Housing Bulletin
Former Tribune CEO Randy Michaels Sells at a Loss
List Price: $889,000
Sale Price: $810,000
The Property: On Friday, the former Tribune CEO Randy Michaels sold his top-floor condo at 240 East Illinois. Michaels initially listed the 1,637-square-foot condo for sale in January, asking $989,000. His real-estate agent at the time, Magellan Realty’s Naomi Wilkinson, told the Chicago Tribune that its floor-to-ceiling windows framed views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.
Michaels, a part-time resident of Chicago, cut the price a few times before relisting the 31st-floor property at $889,000 with a different agent, Baird & Warner’s Robert Shearer. Shearer’s listing described the condo as having “luxurious marble baths, custom solar window shades [and] custom closets.” The place was under contract by November 2, and the deal closed November 18 to a buyer not yet identified in public records. Shearer did not respond to a request for comment, and I could not reach Randy Michaels (who bought and sold the condo under his real name, Benjamin Homel).
Michaels, who resigned as Tribune CEO in October 2010, is now an investor in Merlin Media, which owns FM News 101.1, WLUP, and WRXP-FM in New York City. Chicago is owned by Tribune.
Price Points: The condo’s $810,000 sale price was about 82 percent of what Michaels was asking last January and 90 percent of his final asking price. He bought the condo new from the developer for $970,000 in September 2008 (the developer had been asking $1,049,900). That means Michaels took a loss of about 16 percent on the condo, not including agents’ commissions, property taxes, and other costs associated with the sale.
Listing Agent: Robert Shearer of Baird & Warner; 312-909-8641
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There is no such thing as WRXP-FM. RXP is a brand owned by Emmis Communications. The NYC station is WEMP-FM, or FM News New York.
You're right, of course, ND. I was going on an older article that had Merlin buying WRXP. But I see now that after the purchase, the station changed its call letters to WEMP. Thanks for catching that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEMP
"and I could not reach Randy Michaels (who bought and sold the condo under his real name, Benjamin Homel)."
"real name," Real name??? What the Hell is that supposed to mean?
@Provinsdave - He changed his name to Randy Michaels when he got started in radio. According to Tribune reporter Phil Rosenthal, "Michaels, who was born Benjamin Homel, got his start in media as a Buffalo radio engineer while still a teen-ager. He took on the name Randy Michaels for on-air work."