Michael Jordan signs contract to sell his villa in Highland Park

Long-retired Chicago Bulls basketball star and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan has finally signed a contract to sell his massive 8.4-acre Highland Park mansion, which has been on the market for more than twelve years and is currently being asked for $14.855 million.

Whether the deal goes through — and at what price — remains to be seen, as does who the buyer will be. But the contemporary-style mansion, which Jordan had custom-built in the 1990s with his then-wife Juanita Vanoy Jordan, has been sitting at its current price for more than nine years. From 2012 to 2013, Jordan asked $29 million for it before reducing the asking price to $21 million in early 2013 and then to $16 million in late 2013. In late 2013, he tried an auction with a reserve price of $13 million, but it was unsuccessful, showing that no buyer anywhere was willing to pay $13 million for it.

Jordan's final price cut in 2015 to $14.855 million was a chosen number, his broker said, because the sum of the digits would equal his jersey number of 23 during his playing career.

Broker Katherine Malkin did not respond to a request for comment on the news, which was first reported by Crain's Chicago Business. However, she told Elite Street in 2022 that “we actually have quite a bit of (buyer) interest in it right now.” Although no deal materialized in 2022 or 2023, His Airness now appears to have a buyer signed, at least provisionally.

Built in 1995, the mansion has 15 bathrooms, four powder rooms, a full-size basketball gym, a circular infinity pool and a cigar room. The size of the house is questionable – Malkin lists it at 5,200 square feet, while the Lake County assessor estimates its size at 3,150 square feet. It borders a nature preserve.

In any case, the buyer will likely have to pay a hefty property tax. Lake County records show that the estate had to pay $137,208 in property taxes in tax year 2023.

In addition, the Lake County assessor estimates the value of Jordan's property at $4.94 million.

From a practical perspective, this means that a buyer who pays, for example, $10 million for the property will have to expect to pay double the current annual property tax.

Jordan owns a five-bedroom, 9,000-square-foot mansion in Jupiter, Florida, which he bought for $17 million in March. He also owns a 25,000-square-foot mansion in Jupiter, which he bought for $5.3 million in 2015. And Jordan paid $3.148 million in 2010 for two penthouse apartments on the top floor of a downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, apartment building. He also owns a six-bedroom, 12,000-square-foot mansion in Cornelius, North Carolina, which he bought for $2.8 million in 2013.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

Originally published: September 16, 2024 at 19:02