Billionaire Michael Krasny Prices Chicago Condo at Discount

Tech billionaire Michael Krasny has placed his Gold Coast condo on the market with a considerable price cut.

Krasny, the founder of Computer Discount Warehouse, has listed the three-bedroom residence on the 50th floor of Park Tower, at 800 North Michigan Avenue, for $3.4 million, the Chicago Tribune reported. The price comes to $809 per square foot. If sold at the listing price, it would be a 22 percent loss from the $4.35 million, or $1,035 per square foot, that Krasny paid for the condo in 2017.

The 4,200-square-foot condo is being marketed by Linda Levin of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty. It features 3.5 bathrooms, an open floor plan, high-end kitchen appliances, walnut hardwood floors and custom-built closets.

It also boasts two private terraces and includes two garage parking spaces. Monthly homeowners association fees come to $3,796, and the property tax bill for last year totaled $62,751.

Krasny’s listing comes shortly after a recent luxury acquisition. In August, he purchased a four-bedroom, 5,200-square-foot condo on the 13th floor of a Lincoln Park tower, previously owned by former Altria CEO Michael Szymanczyk and his wife.

While he may take a loss on the Park Tower property, his $5.1 million purchase in Lincoln Park signals his ongoing interest in Chicago’s high-end real estate market while fine tuning his local real estate portfolio.

Krasny, who founded CDW in the early 1980s and took it public a decade later, has maintained a notable presence in Chicago real estate. Besides his Gold Coast and Lincoln Park properties, he previously owned a modern-style home in Highland Park, which he transferred to his former wife in 2019.

Another billionaire, Ken Griffin, has been taking losses on luxury condos amid his divestment from Chicago. He recently listed his 37th-floor penthouse at No. 9 Walton for $9 million, which would result in a $3.7 million loss if sold at the asking price.

— Andrew Terrell