Former University of Chicago Chancellor Robert Zimmer and his wife buy Lincoln Park home for $3.3M

Former University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer and his wife, U. of C. classics professor Shadi Bartsch-Zimmer, on April 7 paid $3.3 million for a five-bedroom, 4,716-square-foot contemporary-style house in Lincoln Park.

Robert Zimmer, 75, was the university’s president from 2006 until 2021 and served as chancellor from 2021 until 2022. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2020, and he retired fully in 2022 to focus on his health needs, the university announced last July.

The couple have bought and sold several high-end properties over the past few years. In addition to the Lincoln Park house, they own a five-bedroom, 5,150-square-foot house in the North Side Buena Park neighborhood that they bought for $2.36 million in 2022. They also own a duplex condominium on the 37th and 38th floors of a River North condo tower that they have been trying to sell since July 2022. They first listed that duplex condo for $3.6 million, and currently are seeking $2.94 million for it.

In Lincoln Park, the couple’s new house was built in 2011 by Crescent Rock Builders and was designed by the Studio Dwell Architects firm. It has 3 ½ bathrooms, a multilevel living room, a stair atrium, a two-story front window, wide-plank walnut floors, a family room with a NanaWall glass door system that opens to the rear terrace, and a kitchen with Miele appliances and hand-polished lacquer cabinetry.

Other features include hydronic solar panels, a whole-home Savant automation system, a lower-level wine cellar, a lower-level guest suite, a third-floor private green roof terrace and a third-floor primary bedroom suite with a dressing room. The home’s roof deck has a custom stainless steel outdoor chef’s kitchen with a dumbwaiter that connects to the house’s main kitchen.

Margaret Baczkowski of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate represented the couple in their purchase, and also is their listing agent for the River North condo. She declined to comment on the purchase.

The Lincoln Park house had a $63,849 property tax bill in the 2021 tax year.

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