Jan. 13--University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Dean Daniel Diermeier and his wife, U. of C. lecturer Ariela Lazar, have paid $3.75 million in recent months for two houses on the same block in Hyde Park.
However, in a series of transactions, the couple first bought one house and then struck a deal with another couple to upgrade. As part of that upgrade, Diermeier and Lazar bought a larger and more expensive house across the street and also sold the first, lower-priced house to the same couple from whom they had bought the more expensive one.
In August, Diermeier and Lazar paid $1.6 million to buy a vintage Hyde Park house that had not been put on the market by its owner, a psychiatrist. As a result, little information is available about that home's features.
Then, in early December, Diermeier and Lazar paid $2.15 million for a five-bedroom, 4,700-square-foot brick house across the street that an investment banker and his wife had listed for $2.65 million. Built in 1908, the upgraded and restored home has 5 1/2 baths, a fully renovated basement and a recent addition with a first-floor family room and a second-floor roof deck with a full kitchen.
At the same time in early December, Diermeier and Lazar sold the first house for $1.7 million -- or $100,000 more than their August purchase price -- to the same couple from whom they had bought the larger house across the street.
Diermeier declined to respond to requests for comment about the purchases. Robert Silverman of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff, who represented Diermeier and Lazar in the higher-priced purchase, declined to comment on the deals.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
