Mystery Buyer Demolishes $8.5 Million Glencoe Mansion

GLENCOE, IL — The owner of a 25-year-old North Shore lakefront mansion that was last year's most expensive suburban home sale has demolished it in order to erect what could become one of the largest homes in the Chicago area.

Building permits indicate the mysterious new owners intend to spent another $7.85 million to build a new 27,500-square-foot mansion on the site, reports Bob Goldsborough in Elite Street.

Private equity executive Avy Stein listed the property in 2015 for $15 million in July 2015. At the time it was the suburb's priciest listing — topping even Michael Jordan's still-unsold $14.85 million Highland Park estate. It eventually sold for $8.5 million in November 2016 to become the most expensive residential sale of the suburbs that year.

The current owners have made extensive efforts to try to hide their identity, according to Goldsborough. No record of the transaction was recorded on real estate listings for many weeks and the deed is not on record with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

» See recently sold homes in Glencoe from Realtor.com

Documents indicate the owner is a Delaware-based corporation based at the same address. The listed architect declined to comment to Elite Street about the project or his clients.

The broker who sold the home to current owner has not responded to a request for comment about the property.

There is more than 322 feet of lakefront with a private sandy beach. The 2.75 acre grounds includes a putting green and a bluestone deck featuring an in-ground pool.

The former home was built by Howard Holtzman in 1992. The 8,900-square-foot mansion had five bedrooms, six bathrooms, two powder rooms and an indoor basketball court — among other features.

• Address: 57 Maple Hill Rd, Glencoe, Illinois
• Sale price: $8.5 million
• Built: 1992

» See recently sold homes in Glencoe from Realtor.com

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