This
post has been updated with news that the mansion failed to sell.
Basketball legend
Michael Jordan's longtime mansion outside Chicago, emblazoned with his Chicago
Bulls jersey number on the front gates, failed to sell at auction this
afternoon, the Associated
Press reported.
He's been trying to sell
the place for almost two years now. He first put it on the market in February
2012 for $29 million, then knocked $8 million off the price earlier this year.
Still there were no takers, so Concierge Auctions was
brought in.
A live auction
originally scheduled for Nov. 22 with no reserve -- that is, no minimum price
-- fell through at the last minute. "The interest has been even stronger
than we anticipated," Concierge Auctions President Laura Brady said at the
time. A number of qualified bidders had already registered, but others asked
for more time to visit the property, she said: "In the best interest of
our client, we agreed to extend the auction date in order to allow them to do
so."
Today's rescheduled
auction had a minimum bid of $13 million, but Jordan spokeswoman Estee Portnoy
told AP that no one offered that much.
brought in.
Today's rescheduled
auction had a minimum bid of $13 million, but Jordan spokeswoman Estee Portnoy
told AP that no one offered that much.
Jordan and his family
lived in the house for almost 20 years. He bought the land in 1991; in 1994, he
moved into the house he had built there. At the time, he was still married to
Juanita Jordan; they filed for divorce in late 2006 after 17 years of marriage.
"I have so many
amazing, happy memories of my life in the house. ... It's where my kids grew
up," Jordan said.
"It's where I lived during my championship years. ... But my kids are
grown now and I don't need a large house [in the Chicago area] anymore."
"Large house" is perhaps an understatement. The estate, called Legend
Point, has 56,000 square feet of living space on more than 7 acres of land.
Besides its nine bedrooms, 15 full bathrooms and four half-baths, it has,according to the Concierge Auctions
listing:
• "A card and cigar
room with a custom-built, walk-in humidor."
"I have so many
amazing, happy memories of my life in the house. ... It's where my kids grew
up," Jordan said.
"It's where I lived during my championship years. ... But my kids are
grown now and I don't need a large house [in the Chicago area] anymore."
"Large house" is perhaps an understatement. The estate, called Legend
Point, has 56,000 square feet of living space on more than 7 acres of land.
Besides its nine bedrooms, 15 full bathrooms and four half-baths, it has,according to the Concierge Auctions
listing:
• "A card and cigar
room with a custom-built, walk-in humidor."
• A "gentleman's
retreat" that you enter through the original Playboy Mansion doors from
Chicago. It's equipped with a "billiard parlor" as well as a bar, a
library and one of the estate's five fireplaces.
• "A fully equipped
in-house beauty salon. (Because that’s what she wants, that’s why.)" The
salon has a Sub-Zero under-cabinet refrigerator, the listing notes.
• "A
regulation-size, NBA-quality basketball court" -- of course -- with
adjacent locker rooms and a circular lounge with a "glass observation
overlook."
• A wine cellar that
holds more than 500 bottles, plus a "wine tasting room."
• A putting green and
tennis court.
• A "pool
pavilion" that connects the main residence with the guest wing. A
retractable canopy "can transform the enclosed room to an extraordinary
indoor/outdoor experience geared for entertaining."
The main residence has a
two-story circular living room, two dining rooms (one formal, one casual), a
two-story family room, and six bedrooms with en suite bathrooms -- including
the master suite, which has his-and-hers closets, a lounge, a steam shower and
a Jacuzzi tub, a microwave, a refrigerator, and more.
The guest wing has three
bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and built-ins, plus a gourmet kitchen.
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