Bucktown’s bar has been raised.
Chicago tech executive Jason Fried, and his wife, Caroline Linder, have set a record with their $5.3 million home sale in the Bucktown neighborhood northwest of downtown Chicago.
The husband-and-wife duo sold their five-bedroom estate at 1736 North Wood Street
for about $662 per square foot, marking the highest recorded residential sale price in Bucktown or neighboring Wicker Park, Crain’s reported. The previous record in the area was a $4.8 million sale on Wolcott Avenue in 2015.
Fried and Linder were represented by Brad Lippitz of Compass, while Tommy Choi of Keller Williams One Chicago managed the transaction on behalf of the buyer, who has not yet been identified in public records.
Built in 2013 and designed by late architect Brad Lynch, the 8,000-square-foot estate marries modern elegance with industrial charm. The couple originally aimed to transform a warehouse into a residence but couldn’t find the right property. Instead, Lynch proposed designing a new home with a warehouse-inspired aesthetic.
“When this is done, whatever he was dreaming about in a warehouse, I promised him he would have the same sense in the house,” Lynch said in an interview before his death at 64 in 2022.
The exterior of the home features a combination of brick and perforated metal, while the interiors boast sleek finishes in wood, glass and stone. A private courtyard surrounded by the house provides a secluded retreat.
The property was listed in May 2023 for $7.3 million but underwent price cuts before closing at $5.3 million in November 2024. Despite the reduction, the sale remains a significant milestone for Bucktown, a neighborhood rarely associated with transactions in this price range.
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The sale is part of a broader trend of high-value real estate owners in Chicago, where 19 properties have sold for $5 million or more in 2024. It signals the growing appeal of Bucktown and Wicker Park among affluent buyers seeking unique architectural properties.