An 11,000-square-foot pink palace on 120 feet of Highland Park lakefront has sold for a measly $2.2M. Why the shockingly low closing price? Well, the extreme gaudiness doesn't help but, as Chicago Mag's Dennis Rodkin reports, the property was probably caught up in a multinational legal brawl stemming from some $27M in debt that late owner Mikhail Katamanin left behind. After three years and four listing agents, Jameson Sotheby's scored a sale for "less than one-fourth the original 2009 asking price of $8.93M."
Curbed explored the listing last November without this backgrounder and our focus was squarely on the "aristocratic" details: double staircase; vaulted ceilings; skylit pool; fitness center; and a 6-car elevator garage. A swirling rumor in 2010 had it that LeBron James was shopping the home while shopping for a new NBA team. That claim was never confirmed. The perplexing home is merely one-half of the compound Katamanin on the lake. The other—a touch smaller, less adorned, and more classical in design—is still on the market for $2.95M right next door.
·Listing: 985 Sheridan Road, Highland Park [Jameson Sotheby's]
·A Late Russian Tycoon's North Shore Mansion Sold for One Quarter the Original Asking Price [Chicago Mag]
·Ask on Beachfront 6-Bed w/ Indoor Pool Slips to $4.5M [Curbed Chicago]