This is one of several interesting real estate stories that appeared in Crain’s yesterday. A trader named
Igor Chernomzav, a co-founder of Hard Eight Futures LLC, bought a
12,000-square-foot condominium on the 56th and 57th floors of the Elysian Hotel & Private Residences. He paid more than $7.25
million for a unit that he plans to
flip for more than $10 million after he remodels it. The 60-story
tower at 11 E. Walton St. also features a 188-room hotel.
I can’t find any record of listings or transactions like this on the MLS so it must have been conducted offline, as indicated in the story. Apparently Igor bought this unit by purchasing a
contract for a unit signed several years ago by a speculator and he ended up paying 25% less than
the speculator’s original asking price of $9.5 million for the unit,
which features a 25-foot living room ceiling and 360-degree views.
The guy is apparently doing pretty well considering that he is only 33 years old and has a degree in philosophy (and I thought you couldn’t do anything with a philosophy degree). You see, this is the second unit he has purchased in the Elysian,
after paying $8.18 million in March for a 52nd-floor unit,
which he is also remodeling.
These futures and options types are real gamblers. Will this gamble pay off for this guy? I’ll take the other side of this bet.