New Owners Of Landmark Glencoe Home Seek Demolition Permit

GLENCOE, IL — The unidentified new owners of a mid-century modern Glencoe home designed an honorary village landmark applied for a demolition permit for the home almost immediately after purchasing it.

The seven-bedroom home was designed by prominent local modernist architect Ed Dart, who designed Water Tower Place in Chicago, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at Northwestern University and a few dozen private homes on the North Shore before his death in 1975 at age 53.

Arranged in a semi-circular shape, the architecturally significant 2-story all-brick home, may appear closed off from the street but it opens up in the rear to face a spacious backyard on its 1.04 acre lot. Its listing described it as a "one-of-a-kind mid-century masterpiece."

The home was recently sold for the first time since 1976 by Betty and Leo Melamed, the chairman emeritus of the CME Group and a pioneer in electronic and futures trading. They first listed the house in 2012 for nearly $3.5 million. Following several price reductions, it sold Aug. 9 for $1.7 million.

Crain's Chicago Business reported the purchase was made through a land trust, and one of the Glencoe residents identified as contacts for the property owner on the demolition permit denied that demolition was a sure thing. The agent who represented the buyers told Crain's they were "looking at their options" before hanging up.

Honorary landmarks in Glencoe are not protected from demolition, but approval of demolition permits are automatically delayed for 180 days. According to the village, the earliest date a permit could be issued is Feb. 15, and no plans have yet been submitted.

"From an architectural point of view, you don’t normally see a house like this. Some of the neighbors are buildings new castles, but they’re all the same," Mr. Melamed, the home's former owner, told Curbed Chicago in 2016. "The ideal owner would not only recognize the value of the architecture, but also live in the space — raise a bunch of children, throw big parties."

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2013 video tour of 350 Sunrise Circle from Dennis Rodkin: