Restaurateur R.J. Melman serves speedy Gold Coast mansion sale for $4.9M

R.J. Melman’s Gold Coast mansion traded in short order for the recently stagnant neighborhood, and at full asking price, a rarity for the area’s high-end sellers.

Melman, the second-generation president of prominent restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You, and his wife Katherine, a real estate agent with @properties, sold their six-bedroom residence at 105 East Bellevue Place for $4.9 million, Crain’s reported. The buyers’ identities have not been disclosed.

Katherine Melman and fellow @properties agent Erin Mandel brokered the deal. The Melmans listed the property in January, a little more than three years after buying it for $4.8 million. 

Even though the sale was practically a wash for the sellers, it’s also a victory for the Gold Coast given its short stint on the market without undergoing a substantial price chop. Big reductions to listing prices for Gold Coast luxury homes have become increasingly common in recent years as the market for the neighborhood was subdued, with many homes listed for months without drawing buyers.

The sale ranks as the 10th-priciest residential transaction in the Chicago area this year.

Prompt sales are a rarity in the Gold Coast area, where high-end homes typically spend an average of about 13 months on the market, the outlet reported. Homes priced around $6 million or higher typically take even longer to sell.

The Gold Coast mansion, built in the 1960s, has collected a roster of well-known former owners over the years, including White Sox executive Kenny Williams, TV news anchor Zoraida Sambolin and TV personalities Bill and Giuliana Rancic most recently. 

The house, which was renovated under the Rancics’ ownership, features a secluded back terrace, a two-story primary bedroom suite and a rooftop deck. The basement has a wood and cashmere-wrapped pub room, a playroom and two bedrooms.

—Quinn Donoghue