Ex-Eli Lilly exec asks $5.7M for condo, joining slew of No. 9 Walton sellers

A former Eli Lilly exec is asking $5.7 million for his condo in No. 9 Walton, joining at least five other sellers in one of Chicago’s most exclusive buildings asking over $5 million for their units.

The 68-floor tower at 9 West Walton Street is home to some of the most prominent people in Chicago. The listing on the 18th floor is seeking a 47 percent increase from its last sale price in its second time on the market since its construction began.

Ronald Matricaria, who spent 23 years working at Eli Lilly and served as president of its pharmaceutical division, and his wife Lucielle bought the property for $3.9 million in 2019.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom condo is completely finished, which may explain a steep price increase since its last sale. The property first sold in 2017, three years before it would be completed, to an Illinois LLC for $3.7 million. That LLC sold it to its current owner, Matricaria, who also served as president and CEO of St. Jude’s Medical.

Susan Miner with Premier Relocation is representing the listing and did not respond to a request for comment.

No. 9 Walton dominated the rankings of Chicago’s most expensive residential sales before the building sold out in January of 2020. It was developed by JDL Development, the same firm behind One Chicago, the two-tower condo and apartment complex in River North that’s in the midst of its sellout.

The tower has five other units for sale asking $5 million or more, including former Chicago resident Ken Griffin’s $12 million ask for raw space covering the entire 36th floor. Others include a $7.5 million listing on the 27th floor, a $6.2 million listing on the 23rd floor and a $5.8 million listing on the 19th floor. Public records and listings show a sale hasn’t occurred in the building since last year, when there were several, including A. Steven Crown’s $17.4 million purchase of a 34th-floor unit in one of the priciest Chicago home sales ever. Some of other sales in the building last year also exceeded the $5 million mark.

In addition to the usual luxury amenities, the No. 9 Walton building also features a house car and driver, private wine storage available, a covered dog run and two guest suites available to all homeowners.

The building has been home to a who’s who of Chicago’s elite businesspeople and athletes, though some famous faces have since sold their units in the building. 

That includes Griffin, the billionaire hedge fund manager and Citadel CEO, who listed his 7,500-square-foot space on the 36th floor earlier this year. Griffin purchased four floors in the building, from the 35th through 38th floors, in a package of deals that totaled more than $58 million in 2017. Records show that he paid just over $12 million within that package for the 36th floor. Griffin listed the 35th floor unit for $14 million in August, but he recently took it off the market. It’s unclear if, or when, he will list the full-floor units on the 37th and 38th floors.

The listings are a part of Griffin’s unloading of his Chicago real estate portfolio after decided to move his family and his company to Miami, citing Chicago’s crime.

Jason Heyward, the former Cubs outfielder, also sold his 19th-floor condo in the building in 2020. A buyer whose identity hasn’t been publicly revealed paid $7.2 million for the four-bedroom, 5,200-square-foot unit. The sale closed about two years to the day after Heyward bought the condo for $6.9 million.

Read more

Chicago

Ken Griffin lists raw floor in 9 West Walton for $12M

Chicago

Tower of power: a look at who’s buying at No. 9 Walton

Chicago

Palmolive pullout: More high-end condo listings face crowd of sellers