Former Chicago Bear and 1995 Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam has placed his 5-year-old Lake Bluff town home, which he purchased last year from Bears quarterback Erik Kramer, on the market for $172,900.
This fall, Salaam, 24, was to have begun the fourth year of a 4-year, $3.8 million deal that included a $1.82 million signing bonus. But the running back and former No. 1 draft pick suffered a broken fibula and torn deltoid ligaments in a game last September, ending his season prematurely. The Bears tried to trade Salaam last spring to the Miami Dolphins, but the deal was voided after he failed a physical. He now awaits surgery, and is not expected to play football again till next fall.
Last week, the Bears announced an injury settlement with Salaam that ended his ties to the team. Although details were not released, it likely pays him less than half of the $637,000 he was scheduled to make this year.
Now, Salaam has headed west to his native San Diego, leaving behind his 6-room, 2-bedroom town home in the Hamptons subdivision in the north suburb.
As if Salaam’s problems weren’t bad enough, he is likely to take a loss on the town home, which he bought from Kramer last September for about $177,300, according to public records. Kramer, who paid $175,000 for the unit in 1994, had listed it last summer for $179,900.
In an unusual marketing move, the listing information heavily plays up Salaam’s ownership of the town home. According to listing information, the town home has “dramatic volume and cathedral ceilings,” and ceramic in the foyer, kitchen, baths and powder room. The unit also has a “great loft overlooking a 2-story living room with a marble fireplace,” a “deluxe master suite,” a 2-car garage and a pond view.
Janet Victoria of Real Property Pros has the listing.
– Remember that two-story, single-family house just outside Wrigley Field onto which Sammy Sosa fired a home run blast on June 20?
The house, at 1038 W. Waveland Ave., was auctioned off in June to the Bear-Kaufman Realty development group, which plans to tear it down and redevelop the property for upscale rental residences. Now that the sale has closed, its selling price can be revealed: $660,000.
“For six weeks, it underwent a typical auction marketing campaign, and we generated close to 200 inquiries ranging from condo and apartment developers to single-family buyers,” said Frank Diliberto, senior vice president of Sheldon Good & Co., the auctioneer.
“The biggest thing here was that the auction was used to define the property at the highest value. The seller was uncertain of its value. And ultimately, in areas where markets are falling or on the rise–and the Wrigleyville area is definitely on the rise–the auction is a great way to produce the best price.”
– Speaking of auctions, an 84-year-old, 15-room Evanston mansion that has seen better days, according to its auctioneer, recently was sold at auction for $520,200.
The 3-story, colonial-style, 8-bedroom home, at 1046 Sheridan Rd., had belonged to the late Franz Bodfors, a retired music professor at DePauw University. Bodfors, who died recently, had lived in Evanston on the weekends and commuted during the week to Greencastle, Ind. during his years at DePauw.
“Virtually no work, renovation or repairs had been done on the house in the last 40 years,” said auctioneer David Kaufman of real estate marketing and consulting firm David Kaufman & Co. “Because of this, it needed total renovation. Given the condition of the property, the seller and neighbors were very pleased with the sale price.”
The seller of the home, which was designed by architect E.A. Mayo and which is situated in a row of mansions, was the trust department of a Chicago bank, acting as trustee for Bodfors’ estate. The buyer was identified as Janet Kohl of Chicago.
– Price break: The 11-room, 4,000-square-foot southern half of the 90-year-old, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Avery Coonley estate in west suburban Riverside has a new price and a new listing agent.
The house at 300 Scottswood Road, which we profiled on June 7, now is priced at $759,000 and is listed with Judy Jisa of Burlington Realty. It was listed for $950,000 from 1995 to 1997, and for $890,000 for more than a year until last month.
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Have a tip about a home sale or a piece of property being put on the market that involved a well-known Chicagoan or a well-known piece of Chicago real estate? Write to Upper Bracket, c/o Chicago Tribune, Real Estate section, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill., 60611. E-mail: rgoldsbo@enteract.com
