Former Gov. James “Big Jim” Thompson and his wife got a big payday on a Gold Coast condo they had been trying to sell on-and-off for three years.
The state’s longest-serving chief executive, who was governor from 1977 to 1991, closed on a $1.5 million sale last week of their three-bedroom condo on the 34th floor of the Bristol building at 57 East Delaware Place, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Jim and Jayne Thompson first listed the home in 2016 for just under $2 million, around the same time they paid almost $2.3 million for the 41st-floor condo at 55 East Erie Street in River North where they currently live. The couple made the move because they wanted an outdoor terrace and a fireplace, they told the Tribune at the time.
The Thompsons took their 3,515-square-foot Gold Coast condo off the market later in 2016 before relisting it last year for nearly $1.9 million, then nudging down their asking price several times. The unit includes hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and a library with built-in mahogany bookshelves.
Marlene St. George of Baird & Warner brokered the sale.
The Bristol is about a block away from JDL Development’s No. 9 Walton condo tower, which continues to rack up sales above $5 million. [Chicago Tribune] — Alex Nitkin