Last week Bridgeport developer Anthony DeGrazia was in the news when the Sun-Times revealed he was one of the partners in Ald. Ed Burke's controversial new home.
Now DeGrazia is back as the developer of three million-dollar properties featured in Chicago magazine's "Sale of the Week."
"Just a block and a half from U.S. Cellular Field, this 13-room, 5,000-square-foot house sits on a lot that is 50 feet wide and 141 feet deep (a standard single lot is 25 feet by 125 feet)," real estate journalist Dennis Rodkin writes. "The house has five bedrooms, four-plus baths, two full kitchens, and, according to the listing sheet, a pool with a water slide. An in-ground pool is not unheard of in Bridgeport; in fact, there is one a few years older several doors down from this one. But it is rare to find a Chicago builder with three houses all built speculatively with backyard pools - and all on doublewide lots."
According to Vision Group Realty & Marketing, a DeGrazia home formerly priced at $1.5 million can now be yours "as is" for $989,000 - from the Bank of America.
"Huge Reduction, owner says sell!" the listing says. "Suburban elegance in the city ... Home features in-ground pool with waterfall, custom home movie theatre room, gourmet kitchen."
The listing does not say if clout is included.
DeGrazia also once built a home for Ald. James Balcer.
Local
His aunt works for Ald. Tom Allen. She used to work for Ald. Tom Huels.
The listing does not say if zoning favors are included.
According to the website of Riverside Homes, "Anthony DeGrazia is representative of the new generation of young developers whose vision and aspiration are transforming Bridgeport into one of the city's hottest neighborhoods."
Young developer, old ties.
"DeGrazia also sold land a few blocks north of Sox Park to Michael A. Tadin, a former business partner of Fred Barbara," the Sun-Times reported in 2006.
Barbara is a pal of Mayor Daley's and a member of the extended Roti family, whose most well-known figure was Fred, the mobbed-up First Ward alderman.
So you're not just buying a house, you're buying a piece of Chicago history.
Steve Rhodes is the proprietor of The Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric news and culture review.
