that there were 4 or fewer each year, with the years 1985, 1986 and 1987 having none at all. For the decade, there were only 30 declarations recorded, which accounted for only 606 residential units. Sheridan Road accounted for only three of those 30 declarations; but those three accounted for 358 of the residential units (or 59%). There were two reasons for the decline in declarations: one was the decline in the real estate market generally, with high interest rates the primary cause; the other, particularly as it affected the number of residential units, was the fact that the inventory of Sheridan Road buildings available for conversion had drastically declined; most had already been converted in the late 1970s.

The 1990s saw a reversal of fortune and a major increase in the number of condo declarations, prompted by the conversion of a number of small buildings west of Sheridan. The year 1990 saw only one declaration, but the next year saw nine. There were seven in 1992, and, thereafter, the number was in the double digits. For the decade, there were 111 declarations (almost 4 times the number the previous decade), averaging slightly over 11 per year. The declarations accounted for 1,189 residential units (averaging 119 per year). All but 48 units were west of Sheridan Road. There was only one declaration for Sheridan Road – a 4+1 conversion at 5400-20 – and it accounted for the 48 units. The 1990s also saw the first (and only) new construction west of Sheridan Road – a four-flat at 1253 Early. It would be the beginning of something not previously seen in Edgewater.

Data is available for only the first five years of the first decade of the 21st century; however, it shows a substantial increase in the number of declarations and the number of residential units. Through 2004, there were 114 declarations (averaging 23 per year), and they accounted for 1,702 units (averaging 340 per year). There were only two declarations on Sheridan Road, but they accounted for 517 residential units (30% of the total). The construction of smaller condo buildings that began in the late 1990s accelerated during this period; however, they remained well behind conversions. Of the 114 declarations, only 13 were for new buildings.

Figure 1 recaps the statistics by decade for Edgewater as a whole, for Sheridan road alone and for west of Sheridan road alone. It shows that it was only for the decade of the 1990s and the current decade that the number of units west of Broadway exceeded the number of units on Sheridan Road.

While comprehensive data is not available for 2005 and 2006, we do know of several medium to large projects that will add to the inventory. The “Atelier“ at the southwest corner of Sheridan and Bryn Mawr adds 39 units; the conversion project as 1301-03 Elmdale / 5952-54 Lakewood adds 20; the “Catalpa Gardens” presently under construction at Catalpa and the “L” tracks will add 126; the building at 5430 Sheridan, also under construction, will add 48; the “Broadway Village Lofts” at 5427 Broadway will add 24; the planned mixed use project at the northeast corner of Broadway and Granville (“The Granville”) will add 160; the planned “Edgewater Glen” at Broadway and Rosedale will add 34; the in-process conversion at 5334-44 Winthrop (“Berwyn Station”) will add 31; and the Wayne Manor conversion at 5619-25 Wayne will add 20, for a total of 502 additional residential units.

Figure 2 shows the cumulative number of declarations and residential units at the end of each decade and at the end of 2004, for Edgewater as a whole, for Sheridan Road alone and for Edgewater west of Sheridan Road.

In part 3 of this series, we will furnish statistical information on Edgewater condos by type of building and by neighborhood.

Figure 1 - By Decade

Figure 2 - Cumulative