R. Kelly's Olympia Fields Mansion Goes on Market for a Song

By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 13, 2011 5:20PM

The last time we checked in on New Jack Swing King and noted water sports enthusiast R. Kelly, he was a glorified squatter in his Olympia Fields "chocolate factory."

That mansion is now on the market in a short sale for the cool asking price of $1.595 million. Kells built the mansion in 1997, back when Michael Jordan made him believe he could fly, and the home is at the center of a $2.9 million foreclosure lawsuit. "The Greatest" has not made mortgage payments for over a year in an attempt to get his lender to renegotiate the loan. Which seems like backwards logic to us: we know the housing market is circling the tidy bowl these days but isn't paying your mortgage the best way to get your lender to renegotiate the terms?

Among the amenities featured in the listing are eight full baths; six half baths; four fireplaces; an indoor pool; an indoor pool and theater room—we'll bite our tongue—;six acres of private wooded land with a man-made lake; and 12 foot wrought iron and concrete encased fencing. Century 21 real estate agent James Mattz, who is listing the property, told the Tribune, "Whoever buys it at the price we're marketing it at is going to get an incredible value." Seeing as it's a short sale, we're inclined to agree.

Mattz's listing for Kelly's property also reads that the sale must be completed with must be certified funds.