Wanna Buy a $500K Minneapolis Condo With the Largest Private Patio in Town?

If your homebuyer must-haves include a 15th-story, 2,300-square-foot wraparound stone patio with stunning 360-degree views of Minneapolis, your options are limited. In fact, to hear Coldwell Banker listing agent Gretchen Kuriger tell it, there's only one such option in town, and it hit the market earlier this year for $499,000.

"Iconic full-floor penthouse… offering unmatched privacy, dramatic architecture, and 360-degree skyline views," exclaims the listing for the one-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,580-square-foot condo. "This home is believed to feature the largest private rooftop terrace in all of Minneapolis."

The sipping-a-cold-one-while-nodding-contentedly potential up on that sick patio? Sky high.

Among the eye-popping amenities included at 2929 Chicago Ave. #1500: original exposed brick, 14-foot ceilings, towering windows, heated bathroom floors, private 12th story elevator access, clear liquid fireplace (struggling to determine what/where this is...), in-unit laundry, two underground parking spots with EV charging, and a basement storage unit. Plus you get all the communal complex stuff like 24-7 security, yet another rooftop patio, a gym, a TV room, and bike storage.

"It's an amazing place; it's a castle in the sky," says Kuriger, who actually lives in the building. "It's just so special and unique."

Friend of Racket Mike Norton can speak to the views...

What's the catch? Why could you, the median Racket member, afford such a posh penthouse?

Well, for starters, it's not in a neighborhood that rivals the price tags you see around the Chain of Lakes. Plus there's just the one bedroom. And there's the more pressing issue of your not being able to afford it, actually: The $1,133 per month HOA fee will likely see to that. The place last sold for $515,000 in 2021, according to county records.

Kuriger reports that prospective buyer interest is through the (very tall) roof.

"We're expecting an offer any day, which I hate to say because that's the kiss of death," she laughs. "We could hardly fit everyone in the elevator during last weekend's open house. And over the past day interest has exploded, especially with the media."

Any Minneapolitan worth their salt knows the National Register of Historic Places-registered Midtown Exchange building operated as a Sears retail/distribution hub from 1928 until 1994, when Sears hauled ass to the new Mall of America in Bloomington. (My dad remarks often about the snowblower he once purchased at the Midtown location.) After a decade of vacancy, Minneapolis-based firms Ryan Companies and Sherman Associates restored the 1.1-million-square-foot Art Moderne stunner into a mixed-use development with around 300 residential units. As for the adjoining Midtown Global Market, which opened in 2006? It just added a new slice shop.

Enjoy the following photo tour of #1500, courtesy of Coldwell Banker Realty and LaTour Photography: