Chewing-gum heir William Wrigley Jr. has recently concluded a substantial real estate deal, selling two neighboring Aspen properties for a combined price of nearly $31 million, according to one of the real-estate agents involved.
That’s far less than the nearly $54 million Wrigley was asking for the Aspen properties in 2022, according to Zillow.
Riley Warwick of Douglas Elliman, who represented the buyer, declined to name his client but said the purchaser is getting a “great deal” on the Aspen properties. “He is stealing them,” Warwick quipped.
Warwick said the reduced price isn’t reflective of the overall Aspen market, but rather his buyer’s timing on this particular deal. “The seller was ready to move on,” he said. Wrigley couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The first of the two Aspen parcels, spanning about an acre in the lower Red Mountain area, includes a seven-bedroom, roughly 6,300-square-foot chalet, according to the local multiple listings service. Built in the 1960s, the home has a deck with a hot tub. The second, adjacent Aspen parcel comprises nearly another full acre of undeveloped land.
Records show Wrigley bought the Aspen house for $10 million in 2011 and the vacant Aspen parcel in 2009 for $11.53 million.
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The deal represents a further reduction in Wrigley’s holdings in the affluent ski destination; last year, he sold an Aspen mansion for $30 million. It wasn’t clear if Wrigley has any remaining properties in the Aspen area. Property records show he also owns a large estate in North Palm Beach, Fla.
Wrigley is the former chief executive of the Wrigley Company, the chewing-gum company founded by his great-grandfather and sold to Mars for $23 billion in 2008. More recently, he was the chief executive of the marijuana company Parallel. The Wrigley family is known for its taste in real estate, having owned a series of high-end homes across the country.
Steven Shane of Compass represented the seller.
Aspen sales have slowed from the market’s peak last year, but prices remain strong as a result of low inventory, local agents said. In the first quarter of the year, sales volume dropped by 31% and the average home sale price fell 3% from the same period last year, according to data from Compass. Last year saw a string of major deals, including the $69 million sale of Silver Lining Ranch.