ML - Michigan Avenue

2013 - Issue 5 - September

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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The duplex at 1300 North State Parkway, marketed by Koenig & Strey's Nancy Joyce, has a sweeping, custom-built French-inspired staircase made of rare burnished butternut. Haute Property NEWS, STARS, AND TRENDS IN REAL ESTATE Duplex Dazzlers THE ULTIMATE HOMES IN THE SKY CHANNEL THEIR EARTHBOUND BRETHREN WITH MULTIPLE STORIES AND THE MOST IMPORTANT AMENITY OF ALL—A STAIRCASE. BY LISA SKOLNIK M ention "penthouse," and a glamorous pad perched on top of a high-rise comes to mind. "They've always been considered the ultimate benchmark of the luxe life," says Baird & Warner broker Tom Gorman. Yet the case can be made that the ultimate duplex—a twostory space that lives like a gracious house but boasts magnificent views—is actually the gold standard of luxury living. "A good duplex is a hell of a lot harder to find than a good penthouse," teases Gorman (312-981-2395; thomas.gorman@bairdwarner.com), who is currently marketing one for $7.9 million on the 60th floor of the Olympia Centre at 161 East Chicago Avenue that sports 8,000 square feet, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, three half-baths, stunning views, and a sleek contemporary interior. Substantiating his instincts are the current state of the penthouse market and the numbers. "Today, 'penthouse' is just as much a marketing term as a form of housing," he explains. "It's used to denote high units and differentiate them from others in the building. They may have better views thanks to the height, but aren't necessarily bigger, grander, or even on the top floor. I've seen developers call the top five floors of a building penthouses," explains Gorman. At press time, Midwest Real Estate Data's numbers confirm that out of 323 active listings priced over a million dollars in Chicago's tony lakefront and center city districts, 26 are penthouses. As for duplexes? There are only eight. These ultra-high-end properties are often marketed privately as pocket listings, but our search turned up only two more for sale right now—a 6,800-square-foot duplex with three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms at 1300 North State Parkway, priced in the high seven figures and continued on page 146 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 145-146_MA_HP_Opener_Sept_13.indd 145 145 8/7/13 1:07 PM

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