Homes in Pilsen now cost $850K

An environmentally-friendly townhouse just set a price record in Pilsen.

The house at 905 W. Cullerton Street sold for nearly $850,000 on Nov. 11, Crain’s reported. That’s a record for a single-family home in the neighborhood.

Three years ago, Cill Dara Construction started delivering green homes as part of its +Plus Houses series. Without disclosing their contracted sales prices, the developer bet buyers would be willing to pay top dollar, including a premium of about $50,000 for the green features, in the gentrifying neighborhood.

In the last three years, seven other +Plus Homes have sold, with prices rising after the first record-priced sale in the series: a three-bedroom on Newberry Avenue sold for almost $685,000 in October 2016.

Cill Dara, a venture by Patrick Buckley, and Phil Buoscio of Better Living Realty, plans to end its +Plus Homes series at nine houses due to rising land costs that would drive up prices above the threshold of what it believes buyers are willing to pay.

Since November 2016, home values have increased by nearly 10 percent in the Pilsen area, compared with 5 percent citywide, according to Zillow data.

Other builders have had difficulty with developments in Pilsen, as residents have pushed back against the rising prices that could displace them. New York-based developer Property Markets Group recently scaled back its plans for the third time for its controversial “ParkWorks” project on a 7.2-acre site at 18th and Peoria streets.

[Crain’s] — Brianna Kelly