In the last week or so there have been several interesting developments with some of the more famous homes in the Chicago area. Oprah Winfrey put her duplex Water Tower condo on the market, the home made famous in the Ferris Bueller movie finally went under contract, and I finally saw a movie produced by George Furla, whose penthouse has been on the market for over a year now.
Oprah Winfrey’s Water Tower Condo On The Market
After selling her never-lived-in co-op at 199 E Lake Shore Drive (unit 6E) back in July 2012 for less than half what she paid for it Oprah is now selling her real Chicago home in the Water Tower Residences at 180 E Pearson, unit 5603. It was listed 12 days ago for $7.75 MM. It appears that she combined 3 different units, one of which is above the others. The property seems to be listed in the name of a company – Restoration LLC.
Here are the basic facts about this home:
- 4 bedrooms with the master bedroom 31 x 14 on the upper floor
- 5 full baths and 2 half baths
- The top floor also has a great room and a sitting room
- 9625 sq ft
- Parking is leased at $365/ month per space
- Assessments are $9004/ month
- Property taxes are $71,526
And here is the description from the MLS (all caps taken from original description):
BREATHTAKING LAKE & CITY VIEWS FILL THIS 9625 SF CUSTOMIZED DUPLEX IN ONE OF CHICAGO’S PREMIERE BUILDINGS. FLOODED W/LIGHT THIS 4 BEDROOM HOME FEATURES MULTIPLE LIVING AREAS, 2 KITCHENS & A SPECTACULAR DEDICATED MASTER FLOOR, ALL ADORNED W/BEAUTIFUL FINISHES & FABRICS. HUGE CHEF’S KITCHEN, 3 ENSUITE BEDROOMS, EX ROOM, PLUS STORAGE GALORE & MORE. ALL AMENITIES OF RITZ CARLTON HOTEL/CARLTON CLUB.
Now I was really disappointed that there were no photos with the listing and, in fact, that’s the reason I postponed this blog post until now. I wanted to see if they put some photos up that I could share. Maybe Oprah just didn’t want anyone seeing the inside of her home but then again is this the best way to market a property like this? Even Michael Jordan showed photos of his home.
However, there is this crappy floor plan available. I’ve produced better floor plans for $1 MM homes. You can click on it for a slightly larger view. What this does tell you though is that she has 2 spiral staircases in the home.
And if I may digress for a moment here. Those property taxes correspond to a home value of just under $4 MM. But isn’t Oprah one of those fabulously rich people that believes they should pay more taxes? I would have expected her to march right into Joseph Berrio’s office to demand that he increase her property valuation to its full market value. I’m so confused.
Ferris Bueller House Finally Sells
After being on the market for almost 4 years in total, the Highland Park house featured in the famous garage scene in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off finally went under contract a little more than a week ago. I last updated you in September about one of many price reductions: Another $125,000 Knocked Off Ferris Bueller Home. Since then the price was reduced another $80,000 on October 23 and then another $45,000 on December 14. That last price reduction, which took the list price to $1,250,000, seemed to have done the trick. Sometimes a series of sequential price reductions is the only way to unload a property like this that has an undetermined value. Michael Jordan, are you listening?
Now I Know Who George Furla Is
A little more than a year ago I reported on an incredible Penthouse unit in The Fordham, owned by movie producer George Furla, that was being offered for $7 MM. At the time I hadn’t really heard of this guy. I don’t think he had produced any big hits. However, over the weekend I saw Lone Survivor (a very good movie based upon a true story BTW) and during the opening credits they listed Emmett/ Furla Films as the producer and, yes, it’s the same Furla. So now he has a real winner under his belt.
Well, unit 5001 is still on the market a year later without any price reductions. But if it hasn’t sold at this price in a year what makes them think it will sell at this price in the next year?
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