Four Season Penthouse

Yesterday, Katherine Chez of Coldwell Banker listed the extravagant penthouse in the Four Seasons (132 East Delaware) designed by Juan Pablo Molyneux. The property was recently featured in the November 2009 issue of Architectural Digest. It is listed for $11.5 million. Contact me for additional information.

65 East Goethe

Bill Wrigley's penthouse space, which is listed by Jim McKinney and Brian White of Baird & Warner, was recently placed on the MLS as separate units. The 8th floor penthouse (8WNE) has over 12,000 square feet of raw space and an additional 3000 square feet of private roof top. It has been on the market for $14 million since last October. While it is certianly one of the best spaces in the entire city, I don't see a buyer spending anywhere near that asking price for raw space. The potential buyer would most likely spend around $1000 / square foot to finsish the space, which puts them into the property for over $25 million. By comparison, the 61st floor penthouse in 800 North Michigan was listed for $10.95 million and closed for $8.25 million in 2006. While 800 North Michigan doesn't have the neighborhood feel of 65 East Goethe, it was a finished space and has spectacular uninterupted lake views.

This is why I wasn't too suprised to see 8N come on the market for $5 million and 8W come on the market for $6 million last week. 8N is a 5500 square foot unit, and 8W is a 3500 square foot unit and includes 1500 square feet of exterior roof space.

179 East Lake Shore Drive

One of Chicago’s top properties came off the market last week.

Marie Campbell of Koenig & Strey Real Living’s $7.5 million penthouse listing in the Drake Tower was cancelled on June 7th. This beautiful property is located on the 29th floor and has amazing panoramic views of the city and lake. The 5000 square foot full-floor property has three bedrooms, 4.2 bathrooms, and elegant traditional finishes.

Selling Designer Spaces

About a month ago Jim McKinney and Louise Study of Baird & Warner listed unit 4501 in the Pinnacle (21 East Huron). It is a 5500 square foot three bedroom 3.1 bathroom penthouse with over 2000 square feet of exterior space. This is one of the best spaces in the city.

My friend Allen Villanueva was the architect and designer of the penthouse residence, and a couple weeks ago he was kind enough to give me a personal architectural tour. Allen thought out every space, finish, and architectural detail ahead of time and the builder delicately executed them all.

While I’m guessing the owners have at least $9 million into the residence. In my opinion, it is still a couple million overpriced. Unfortunately, this is one of the problems with very high-end properties. Pretty much all buyers who are looking to spend $9 million for a property would prefer to spend $3.5 million for a space and then customize it for $1000 per square foot. Occasionally the perfect buyer will come through, but this is rare.

If this sounds like your ideal property then you might just be that perfect buyer. However, I could point you towards many other properties in the Chicago area that are more affordable, and then introduce you to Allen or another designer who could customize it to be your dream home.

For additional photos of this penthouse unit in the Pinnacle visit: http://tours7.vht.com/Viewer/PhotoGallery.aspx?ListingID=1259594&Style=IDX