Jennifer Pritzker Lists Historic Evanston B&B For $4.2 Million

EVANSTON, IL — Billionaire real estate investor Jennifer Pritzker last month listed a restored mansion that was turned into a boutique bed and breakfast less than five years ago. The 1899 Tudor is located on a lakefront corner lot on Church Street. An entity controlled by Pritzker's Tawani Enterprises has offered the property as a single-family home with an asking price of $4.2 million.

The three-story stucco house is located on a 0.29-acre lot with views of the lake and Dawes Park. The six-bedroom structure includes more than 3,700 square feet of aboveground living space and a lower level with separate living quarters and private access.

Formerly home to Ralph and Marguerite Church, Republican members of Congress who represented the area from 1935 to 1962, the house was most recently Stone Porch by the Lake, a luxury B&B operated by Tawani.

"Through generations, the house has served as a respite to families of nearby schools, a marvel of historic style and a classic comfort enhanced by lapping waves of a Great Lake," according to its now-inactive website.

The home has a wraparound front porch and a custom fireplace on the rear porch, offering "an abundance of al fresco entertaining options," according to its listing. Modern amenities like geothermal heating were added throughout the home during its restoration, when it was "updated to the nines," the listing said. The property also includes a detached one-bedroom coach house above its detached three-car garage.

"The most important part of Stone Porch is its connectedness to our city," said Jennifer Pritzker at a ceremonial 2014 ribbon cutting for the B&B. "The preservation of such an iconic home would be incomplete if it didn't stay true to its roots, and those roots are the Evanston community."

Read more:

• Jennifer Pritzker Puts 1920's Winnetka Mansion Back On Market
• Billionaire Real Estate Investor Sells Evanston House For $1.2 Million
• Stone Porch By The Lake Celebrates 2014 Grand Opening with Evanston Mayor Tisdahl, Jennifer Pritzker

Tawani announced last May it was restructuring its hospitality division and shifting its portfolio to more commercial and multi-family properties. It has since been unloading its Evanston properties ever since. In March, Pritzker sold an 1899 Victorian at 1629 Judson Avenue for $1.215 million. The sale of a 1914 Tudor Revival at 2437 Sheridan Road closed the following month. It had been listed for $1.6 million and sold for $1.3 million on April 10.

The firm said it would continue to run Lang House, a 1919 Prairie style mansion, and Emil Bach House, a 1915 Frank Lloyd Wright-design vacation and venue rental in the 7400 block of North Sheridan Road in Rogers Park.

Jennifer Pritzker, 69, is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, the founder of the Pritkzer Military Museum and Library and one of 11 billionaires in the Pritzker family and a cousin of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. She is estimated to be worth $1.9 billion and is the 1,227th richest person in the world, according to Forbes.

According to the Cook County Assessor's Office, the Church Street property's estimated 2018 market value for taxing purposes was $1.85 million. Its annual 2017 property tax bill was about $50,000. The home was first listed on April 2 for $4.2 million. Open houses have been scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

• Address: 300 Church St., Evanston
• Built: 1899
• Price: $4.2 million
• Square Feet: 3,717
• Bedrooms: 6
• Bathrooms: 6 full, 1 half

Listing information originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.