Developer Fred Latsko sells Gold Coast mansion for $1.9M

Developer Fred Latsko sold a six-bedroom, 6,300-square-foot Gold Coast mansion on Astor Street for $1.9 million.

Latsko has owned numerous residential properties in Chicago over the years, the most notable of which is the landmarked, 9,768-square-foot Francis J. Dewes mansion in Lincoln Park.

Through a land trust, Latsko in 2016 paid $1.6 million for the Astor Street mansion, which was built in 1887 and sits on a 71-foot-wide lot. The mansion was the residence of the French consul in Chicago in the 1960s.

In a brief interview, Latsko noted that he and his family never had inhabited the Astor Street home, although he pointed out that his children “did use it as their Halloween house for the years we had it.” Latsko said he bought it with an eye toward eventually downsizing. However, he added that now if he does end up downsizing and leaving the Dewes mansion, he and his family have another option in a different Gold Coast house he continues to own, several blocks to the north.

The three-story mansion that Latsko just sold has five fireplaces, 4 ½ bathrooms, a full basement, large rooms and numerous architectural details, such as an intricate stairway banister and vintage wooden fireplace mantels.

Latsko had been trying to sell the mansion since 2018. He first listed it that year for $2.9 million and cut his asking price in 2019 to $2.25 million. He then reduced his price in September 2021 to $2 million.

Public records do not yet identify the buyer of the Astor Street mansion.

The mansion had a $44,945 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

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