Chicago Gold Coast Condo Takes Price Chop Amid Quiet Year

If it trades near its $7.9 million asking price, William and Shelley Farley’s sprawling East Lake Shore Drive co-op will notch the priciest sale on Chicago’s Gold Coast strip in at least six years and also mark the second trophy deal in the area to close after multimillion-dollar price cuts.

The 12,000-square-foot unit at 209 East Lake Shore Drive spans two combined apartments, with seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and interiors designed by architect Larry Booth, Crain’s reported. The scale is unusual even for East Lake Shore Drive, where developer John Buck and his wife offloaded their 21-room co-op this spring at $4.9 million — less than half their original $11.5 million ask. Like the Bucks, the Farleys slashed their price before heading toward a deal, originally listing the 15-room, 14th floor apartment for just under $16 million in 2023. The most recent price slash on the listing was in June.

A sale is contingent, and a reminder that East Lake Shore Drive still commands top-dollar cachet, after some price-chopping. Jeff Lowe, the Compass agent who represented the sellers, said active interest in the property spiked this summer after the price chop. The property was put under contract Sept. 16.

Bill Farley, financier and former CEO of Fruit of the Loom, who now runs private equity firm Liam Ventures, told the Chicago Tribune in 2023 that the apartment is situated for lakeside views.

“The ceilings are 11-feet high. There are these huge windows, and, of course, there are no obstructions, and these views are incredible, not just for Chicago but for any major city in America,” Farley told the outlet.

The apartment also features six fireplaces, a custom-paneled library, an office, family room and a temperature-controlled wine room, as well as a gym, two guest apartments and four garage spaces.

Farley, 82, was a larger-than-life CEO whose 15-year run atop Fruit of the Loom made him a staple of Chicago business lore. The New York Times once dubbed him the “hunky chief executive” after he starred in his own underwear ads and floated political ambitions. At its peak, Fruit of the Loom was a $2 billion brand, but Farley was ousted in 1999 amid questions over lavish pay and poor factory oversight.

The Farleys previously owned, though never personally occupied, a 9,000-square-foot rehabbed Gold Coast mansion at the corner of Burton Place and Astor Street. The couple also keep a residence in Kennebunkport, Maine.

— Eric Weilbacher