Less than six months after closing on his house, former Blackhawk captain and All-star center Doug Gilmour and his wife put his almost-new Lincoln Park single-family house back on the market, for $2.2 million and saw the property go under contract in less than two weeks.
The $6 million-a-year Gilmour, 37, was traded from the Blackhawks to the Buffalo Sabres on March 10. He had been one of the Hawks’ few bona fide stars.
The Gilmours purchased the Palladian-style house, which was built on spec last September by Surf Construction, for $1.75 million at the same time that they sold their previous home, a Lincoln Park brownstone, for $1 million.
Immediately upon moving into their new home, the Gilmours embarked on upgrades throughout the entire house. Among the features that they added to the 10-room, five-bedroom house were a Sub-Zero refrigerator on every floor, a Panasonic phone system, granite and marble throughout, upgraded faucets and a wet bar.
In addition, the house has two family rooms–one of which could be used as a playroom for children–and four decks, including two rooftop decks.
“Surf Construction does a good house from the get-go,” said listing agent Jeri Dry of Coldwell Banker. “What sets this home apart is that most people who want to buy a single-family home in Lincoln Park find that they have to go with new construction, and that they have to have it built. If you go to Surf or to another builder, you’ll pay $2.2 million for a house like this, but it will be unfinished. To get it finished, you’ll have to pay considerably more.”
As a result, Dry, who represented the Gilmours when they purchased the house last year, said she felt the home would sell rapidly, even in a high price bracket.
“This is a spectacular house,” she said.
Also on the hockey front, another client of Dry’s, former Blackhawk Ethan Moreau, has sold his 2,000-square-foot Lincoln Park loft for $342,000.
Moreau, who was traded by the Blackhawks to the Edmonton Oilers in March 1999, sold the six-room, two-bedroom loft in the Surrey Court Condominiums development in February. The unit, which Moreau purchased in 1997 for $335,000, originally was listed last year for $399,000, and was later lowered to $360,000, and again to $349,000.
Moreau’s unit has wood beam ceilings, hardwood floors and a brand-new kitchen, according to listing information.
– A well-known Loop attorney is selling his 7,800-square-foot, Z-shaped contemporary lakefront ranch in Glencoe for $6.5 million.
Harvey L. Walner, owner of the law firm Harvey L. Walner Associates, has listed the futuristic home, which has four bedrooms and was built from 1987 to 1988. The one-story, Florida-style house, which was featured in the November 1988 issue of House and Garden magazine, sits on three acres atop a 65-foot bluff overlooking Lake Michigan and was designed by principals with the firm Arquitectonica.
In a Tribune article in 1989, the house, which Walner built, was described as “a fantasy of modern design, an eye-catching blend of pink granite, slanting walls and uniquely shaped windows.” The house has effectively functioned as a museum for Walner’s collection of contemporary paintings and sculpture, and the house’s shape zigzags along the contour of the land, providing panoramic views of the lake from almost every rear window.
Features include shark fin-shaped windows, a four-car garage, a jagged black marble wall, a glass front door that is sandblasted with designs in an astronomical theme, a floor-to-ceiling living room fireplace in green marble, 15-foot ceilings in the living and dining rooms, an exercise room, a 12-by-50-foot indoor swimming pool, and a master suite with a lap pool and a 22-foot east wall of windows that slant outward at almost a 45-degree angle. Outside, the property has a 400-foot-wide beach.
Paula Simon of Coldwell Banker’s Highland Park office is the listing agent.
– Price reduction: The listing price for a 17-room house in the Buena Park section of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood has been reduced to $2.2 million.
The 93-year-old, approximately 8,000-square-foot Prairie-style house at 4247 N. Hazel St. was profiled here last year. Bobby Dougherty of Koenig & Strey continues to be the listing agent for the fully rehabbed mansion.
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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, IL 60611. E-mail: rgoldsbo@enteract.com
