Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business Dean Michael Behnam and his wife, Astrid, in August paid $1.66 million for a four-bedroom, 5,300-square-foot contemporary-style house in Bucktown.
Behnam became the dean of Loyola’s business school after serving as a faculty member and administrator at Suffolk University’s business school in Boston.
In Bucktown, the house that the Behnams bought was constructed in 2008. Features include four bathrooms, an open floor plan, 10-foot ceilings, a two-story dining room, and a kitchen designed by Scavolini that has custom cabinetry, large crystalline slab countertops, a wine refrigerator and commercial-grade Liebherr, Miele and Wolf appliances.
Other features include two large, 21-foot-long bedrooms on the second floor and a primary bedroom suite that has an 18-foot-long walk-in closet. The lower level has radiant heated flooring, two large bedrooms and a bathroom with a sauna, while on the third floor are a glass treetop office and a roof deck that has a pergola, an outdoor TV and a water line.
Leslie Gleason of Coldwell Banker, who represented the Behnams, told Elite Street that when her clients began preparing to move to Chicago, “they started focusing in on Bucktown just because of the vibrancy of the neighborhood, the energy of the neighborhood and obviously the close proximity to many dining options, shopping and (being) very close for his commute.”
As for the house they selected, Gleason said, the Behnams “were really seeking something out that is unique, which this house definitely is.”
“It’s very modern, with an open floor plan, walls of windows, and a corner lot, and it’s a little bit of a wider home,” Gleason said. “The corner lot was definitely a draw. It just has very clean lines and is very architecturally striking. The combination of all of those things is what attracted them to that specific house.”
The house had a $25,505 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
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