A full-floor penthouse at 189 East Lake Shore Drive just changed hands for $5.2 million, roughly $5 million less than a trust paid for the same spread back in 2015. Brokers and local reports tie the steep drop to lost roof rights and shuffled garage allocations, not a collapse in trophy-condo demand. Even at the marked-down price, the deal still ranks among the priciest condo trades on East Lake Shore Drive this decade.
What the papers and listings show
According to The Real Deal, which cited Crain's reporting, a trust benefiting Barbara Bluhm-Kaul paid about $10.37 million for the full-floor residence in 2015, then sold it this month for $5.2 million without the rooftop rights and with fewer garage spaces. The outlet quotes buyer's agent Mera Kordic saying the whack in price reflects both the missing rooftop amenity and the fact that the sellers paid peak pricing in 2015. The Real Deal also reports that the new owners are not planning dramatic gut work and instead may focus on updating kitchens and baths.
Sale and listing details
MLS and listing data distributed by Redfin show that unit PH-18 spans about 7,462 square feet, carries monthly HOA dues around $9,044, and closed on July 16 at $5.2 million, which works out to roughly $697 per square foot. The Redfin listing credits local @properties and RE/MAX agents on the transaction and notes that parking is listed with the unit, a point that earlier coverage described differently. That gap, between the amenities advertised on paper and the rights that actually convey at closing, sits at the heart of why sources say the price slid so far.
Roof rights changed the math
Rooftop access has been a key bargaining chip at this address before. In 2015, the Chicago Tribune reported that a buyer paid up specifically to assemble a portion of the building's rooftop patio. At the time, Don Kaul summed up the strategy this way: "You got it exactly right. It's a package and it's the part of the package that you want." Property history on Compass shows the unit trading for about $10.375 million in September 2015, when rooftop rights were part of that package.
What it means for buyers and sellers
When high-end buyers unwind or lose the extras that earlier owners paid to stitch together, such as rooftop patios, designated garage stalls, or other exclusive-use perks, prices can reset fast, particularly in downtown trophy buildings. Recent coverage of Chicago luxury sales has chronicled repeated price trims on large units and a clear preference among many buyers for ready-made amenity bundles instead of puzzles that require reassembling rights or chasing down parking. In that context, brokers frame this East Lake Shore Drive sale as a textbook case of amenity-driven value correction at the top of the market.
The new owners reportedly plan only modest tweaks, which suggests they were buying the footprint, the views, and the existing outdoor terraces more than a fully assembled amenity play. For would-be sellers, the message is blunt: on Lake Shore Drive, square footage alone no longer guarantees peak pricing, and the specific rights that travel with a unit can be just as valuable as the walls themselves.
