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261 W Alexander St

Chinatown, Chicago IL 60616 17282110040000 2 units · 1888

A handful of records on file over the last seven years, and our model puts this building at a low risk of further maintenance problems in the next 12 months. A few records worth reading before you sign. Check whether they were closed out, and ask what was actually fixed.

Building Violations (7y) vs. neighborhood
Records already on file, against a typical building in Chinatown — not a forecast
At or below average
avg 1.4
1
FewerMore

This building has 1 building violations (7y), at or below the Chinatown average of 1.4.

Building characteristics
Units2
Year built1888
Stories
Building area1,344 sq ft
Property class211
PIN (Cook County parcel)17282110040000
Ownership

Registered owner per Cook County Assessor records.

Owner name
Mailing address
261 W Alexander St

Landlord portfolio

Other Chicago properties this owner holds, with a risk rating for each.

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The two-unit residential building at 261 W Alexander St in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood, owned by Norman Chi Hi Lam, has a documented history dating back to its construction in 1888. The property has experienced several service requests and violations over the past seven years, though the most recent and currently unresolved building code violation from June 2025 stands out as a significant concern. Between 2024 and 2026, there were five documented service requests through the 311 system, focusing primarily on sanitation issues and weed removal. Three of these requests pertained to sanitation code violations (two in late 2024 and one in April 2025), while the remaining two requests in August and June 2026 were specifically for weed removal, though these were subsequently closed.

AI-generated · may contain errors · check the source data tables below

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Risk rating

How 261 W Alexander St's risk score is calculated

We trained a model on 7 years of Chicago code enforcement data — building violations, 311 complaint history, environmental enforcement, and owner track records. It estimates the probability that the City of Chicago will find a code violation at this address in the next 12 months. Lower % = safer.

What the score means for you

Lower risk — safer than most nearby

City inspectors rarely find violations here. Strong maintenance history and a clean complaint record.

Typical — about average for the neighborhood

Some past violations or complaints on record. Worth asking the landlord about any open issues before signing.

Higher risk — riskier than most nearby

Elevated violation and complaint history. City inspectors have found issues here before and are statistically likely to again.

Neighborhood percentile
67thpercentile

Out of 319 buildings in this neighborhood, 105 are predicted to be safer. The band is relative to this neighborhood, so a share of every neighborhood falls in each colour.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
73%
No code
violation
27%
Code violation
likely
Model explanation

What's driving this score

The data points that most influenced this building's risk rating — ranked by the weight the model placed on each one.

Location

Precise location is a proxy for area-level risk — some Chicago zip codes have systematically higher code-enforcement activity.

Location

Precise location is a proxy for area-level risk — some Chicago zip codes have systematically higher code-enforcement activity.

Township: South Chicago

Located in South Chicago. The township captures local housing-market and code-enforcement patterns that affect all properties in the area.

12-Month risk forecast
Low failure risk 27%
Estimated probability of a code violation in the next 12 months.
Apartment reviews

261 W Alexander St apartment reviews

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On the map

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The story over time

261 W Alexander St event timeline

Building violations, environmental complaints and enforcement, permits, scofflaw listings, and 311 calls — most recent records in order.

2026
311 Request Jul 24
Sanitation Code Violation
311 RequestJul 14
Sanitation Code Violation

See all 6 events

Full history back to 2024 — violations, complaints, permits, and 311 calls.

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Every record we have

Full data for 261 W Alexander St apartments

Chicago public datasets for this parcel — building violations, permits, 311 calls, environmental complaints and enforcement, scofflaw listings, and vacant building registrations.

Side by side

How 261 W Alexander St compares to the neighborhood

This building against comparable properties in Chinatown. Toggle filters to narrow the peer group.

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Cancel anytime · Data sourced from the City of Chicago Department of Buildings, Chicago 311, Cook County Assessor & the Chicago Data Portal

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