Lake Shore Drive penthouse cuts asking by another $2M

New $9.75M asking price is less than half of the $24M it was first listed for

A Lake Shore Drive penthouse has cut its asking price yet again, now asking 40 percent of its original list price.

The penthouse, which sits on top of the cooperative building at 1500 North Lake Shore Drive on Chicago’s Gold Coast, chopped another $2 million off of its asking price, now asking $9.75 million, less than half of the $24 million the unit was first listed for in July 2020, Crain’s reported. Altogether, the unit has cut its asking price by more than $14 million.

The 8,000-square-foot penthouse consists of two stories surrounding a rooftop garden, and according to the new listing agent, Tim Salm of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, is “truly unique, one of the spectacular apartments in Chicago, with the best outdoor space imaginable.”

Prominent businessman Michael Wilkie bought the unit in 1975 and listed it for sale in 2020. He died in October 2021 before the unit was sold. Wilkie, the former chairman of DoAll and DGI Supply, made headlines in British media in 1996 when he asked Princess Diana to dance at a Field Museum benefit event when she visited Chicago, a request that broke royal rules that she nonetheless obliged.

The unit on the 24th and 25th floors of the 1920s Rosario Candela-designed building has six bedrooms and six and a half bathrooms. Design elements include ornate wood ceilings, vintage fresco designs and a two-story living room with a fireplace and winding staircase. Outside, the property has access to a two-story loggia that faces the garden and overlooks Lake Michigan. The penthouse unit also has a partial third floor with a game room/bar area and more storage space.

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A unit on the 18th floor of the building sold for $5.2 million earlier this month.

Despite a rush of activity in the new year, the posh Gold Coast area of the city’s housing market has been stagnant in recent years. High-end deals haven’t closed quickly, either. Seven of the nine Gold Coast homes currently listed for $4 million or more have been on the market for more than 100 days.

— Victoria Pruitt