Pair Of Grunsfeld Designs Are Highland Park's Priciest Of 2019

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — A modernist Tony Grunsfeld design a block from Lake Michigan sold for 22 percent below its original list price, but it is still Highland Park's second priciest home sale of the year to date.

Built in 1996 on a 0.86-acre lot on Prospect Avenue, the four-bedroom, 6,750-square-foot house was first listed in April 2018 with an asking price just shy of $3 million. It was sold in September for under $2.34 million, records show.

The two-story design includes a master suite with a fireplace, a dressing area and a master bath with radiant heating and an oversized walk-in shower on the main floor. There are three other bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor, according to the home's listing.

The the main level has 14-foot ceilings with a curved wall of windows — a Grunsfeld signature — overlooking a landscaped wildflower meadow with a firepit and a play area. Last sold eight years ago for under $1.6 million, the home had been "burnished to spectacular perfection" by the sellers, who included an interior designer, according to realtor Julie Deutsch's listing.

Ernest "Tony" Grunsfeld III built more than 130 single-family homes in the Chicago suburbs, including dozens of lakefront designs. In 1965, he took over an architectural firm founded by a former partner of his father, Ernest Grunsfeld Jr., who designed the Adler Planetarium. The younger Grunsfeld died in 2011, and his firm has continued under the leadership of his longtime partner Thomas Shafer.

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The Sept. 16 sale had the second-highest price at closing in Highland Park so far this year, according to MLS records, and both of the city's most expensive sales of single-family homes this year have been of homes designed by Grunsfeld.

The family of Irwin Grossinger, who grew a local Pontiac dealership into the largest U.S. car dealership to be sold to a foreign firm, sold their late parents' 1982-built stone lakefront ranch house on Oakdale Road for $4.7 million in April.

So far in 2019, the most expensive homes sold in the Chicago suburbs have both been in Glencoe. A blufftop Tony Grunsfeld design at 325 Shoreline Court sold in April for $5.15 million.

And in July, the 2012-built house at 77 Wentworth Avenue sold for nearly $9.7 million in the priciest suburban home sale of the year. The off-market transaction was first reported by Crain's Chicago business.

Last sold in 2011 for under $1.6 million, the Prospect Avenue home features a partially finished 2,100-square-foot lower level with a rec room and art and performance areas, its listing said last year. It has an unfinished attic, a two-car attached, heated garage and three fireplaces.

According to property records, a trust in the name of Liz Copeland, purchased the home from a trust established in the name of Robert Lund that lists as its address a nearby Hazel Lane home.

The Lake County assessor's office estimated the 2019 market value of the property to be $1.63 million for taxing purposes. Its annual property tax bill was more than $41,000 this year.

• Address: 103 Prospect Ave., Highland Park, Illinois
• Built: 1996
• Lot Size: 0.86 acres
• Square Feet: 6,752
• Bedrooms: 4
• Bathrooms: 3 full, 2 half
• Last Sold: $1,575,000 in November 2011
• First Listed: $2,995,000 in April 2018
• Sale Price: $2,337,500 in September 2019

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