The Late Jim Crown’s Chicago Condo Lists for $17.5 Million

The Gold Coast condo of the late Jim Crown, scion of one of Chicago’s wealthiest families, has entered the private listing market with an asking price of $17.5 million.

The six-bedroom condo, spanning 12,000 square feet on the sixth and seventh floors of the Parisian-influenced building at 65 East Goethe Street, is now the highest-priced residential listing in Chicago, Crian’s reported. Compass’ Jeff Lowe has the listing.

Crown’s condo unit comes with an in-home gym, three distinct wings for privacy, seven indoor parking spaces and seven terraces with expansive views of Lake Michigan.

The interior, crafted by renowned designers David Easton and Eric J. Smith, features Chippendale-patterned floors in the dining room, a wood-paneled living room and a French-inspired primary suite with antique cabinets, a carved fireplace and mirrored bathroom panels.

Should the property sell at the asking price of $1,460 per square foot, it would surpass this year’s record, set by the Lincoln Park mansion at 1932 North Burling Street which sold for $15.25 million, or $980 per square foot, in August.

The only Chicago condos that have sold for $17 million or more include the 89th-floor penthouse at Trump International Hotel & Tower, which sold for $17 million ($1,190 per square foot) in 2014 and $20 million (1,400 per square foot) in 2022, and a two-story condo at the St. Regis tower, which sold for $20.6 million ($2,060 per square foot) that same year.

Paula Crown, widow of Jim Crown, listed the property shortly after her husband died in June of last year at age 70. Crown’s role as CEO of the family’s investment firm, Henry Crown & Company, placed him at the helm of a legacy extending through diverse industries and an array of Chicago philanthropic ventures.

Founded in 1919, the Crown family firm has funded initiatives at the University of Chicago, the Art Institute, and public television station WTTW.

Notable Chicagoans have chosen the building for its privacy and status. Bill Wrigley once owned the top floor before selling it in sections. And private equity executive Antonio Gracias, whose unit is currently listed in two sections, one for nearly $8 million and the other at $3.7 million, are among the luminaries associated with the property.

— Andrew Terrell