A Gold Coast mansion is up for grabs, carrying a price tag that’s $1 million less than what the seller paid for it over 20 years ago.
Ron Chez is asking just shy of $7 million for his three-bedroom, 6,500-square-foot house at 1524 North Astor Street, Crain’s reported. That’s about $1,078 per square foot. Jenny Ames of Engel & Voelkers Chicago is the listing agent.
Chez, an investor and philanthropist, bought the house for $8.12 million, or $1,249 per square foot, in 2000. It’s been on and off the market since 2007 with fluctuating prices. Chez, who is credited as an executive producer in six feature films, spends most of his time in California, where he has an oceanfront mansion in Big Sur.
In 2021, when the Gold Coast house was listed for nearly $11 million, Chez told Crain’s that “it’s a very special home, and fortunately I can wait. I don’t have to sell it, which is always good with illiquid assets.”
The house, built in 1969, was extensively renovated by designers Marvin Herman and Suzanne Lovell in the early 2000s. The interior showcases an Art Deco-inspired aesthetic with wrought iron details, large stone fireplace mantels and unique features like a bathtub made from a single piece of Italian marble.
The Gold Coast luxury market has been sluggish for several years, with $7 million being the most expensive sale for older homes. However, some 21st-century condos have fetched higher prices, such as a $9.3 million sale on Goethe Street.
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An intriguing aspect of the house’s history involves two rooms that were originally part of the neighboring house. In the mid-1970s, the homeowners sought expansion, leading to the purchase of the adjacent property. They integrated two rooms into their house, selling off the remaining portion, the outlet reported.
—Quinn Donoghue