Two Lakefront Mansions Sell 10 Days Apart In Kenilworth

KENILWORTH, IL — A pair of lakefront mansions on Sheridan Road in Kenilworth changed hands over the course 10 days last month. While both houses were built in the 1950s and each sits on about a half-acre of Lake Michigan shoreline, one sold for twice as much as the other.

The first of the two sales to close was also the village's most expensive sale in years. On Aug. 19, a five-bedroom, 8,200-square-foot property was sold for $7.5 million.

Built in 1953, the home was extensively renovated in 2016 by its sellers, Elsa and Craig Donohue, the executive chairman of the Options Clearing Corporation, after they purchased it for under $3.67 million in November 2015, according to its listing.

The home got a new stone exterior, new plumbing, electrical system, water heaters, heating and air conditioning, radiant heating and home automation system, its listing said.

The design includes two master suites, one on the first floor and another on the second floor with vaulted ceilings and a view of the lake.

A lower level includes a exercise room, living area with a fireplace, full bathroom, and a wine cellar with room for 2,500 bottles.

Outside the property a stone loggia with motorized screens, tiered stonewalls and patios and a 100-foot wide sandy beach that appears to have survived record-high levels in recent years.

According to the Cook County Assessor's Office, the home's estimated market value is nearly $4.49 million. Its annual property tax bill last year was nearly $112,500.

Of publicly listed sales, the transaction was the most expensive in the village since a $9.7 million purchase in 2008 of a lakefront house that would later be demolished, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

Nine days later, and about a half-mile south on Sheridan Road, another lakefront home sold in Kenilworth.

Built in 1955, the four-bedroom, 7,000-square-foot home also includes 100 feet of lakefront.

Although images show it lacks a sandy beach, the home does include a pool, a deck overlooking the lake and steps down to a boathouse.

The Ranch-style design includes a formal living room, floor-to-ceiling windows, three fireplaces and a first-floor master suite.

The three-car attached garage sits below a spare room that could be upgraded to a guesthouse or workspace, according to its listing.

Records show the property was last sold for $2.375 million in 1988 to Diane and William McIntosh, a longtime managing director of Salomon Smith Barney.

It was first publicly listed on Jun 14 for $3.9 million and and offer was accepted within two weeks.

According to the Cook County Assessor's Office, the property's estimated market value is about $3.5 million. Its annual property tax bill was about $90,000 last year.

In the past three years, Kenilworth's most expensive residential home transcation had been the $5.85 million purchase in August 2018 by the Birov family of homebuilders of a Sheridan Road home. That home, the Barbara B. Dyson House, had been built in 2008 by the award-winning architectural firm Nagle Hartrey.

That home was briefly listed for sale asking for more than $9 million before being demolished and replaced with a new home that was then listed for sale for $13.75 million before being taken off the market.

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