Lake Forest Mansions Sell Last Month For Less Than Decades Ago

LAKE FOREST, IL — Two multi-million-dollar, single-level gated Lake Forest estates purchased last month changed hands for approximately half of their previous inflation-adjusted sale prices. A 5.6-acre estate a block from downtown went for a lower price than it did more than three decades ago. A few blocks south in the Green Bay Road Historic District, a 1968 design by an influential modernist architect was purchased for nearly $1.5 million less than its 2005 sales price, according to property records.

30 East Deerpath: Featuring a seven-room coach house designed by David Adler, the 5.6-acre estate at the corner of Deerpath and Green Bay roads had last sold in 1988 for $2.9 million before being listed in January for $4 million on behalf of the trust of the late Betty Rich. Its 8,000-square-foot French Provincial-style main house was built in 1953 on a raised platform overlooking a pool, terraced garden, lawns and small pond.

The property also includes an attached pool house, an attached two car-garage and a detached three-car garage with a workshop and generator, according to its listing. The property's estimated 2018 market value is $3,731,679, according to the Lake County Assessor's Office. Its most recent annual property tax bill was nearly $66,000.

On Aug. 21, it sold for under $2.75 million to Janet and Matt Nagel, the owners of the 9,990-square-foot contemporary home immediately north, according to property records. While its closing price last month was less than $200,000 below its sales price from 31 years ago, that marks a decline of 45 percent when adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index.

Earlier: Deerpath Road Mansion On Market For First Time In Decades

• Address: 30 E. Deerpath Road, Lake Forest
• Sale Price: $2,747,500 in August 2019
• Square Feet: 7,962
• Lot Size: 5.57
• Bedrooms: 5
• Bathrooms: 4 full, 2 half
• Built: 1953
• Last Sold: $2.9 million in September 1988
• First Listed: $4 million in January 2019

480 North Green Bay: Just a few houses south along Green Bay Road, a 6,000-square-foot, a 50-year-old design on 1.5 acres by modernist architect Ike Colburn was sold for the first time in 15 years. Colburn, who died in 1992, built more than half a dozen homes in Lake Forest. The most infamous was his own — the so-called "Swiss Cheese House" — which saw its towers dismantled in 1973 before being demolished in 2005.

Colburn's sometimes controversial architectural style blended mid-20th century modernism with traditional forms. He believed architecture should express "grace, glory and aspirations" and incorporated varying influences with a modern identity, according to a previous of a talk with Jay Pridmore, the author of "I.W. Colburn: Emotion in Modern Architecture."

Filled with skylights and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, the four-bedroom Green Bay Road home Colburn designed in 1968 was renovated in 1980, according to its listing. Records show it last sold in 2005 for $3.45 million to Lori Flint. Its architecturally significant and iconic design has been "meticulously preserved and expertly updated," according to its listing.

The home has been on and off the market since 2015 when Flint and her husband, Tom, sought to downsize within the area and listed it for $3 million. A previous owner's renovation had converted an interior garden to a dining room, added a rear room and vastly expanded the kitchen, according to Chicago Magazine at the time.

On Aug. 28, the property was purchased for $2.025 million by Arthur and Lorilee Bielski, records show, more than $1.4 million under its most recent price tag. When adjusted for inflation, that is more more than 55 percent below its last sales price. The property's most recent annual property tax bill was nearly $35,000. Its 2018 market value was just short of $2 million, according to the Lake County Assessor's Office.

• Address: 480 N. Green Bay Road, Lake Forest
• Sale Price: $2,025,000 in August 2019
• Square Feet: 5,964
• Lot Size: 1.5 acres
• Bedrooms: 4
• Bathrooms: 5 full, 1 half
• Built: 1968
• Last Sold: $3.45 million in June 2005
• First Listed: $5.8 million in May 2008