A few years back, the duplex condominium in the turn-of-the-century Astor Street mansion would have sold only days after its owner put it up for sale. After all, the upscale real estate market was sizzling then, and the unit is a perfect location for any social climber eager to broadcast his rise to the top.
There’s no question that the condominium–the largest and most prestigious in a nine-unit building designed by Stanford White–is valuable. It’s one block from the lake and too close to other valuable real estate not to be.
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Rautbord says no. And most of his colleagues in the real estate business agree. “Real estate is still big,” he insists. “A few years ago I sold a studio on the 100 block of Walton to a young lawyer for $40,000. He fixed it up and sold it for $50,000. Now guess what. He’s going into the real estate business. He figures where else can you make $10,000 so quickly.”
“If your market’s hot, you don’t need articles in the newspaper,” says one north-side real estate salesman, who prefers to remain anonymous. “In fact, it may be better to avoid publicity. Who needs a bunch of reporters and cameramen walking around your client’s house anyway? But if the market’s not so hot, you have to build interest. That’s what newspapers are for.”
The high rises could not help but affect the value of the homes that lay in their shadows. They took from the mansions their view of the lake, blocked their sunshine, and reduced their value by adding to the area’s traffic and congestion. With soaring taxes and utility costs, a mansion in the area was no longer a prudent investment. Many wealthy families packed up for the north suburbs, where rigid zoning laws and vigilant brokers made sure that high rises were kept out.
The Patterson mansion was part of the condominium trend.
“It has a lakefront view,” says Rautbord, standing in the bedroom. “If you stand over there by that bookcase and look through the window between those two high rises you can see a patch of the lake. Well, it’s not a great lakefront view. But don’t worry–we don’t make a big deal about it.
