Rent Starts At $1,900 A Month For A Studio At Centrum's Wicker Park Apartments

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Dec 23, 2016 8:14PM

We at Chicagoist have made a point of chronicling the rise of some of Chicago's newest apartment towers—and the sky-high rents that seem to go with the territory. After looking at the news of local developer Centrum's permit to build a sprawling apartment complex at the corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Division Street in Wicker Park, we revisited the nearby Centrum Wicker Park, where leasing for the 6-story rental building is underway.

If Centrum Wicker Park is any indication, $2,000+ a month rents in Wicker Park are permanently the norm. A studio/convertible just over 500 square feet in the building starts at $1,906 a month, and prices go up to $3,500 a month for a two bedroom—thus resetting our expectations of ever affording the tony area just off the CTA Division Street Blue Line station. Given the revelation that Chicago households need to make at least $76,000 a year to afford a two bedroom in the city, we're dismayed but not surprised.

The building at 1664 W. Division St. began leasing in October after construction was completed earlier this year. It's pet-friendly and features a fitness center, a clubhouse for residents and bike parking and maintenance, plus free wifi in communal spaces. It's about a block from the CTA and just steps away from the lot at 1600 W. Division where Centrum just received the permit to build Wicker Park Connection—a 140-plus-unit rental tower with accompanying townhouses, condos and retails.