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Susannah Ribstein

@susannahribs.bsky.social

Realtor at Compass. Specializing in the communities of the South Side. South Shore resident. Real estate, architecture, preservation, parks advocacy 🔗 https://www.susannahribsteinrealty.com/

180 Posts650 Follower77 Folgt
Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This was not an elective outcome from an unselfish appreciator of the arts. Preservation advocates & SAIC faculty alums who spoke up last fall orchestrated this result by making it clear to the School that selling this house without landmarking would compound their reputational damage. (con't)

Chicago Sun-Times@chicago.suntimes.com · 2mo ago

The developer who bought the Roger Brown Home and Studio, which now has city landmark status, says he's going forward with a plan to renovate and sell the building: “This is going to be a really cool project, and I want to be a part of it."

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 3mo ago

FYI if you or anyone you know is using Zillow or Trulia to look for a house in Chicagoland, it's frozen in time as of last night. (There is a lot to say about this three-way slap-fight between MRED, Zillow, & Compass. Too much for Bluesky! But if anyone is interested in my perspective....lmk)

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Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Any excuse to remind everyone that the type of "nice sit-down restaurant" demanded by every single South Shore community planning survey for at least the last ~15 years is still illegal here, & our alders could change that if they wanted to.

Steven Lucy@slucy.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Yeah the patchwork of the 19 different ways you can prohibit liquor is hard to navigate, but luckily Hyde Park is mostly free of the moratorium issue. (Woodlawn and South Shore are like 100% moratoriums.) We did have our community meeting and also had to get rezoned at city council.

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 4mo ago

As a South Shore (but not 7th ward) resident, "substantial societal issue" is precisely how I would describe it.

Screen grab from the re-posted article reading: "Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th), in whose ward the stretch resides, didn’t respond to a request for comment."
Maxwell Evans@afrodip.bsky.social · 4mo ago

In 248 crashes along South Shore's main roads this year, 1 in 3 drivers has taken off after. One killed 15-year-old Violet Harris + injured another teen. 2 hours later, 2 miles away, a man died and critically injured another driver after he ignored a stoplight. blockclubchicago.org/2026/03/30/h...

Violet Miller@vimiller.bsky.social · 5mo ago

How much did Cook County homeowners' frustration about rising property taxes show in Tuesday’s race for Cook County assessor? Who is to blame for skyrocketing property taxes? Will Hynes suffer the same fate? Let's dig into the answers (though I fear the headline gives away the first one) 🧵/12

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi lost big where property taxes in city, suburbs soared

Last year, Chicago's median residential tax bill in the city rose 16.7%, to $4,457, the largest percentage increase in at least 30 years. In the 24th Ward, where bills skyrocketed the most — the media...

chicago.suntimes.com

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Indeed, I practically sprained my thumbs sending this to every Hyde Park & real estate nerd group text I'm in the second it popped up in my search results yesterday. The backstory is Really Something therealdeal.com/chicago/2022...

Chicago real estate scammer, former lawyer allege ‘foreclosure theft’ against big banks

Facing foreclosure, a convicted Chicago real estate scammer’s former lawyer wants to hold onto properties he got from the client as payment.

therealdeal.com

Steven Lucy@slucy.bsky.social · 5mo ago

@ericerins.bsky.social don’t miss this one Cc @susannahribs.bsky.social h/t @brigidmania.bsky.social www.compass.com/homedetails/...

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Exciting stuff 🤞Some of this could be transformational in the quantity & quality of old home renovation/rehab, which is a critical form of home building/creation along with new construction. Time to put the "affordable" and "natural" back in Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing.

Protect Bridgeport Bicyclists@stevevance.net · 6mo ago

here's my summary of the six land use, housing, and zoning reforms that Governor Pritzker and six legislators introduced on Wednesday. www.stevencanplan.com/2026/02/okay...

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 6mo ago

This is a fantastic piece about one of the coolest properties (and people!) I've worked with. Listen to the audio for more of Amber's wisdom on low-waste building reuse as both art practice & environmental proving ground. 🧠🤌 www.wbez.org/architecture...

What’s That Building? Narrow Bridge Arts Club

Built as a synagogue and later housing a series of Christian congregations, this structure now serves as part single-family home, part makerspace and artists club.

wbez.org

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 7mo ago

I have collected many stories in my day about the hazards of dealing with FSBO listings, and now I have a new one!

Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy@savewrightflwbc.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Wright on the Market Update: The Walser House is NOT for sale! The Zillow listing circulating widely is not genuine & has been removed from our website. We continue to advocate for the owner, Fannie Mae, to negotiate with interested parties to restore it and bring it back into use. buff.ly/vCCDSvX

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Even if my industry (real estate) tries to avoid irrelevant (/s) issues like human rights, the violent abduction of the literal backbone of the home services industry is something they're gonna need to reckon with.

unraveled@unraveledpress.com · 10mo ago

In Wrigleyville in Chicago right now— ICE/CBP has reportedly been targeting laborers in the area all morning. A large number of neighbors are gathered outside a house where agents snatched a man. His lunch is still here on the ground. Area is clear of feds for now, gas deployed earlier.

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Bleak but excellent. I hope we'll continue to get more investigative reporting like this on the financial conditions that have crippled South Shore as a whole, & which lead to the 7500 S. Shore raid. (couple more thoughts in the thread) prospect.org/2025/10/21/l...

The Lost Dream of Obam-a-Lago - The American Prospect

Long before the September 30 ICE raid, Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood had been ravaged by a series of sprawling apartment building pump-and-dump schemes, aided and abetted by industrial-scale mort...

prospect.org

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Amidst all the bad news: The letter I co-wrote w/ @blaservations.bsky.social about 1926 now has ~500 signatures, inc. 100s of comments about how one little building helped people become artists & find community. Link at the bottom to read them & perhaps feel affirmed: forms.gle/zEHarFNqgYCZ...

Preserve, Don't Demolish, The Roger Brown Home and Studio

To whom it may concern, We, alumni, faculty, students, and members of the broader community of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, are writing regarding the School's sale of the Roger Brown's...

forms.gle

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 11mo ago

SAIC's decision to sell the Roger Brown Home & Studio building at 1926 N. Halsted St. is extremely at the intersection of my work in real estate, preservation, & Chicago art history. Some thoughts & info, for those interested.🧵 www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-...

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · 11mo ago

SAIC's decision to sell the Roger Brown Home & Studio building at 1926 N. Halsted St. is extremely at the intersection of my work in real estate, preservation, & Chicago art history. Some thoughts & info, for those interested.🧵 www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-...

Artist Roger Brown's longtime home and studio for sale by School of the Art Institute

Roger Brown owned the building from the early 1970s into the mid-1990s, and donated it with all its contents to the school in 1996.

chicagobusiness.com

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · last yr.

I'm a couple days late but @dennisrodkin.bsky.social has a well-researched story about the recent history of South Suburban real estate, inspired by the Pope's childhood home: www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-...

Pope’s old Dolton house tells a familiar south suburban story

Like Pope Leo XIV, who turns out to be a regular South Sider who follows the White Sox, the Dolton house where he grew up is emblematic of its time and place.

chicagobusiness.com

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · last yr.

As much coverage has noted, the new Pope's house is for sale. The listing was canceled yesterday. I'll be interested to see what Pope Price Bump they come up with!

Screen grab of a cancelled real estate listing for a small brick house at 212 E. 141st Pl., Dolton, IL at $199,900. It's been on the market for 119 days and the property taxes are $7,325 per year.
Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · last yr.

The bombshells in this article are 2-fold. Beyond the ***thrilling*** headline is the fact that someone somehow managed to take a photo inside Build that doesn't have me in it. It's my defacto office space and I'm 70% sweet potato torta sandwiches at this point.. blockclubchicago.org/2025/05/05/e...

Eve L. Ewing And Friends Unite To Buy South Side Cafe Build Coffee

Author and scholar Eve L. Ewing, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist trina reynolds-tyler and media-based organizer Andrea Faye Hart will take over the shop in June. It is being rebranded to Build Coffe...

blockclubchicago.org

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · last yr.

This right here. I spend a lot of time talking to homeowners about property taxes and this is #1 thing that people don't & need to understand. It's a zero-sum system & assessed value is only one part of it. (click through to the whole thread for context & the original Sun-Times article)

John@localcelebrity.bsky.social · last yr.

And even if you got that $160k reduction, that doesn’t mean you’re gonna pay less, because the BoR is lowering commercial properties more, which means your tax burden and mine will remain unchanged, or increase, even without a higher assessment.

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · last yr.

This is why I: 1. Tell clients when they see a home being sold by a wholesaler or flipper that they should distrust & verify any disclosures 2. Insist that clients or a trusted proxy are present in person & with at least one working nose for the entirety of inspection. 3. Check permits on flips.

First-time homebuyers find attic full of cat feces, bones in their Chicago bungalow

First-time homebuyers in Albany Park are suing the seller of a former “hoarder” house, saying that after the purchase closed, they discovered an “environmental hazard” of cat feces, urine and bones.

chicago.suntimes.com

Susannah Ribstein@susannahribs.bsky.social · last yr.

One of my best Powell's finds ever. Kerfoot Avenue was always one of my favorite street names. TIL it is only 1.5 blocks long and named after a "pointy-bearded realtor" who aggressively marketed land to East Coast speculators in the immediate aftermath of the Chicago Fire. 🔥🔥🔥

The cover of a book called STREETWISE CHICAGO: A History of Chicago Street NamesBook entry about Kerfoot Avenue, which is at 700W from 8300 - 8444 S, and is named after William D. Kerfoot (1837-1919).