Gold Coast Penthouse is Priciest Chicago Home Sale This Year

Chicago’s condo market set another record for this year.

Former Fortune Brands CEO Bruce Carbonari sold his 5,400-square-foot Gold Coast penthouse in the Elm and State building for $10.1 million Friday, Crain’s reported. It sold for $1,870 per square foot and is the priciest home to sell in Chicago this year.

It hit the market in July for $10.8 million, about $2,000 per square foot, and found a buyer within two months but took six months to close.

Sellers Bruce and Kate Carbonari bought the entire 23rd floor as raw space for $6.7 million in 2016 and spent at least $1.5 million into the buildout, permit records show.

They bought when the building was new; the 194,000-square-foot tower at 4 East Elm was completed in 2016 and designed by SCB. It holds only two units per floor, ranging between 3,100 and 3,500 square feet and each is served by its own private elevator, according to SCB’s website.

The Carbonaris decided to sell after spending more time in Detroit with their grandchildren and at their Florida home. Bruce retired as Fortune Brands chairman and CEO after 22 years in 2011.

Sharon O’Hara and Carrie McCormick represented the sellers, and Emily Sachs Wong represented the buyers, all with @properties Christie’s International Real Estate. The buyer wasn’t identified.

The Carbonaris redesigned the living room and adjacent balcony to create an indoor-outdoor space featuring a 12-foot-high glass wall and french doors.

The result is a panoramic view spanning Chicago’s skyline, Lake Michigan and the surrounding neighborhoods. Additional terraces occupy the building’s northeast and northwest corners, with about 1,700 square feet of outdoor space.

Downtown condos have accounted for eight of the top 10 highest-priced home sales in the Chicago area this year before counting two $12 million mansions and another $35 million home in Winnetka, which went under contract last week and in early February, respectively.

Chicago’s luxury condo market is showing early signs of a rebound after years of sluggish sales.

Ultra-high-end buyers have been selective, gravitating toward properties that avoid the stigma of long market stays or bulk sales.

Newer projects, like Crescent Heights, at 850 Lake Shore Drive, have gained traction by pricing units competitively, while older developments like the St. Regis have struggled with slower sales and bulk transactions.

So far, 21 homes have sold for $4 million or more this year, outpacing the 16 sold by this time last year.

— Judah Duke