Yesterday the most expensive Chicago home ever hit the market priced at $50,000,000. (I purposely didn’t use pricing short hand so that you could fully appreciate the magnitude of that price.) The 25,000 square foot home, which spans seven 149 foot deep lots at 1932 N Burling, belongs to Richard Parrillo who is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of United Automobile Insurance Group which is based in Florida. And of course it’s on Burling Street.
I first wrote about this home more than 5 years ago when I did a post on The Biggest Homes Of Lincoln Park. Back then I had heard that it was only going to be a bit over 18,000 square feet. Now that it’s on the market we know a lot more about it. I’ve included a photo gallery of this monstrosity at the very bottom of this post, below the email subscription form, and here are the key stats:
- Built in 2010
- 18 rooms plus the music room, craft room, entry foyer, grill room, guest suite, gallery areas, tasting room, wine cellar, office areas. I suspect the MLS ran out of room fields.
- Only 6 bedrooms
- 7 full baths, 4 half baths
- 7 fireplaces
- Only a 3 car garage
- Property taxes are only $256,172 per year because the Cook County Assessor’s office only has it valued at just under $14 MM. Come on Joe Berrios! Get with the program, man.
Here is the description from the MLS:
Unprecedented urban estate. 25,000 square foot masterpiece on Lincoln Park’s finest street. Sited on an enormous 177’x149’ parcel totaling more than eight city lots, every step has been taken to provide complete privacy and tranquility. Manicured grounds with multiple fountains, reflecting pool, and hand forged antique garden pavilion transport you to another world. Absolutely no expense was spared inside or out throughout this sun-filled mansion. Grand in every way, but not overwhelming, the design is perfect for large scale entertaining as well as intimate everyday living. This home is nothing short of magnificent at every turn–truly a once in a lifetime opportunity that could never be replicated.
I find the photos very odd for a $50 MM home. The MLS only allows you 25 photos and they used roughly half of them on the exterior, another 7 on staircase, hallway, and foyer shots, and 2 on the architectural detail of the ceiling. I get that the grounds are spectacular and that the home has over-the-top detail but I want to see what the kitchen, master bedroom, and master bathroom look like. It’s just weird. And I can’t find a Web site for the property. Maybe they are still working on it but if you put up a $50 MM home for sale it deserves it’s own Web site.
According to The Chicago Tribune the Parrillos are into the home for $65 MM but have priced it at $50 MM because they realize that nobody is going to pay them them for the full cost of their work. Let’s face it…as beautiful as the home is it was custom built to their taste and it will only have full value to them. For instance, a 2008 Crain’s article talks about how the chandelier alone probably cost $35,000 and a lot of the material was imported from France, including the gravel which crunches just right when you walk on it.
At least they are not offering the typical 2.5% co-op commission but even at 1.25% it’s still going to be a $500K payday for some lucky agent if it sells for $40 MM (I made up that number).
Other Really Expensive Chicago Homes
Just to put this home in perspective with other really expensive Chicago homes that have sold:
- The most expensive condo ever sold in the city was the penthouse raw space in the Trump Tower that sold for $17 MM 2 years ago.
- The most expensive single family home sold was the house just across the street from this one at 1955 N Burling that sold for $13.3 MM a year ago
#RealEstate #ChicagoRealEstate
Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service discount real estate brokerage. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think he’s the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.