River North penthouse seeks $7 million

A penthouse in River North is seeking nearly $7 million in a market that’s been challenging for some — but not all — condos across Chicago.

The four-bedroom, six-bathroom condominium is large even by Chicago’s luxury condo standards — over 8,100 square feet. It includes five private terraces, direct elevator access to a private on-floor lobby, and features both city and lake views, a theater room, a wine cellar, and amenities such as a humidor room, a screening room, a spa and year-round pool, maid and room service, and a four-car private garage.

25 East Superior Street (Zillow)

The 52-story Fordham Building at 25 East Superior Street was completed in 2003 and in River North. The listing is a rarity in the building, where other units for sale range from $385,000 to $2.7 million. Tim Salm with Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty is representing the listing and did not respond to a request for comment.

It’s been a complicated time to sell and buy condos in Chicago. Two of the priciest sales to ever happen in the metro — the $20.6 penthouse sale at the St. Regis and the $20 million penthouse sale at Trump Tower — have shown the strength at the top of the condo market. But overall condo sales have lagged behind single-family home sales in a year where the pandemic has delayed return to office plans and more buyers are seeking larger spaces.

The St. Regis sale closed last week — showing the strength at the top of the Chicago market even as a likely recession looms. Rising interest rates don’t hit buyers in this segment of the market often because they rarely borrow for their acquisitions nd instead pay cash.

The listing joins 27 other publicly listed condos at about $7 million or above in Chicago. At the top of the market there are several major listings, including two condos at Park Tower listed by Ken Griffin at $15 million and $13.5 million, and at the Waldorf Astoria one condo is seeking $15 million and another is asking $12.5 million.