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    Michael Jordan Finally Has a Buyer for His $14.9 Million Mega-Mansion Outside Chicago

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    After a little more than a dozen years and a couple of substantial price chops, former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan has officially landed a contract for a sprawling mega-mansion he owns in the Highland Park suburb of Chicago, about 2 miles west of Lake Michigan. Originally listed for $29 million back in 2012, the home has languished on the market for the past few years at a speck under $14.9 million.

    What the ultimate sale price will be and other details “will depend on what happens in the next 20 to 30 days,” per Crain’s Chicago Business. The magazine added that the buyer is an end-user rather than a developer and the timing of the contract, which came less than two weeks after the long-unsold estate was featured in The Wall Street Journal, is a coincidence.

    Custom-built for Jordan and his then-wife Juanita Vanoy in the mid-1990s amid a 7.4-acre parcel the couple purchased a few years earlier for $2 million, the massive contemporary home is tucked away behind iron gates emblazoned with “23,” the jersey number he wore while playing for the Bulls. The two-level structure offers a total of nine bedrooms and 19 baths in a whopping 56,000 square feet of living space, which makes it slightly larger than the White House.

    Highlights of the extremely personalized home, which was last renovated in 2009 and has sat unoccupied for years, include five fireplaces, an office space, a dining area flanked by a massive aquarium, a library with a drop-down movie screen, a cigar room with poker tables, and a fully equipped gym. There’s also a regulation-sized basketball court with MJ’s famous Air Jordan logo in the center, plus a set of doors culled from the original Playboy mansion in Chicago.

    Equally impressive are the grounds, which hold a circular infinity pool with a grassy island, a putting green, and a tennis court, as well as a separate three-bedroom residence for guests or staff and an attached garage with room for up to 14 vehicles.

    Jordan spent 13 seasons with the Bulls from 1984 to 1998, minus a season when he left to play minor league baseball, and led Chicago to six NBA titles. After announcing his retirement in 1998, he returned in 2001 to play two seasons with the Washington Wizards and then retired permanently in 2003. He went on to purchase a majority ownership stake in the Charlotte Bobcats, now the Hornets, before selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall last summer for approximately $3 billion, and he currently co-owns the NASCAR team 23XI Racing with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.

    The Hall of Famer, who has an estimated net worth of around $3 billion, has been married to his Cuban-American model wife Yvette Prieto for 11 years and they reportedly maintain residences in Jupiter, Florida, where they recently shelled out $16.5 million for a second mansion in the Bear’s Club enclave, as well as in Utah and on the shore of North Carolina’s Lake Norman. More

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      Holy Smoke! An Ultra-Cool ‘Batcave’ in Chicago Just Hit the Market for $2.5 Million

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      When you come across a house that’s been fashioned by a duo of creative geniuses and has been given a spiffy nickname of the Batcave, you have an inkling that it’s going to showcase an innovative mix of stylish living space rife with some intriguing details. And this particularly eye-catching structure in Chicago that’s now on the market for $2.5 million certainly is not one to disappoint.

      Converted from a 1920s bow truss warehouse into a live-work space around 2014 by interior designer and American Dream Builders reality TV show winner Lukas Machnik and his artist partner Lonney White, the modern residence oozes sex appeal from the start. Think a striking industrial-esque brick facade that offers just a hint of the unexpected lusciousness that’s yet to come.

      Found in Chicago’s historic McKinley Park neighborhood, just southwest of the Loop, the gated dwelling features three bedrooms and five baths in 7,400 square feet of curated, monochromatic living space boasting an artist studio, private office spaces, and an open floor plan geared largely toward entertaining. And if the place looks familiar, that might be because it’s been featured in the TV show The Chi and also has been used in photoshoots for Vogue x Virgil Abloh and GQ + CB2 collabs. The home even went viral recently on Instagram, receiving over 16 million views!

      A moody banquet room lined with black venetian plaster is set up with a black-stained oak table.

      Janet Mesic Mackie

      RELATED: This $5.2 Million Illinois Mansion Starred in ‘Home Alone’

      Introducing it all is a frosted-glass front door that opens into a barrel-ceilinged banquet room clad in black venetian plaster. Down its center is a long, white oak table that’s been stained black, while built-in cabinetry sports steel doors and countertops. Directly off the foyer are several offices, as well as a meeting area, a wet bar-equipped lounge, a powder room, and a side entrance to the driveway.

      From there, a chic great room accommodates the living, dining, and kitchen areas. The dining room connects to a streamlined kitchen, which is outfitted with a spacious waterfall-edge island topped with flamed granite, two sinks with matte black faucets, concealed appliances, and a fully equipped caterer’s kitchen tucked around the corner.

      RELATED: This Chicago Home Had a Cameo in ‘The Bear.’ Now It Can Be Yours for $2.2 Million

      An art-laced living room opens via NanaWall glass doors to an enclosed terrace and a hedge-lined yard.

      Janet Mesic Mackie

      A 16-foot painting done by one of the owners hangs in the living room, which has a 40-foot expanse of NanaWall folding glass doors spilling out to an al fresco lounge and dining space with a fire pit and a hedge-lined yard hosting a gazebo beyond. Back inside, a huge set of double doors slide open to reveal a showroom-style garage that not only can be used to display a vehicle but also doubles as an event space, along with an adjacent studio workspace.

      Upstairs is a screening room that overlooks the bottom level and a guest bedroom with access to a full bath, plus a primary suite flaunting a seating area, a walk-in closet, and a huge bath featuring a custom floating Corian sink with two faucets, a seamless shower, and a deep soaking tub. Per Eugene Fu of Christie’s International Real Estate, who shares the listing with Catherine Caravette of CRE Advising, the future superhero owner also has the power to acquire all the furnishings and artwork at an additional cost. POW!

      Click here for more photos of the Batcave.

      Janet Mesic Mackie More

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      This $5.2 Million Illinois Mansion Starred in ‘Home Alone’

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      A little over 12 years after it last sold to its current owners Tim and Trisha Johnson for nearly $1.6 million, a recently revamped home in an affluent Chicago suburb nestled along Lake Michigan’s North Shore has once again popped up for sale. But this time you’ll need a bit more cash to pick up the keys to the lavish Georgian-style spread, which is now listed for a speck under $5.2 million.

      Tucked away behind a wrought-iron gate amid a tree-lined street in East Winnetka, the mansion was built in 1921 but underwent an extensive renovation and expansion in 2018. And if you’re thinking the place looks a tad familiar, it might be due to its starring role in Home Alone, the film that became a big hit way back in 1990 and has since morphed into a classic. On camera, the upscale estate portrayed the home of 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who was accidentally left behind by his family while they traveled to Paris for the holidays and had to fend off two bumbling burglars known as the Wet Bandits.

      A fireplace serves as a centerpiece of the formal living room.

      Dawn McKenna Group/Coldwell Banker Realty

      Described in the listing held by Coldwell Banker Realty’s Dawn McKenna Group as a “rare opportunity to own one of the most iconic movie residences in American pop culture,” the stately red brick structure features five bedrooms and six baths in a little more than 9,100 square feet of multi-level living space decked out with its share of modern amenities.

      RELATED: This Chicago Home Had a Cameo in ‘The Bear.’ Now It Can Be Yours for $2.2 Million

      Among the many main-level highlights is a grand entry foyer that flows to a formal dining room on one side and a fireside living room on the other. From there, a family room rests beneath a coffered ceiling and has French doors spilling out to a screened porch warmed by a wood-burning fireplace, and an adjacent gourmet kitchen is outfitted with dual islands, top-tier Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, a walk-in pantry, and an accompanying breakfast nook with a built-in banquette.

      The finished basement hosts an indoor sports court.

      Dawn McKenna Group/Coldwell Banker Realty

      An office space, a cozy den, and a mud room also can be found on the bottom floor, while an upstairs primary suite boasts a fireplace, a walk-in closet, and a marble-clad bath equipped with dual vanities, a freestanding soaking tub, and a separate shower. There’s also a former attic space that now holds a guest bedroom with its own bath, while the finished basement comes complete with a lounge area, a wet bar-equipped game room, a movie theater, a gym, and an indoor sports court featuring a true 3-point line.

      RELATED: Martha Stewart Just Picked Up a $12.3 Million Condo at an Iconic N.Y.C. Building

      Rounding out this over-the-top listing are the grassy grounds, which span just over a half-acre and host a hot tub, as well as a wood deck ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining. An attached and heated three-car garage and an additional parking bay also can be found on the premises.

      Click here for more photos of the Home Alone house.

      Dawn McKenna Group/Coldwell Banker Realty More

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      This Chicago Home Had a Cameo in ‘The Bear.’ Now It Can Be Yours for $2.2 Million

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      Remember back in season one of The Bear when Carmy (Jeremey Allen White) and Cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) had to cater a kid’s birthday party as a favor to Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt), and instead of serving homemade Ecto Cooler at the bash, well, it was actually punch laced with Xanax? Yeah, well, brace yourself, fans of the award-winning hit series, because the house that starred as Cicero’s fictional crib can be yours for a cool $2.2 million. 

      Located in the historic Glenview suburb, about 15 miles north of The Loop, the home is currently owned by acclaimed interior designer Edwina Cowell, Mansion Global reported. Cowell told the listing site that the house has previously been featured in other TV and film projects, including a commercial for WeatherTech. However, she said having Christopher Storer’s award-winning drama shoot its “Dogs” episode at the house was a “great experience.”  

      A Chicago home that was used for filming season one of The Bear is up for sale.

      Positive Image/ Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty

      “They were there for three days,” Cowell said. “I really wasn’t supposed to be watching any of the filming, but by the third day, the crew was like, ‘Come here!’ and they let me watch.” She noted that all the furnishings (both inside and out) were used for the set, and if a buyer was interested in snapping those up too, there’s room for negotiation. 

      “I know buyers want to walk in my house and see some big, white Calacatta marble island and gray cabinets—the same thing everywhere you look,” Cowell told Mansion Global. “And that’s okay, because I also feel like the right person is going to come to my house because it’s unusual. It’s going to be somebody that appreciates that terrace and some of those French influences and all the fun things that are in there.” 

      The backyard was used to shoot the kid’s birthday party in The Bear’s “Dogs” episode.

      Positive Image/ Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty

      The almost 5,800-square-foot, five-bedroom house was originally built in the 1940s and has since undergone extensive renovations. Cowell and her husband purchased the pad back in 2000, and five years later, they gave the digs a massive revamp. Today, the main floor holds a formal living room with a fireplace, a dining room, and a kitchen that would have any cook saying, “Yes, chef.” Think a sprawling center island, double ovens, and heated flooring. Elsewhere, the family room is decked out with soaring vaulted ceilings, a Juliet balcony, and a built-in banquet. 

      Upstairs, the second level is where you’ll find four of the bedrooms, including the primary suite. The latter feels super luxe, with a walk-in closet and a private veranda that overlooks the English-style gardens designed by landscape architect Craig Bergmann. Of course, viewers will probably be most familiar with the backyard. Naturally, the grounds make for the perfect place to entertain à la Uncle Jimmy, with tons of antique brick patios, a fire pit, a grill, and a water fountain. 

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      While we don’t know quite yet what’s in store for The Bear season three, which returns to Hulu on June 27, the buyer could have the chance to host the Berzatto clan in the future. “Maybe the next owner would want them to come back,” Cowell added, “because I certainly would if that was me.” 

      Click here to see more photos of The Bear house. 

      Positive Image/ Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty

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      Abby Montanez

      Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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      Scottie Pippen Is Airbnb-ing His $2 Million Chicago Home During the Olympics—for $92 a Night

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      There won’t be any spectators in Tokyo for this year’s Olympics, so if you plan on watching, make sure it’s at a grand venue where you can really feel like you’re celebrating the moment. Thankfully, two-time gold medalist Scottie Pippen is opening up his Chicago home to fans through Airbnb, so you can watch the games at the home of a former Olympian.

      It’s a bit of a steal, too, as Pippen’s six-bedroom home is available for $92 a night—a nod to the year he and his teammates won at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Fans staying at the Chicago residence can rewatch that moment via archival footage in the movie theater before tuning in to the Tokyo games. Pippen will even virtually greet guests upon their arrival.

      The living room. 

      Airbnb

      It’s all part of a special, limited-edition package offered through Airbnb, with bookings going live at 1 pm EST on July 22. The experience also includes some take-home swag, as guests will be able to snag a few items from Team USA’s 2020 Medal Stand Collection with Nike so they’ll always remember the trip. Also included in the package is a selection of pre-game foods including fruits and veggies, steak and more.
      You’ll also be able to enjoy the spectacular 10,000-square-foot home, which has a basketball court with an image of Pippen’s old Chicago Bulls jersey emblazoned on the floor. Outside there’s a pool with a nearby TV, so you won’t miss any of the games while swimming laps. Other big-ticket amenities include an arcade room and indoor sauna.

      The basketball court. 

      Airbnb

      There are three one-night stays available at Pippen’s home, and they’re timed with the basketball competitions: August 2, August 4 and August 6. If you miss out and are still interested in the property, there’s a chance it will be back on the sale market sooner rather than later—Pippen has been shopping it for years now, and it was last listed for two million. His Florida home has also been on and off the market in recent years, with the NBA star even offering to throw in his 55′ VanDutch yacht in the mix to sweeten the deal.
      Check out more photos of his Chicago digs below:

      The movie theater. 

      Airbnb

      One of the bedrooms. 

      Airbnb

      The sauna. 

      Airbnb More