Developer Units Finally Sell Out at Ritz Carlton Residences On Michigan Ave
Posted by Leo Clark. on Friday, November 1st, 2019 at 3:38pm.
The Ritz-Carlton has set a record for the longest-ever sales period for downtown high-rise. Within the last few weeks, the last 2 of the 89 total condos in the luxury property were sold.
Going back to late 2018, there were only 4 units within the property that remained unsold. The final 2 condo units in a North Michigan Avenue high-rise sold recently making it 13 years since units in the building first went up for sale.
The final units that sold were A 38th-floor penthouse unit and a 34th-floor condo at the prestigious Ritz-Carlton Residences. According to records, this event marks the ending of the the longest-ever sales programs of a downtown condo building. The only one that rivals the Ritz is the Trump International Hotel & Towers, which took just over 11 years to completely sell out. A major difference between the 2 developments is that the Trump Towers had 486 units to sell, compared to only 89 at the Ritz-Carlton Residences. After a decade of stagnant sales, slashing prices was key to selling off the remaining condos. According to records, the penthouse that sold for around $2 million was being offered for $4.84 million back in 2013, which equates to $1,332 per sq. ft. Over the past few years the unit has dropped to $2.85 million, and later to $2.5 million or $688 per sq. ft.
The first decade of the Ritz's slow sales were near the height of a condo-building boom, but after the housing crash happened, it saw 31 buyers back out of their contract to purchase a unit within the Ritz-Carlton Residences. A couple legal battles may have also contributed to the initial slow sales. The Ritz developers were involved with two legal squabbles that both delayed construction and delivery. One was with the tower’s next-door neighbor, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, over use of an alley between the two sites. The 2nd battle was with the Terra Foundation for American Art, whose former site the Ritz now occupies. As it stands, the issues have been cleared up and 2019 will be end of the 13-year stretch of unsold units at the Ritz-Carlton.