Want To Own Your Own Wrigley Rooftop?

It's rooftop news day! Following the news that the Cubs and the rooftop owners have not been able to come to an agreement and could be headed to court, Danny Ecker has the details of a rooftop club available for sale, in Crain's Chicago Business:

Aidan Dunican, who operates Wrigley View Rooftop Inc. at 1050 W. Waveland Ave., confirmed he hired Conlon Commercial to seek a buyer. Listed without an asking price, the three-story building includes three leased apartments topped by a rooftop bar, mezzanine, bleachers and rooftop deck with room for 220 customers, according to Chicago-based Conlon Commercial.

It's the building on the left in the photo above. So, how much will this all cost you? Apartment investment sales broker Lee Kiser, principal at Chicago-based Kiser Group, has an answer:

The pricing of any rooftop building is difficult for traditional real estate investors to gauge, Mr. Kiser said.

“The value is determined much more by the concessions operations than the real estate,” he said.

The rooftop association's members paid the Cubs $3.5 million in 2011, meaning their total revenue for that season was just over $20 million. More current numbers were not available from a spokesman for the association, who declined to comment on the 1050 W. Waveland listing.

Maybe this is a chance for the Cubs or the Ricketts family to start buying up the rooftops themselves...

Despite the often-heated public battle, Mr. Ricketts will be approached as a potential buyer, said Marcus Cook, a managing director at Conlon Commercial.

“We'd certainly welcome an offer from the Ricketts family,” Mr. Cook said. “They're no strangers to real estate.”

A spokesman for Mr. Ricketts said he is not interested in owning the building and described talks with the rooftop owners as ongoing. He declined to comment further.

... or not. So, why is this happening?

Mr. Dunican, who has owned the property since the 1990s and built the current structure there in 2001, did not explain his timing or specify a target sale price. “It's a business decision. I just want to move on,” he said.

Bids will be accepted until March 14, Mr. Cook said.

“The seller is confident they'll reach an agreement with the Cubs that will have a positive impact on the value of the building,” Mr. Cook said.

So that's pretty much the scoop. You have almost two months to get a bid together. Go for it!