A massive six-bedroom, contemporary-style mansion on 26.2 acres in St. Charles that has had a succession of owners in recent years was listed in July for $2.99 million.
The 13,805-square-foot mansion was built in 1996 by Jon D. Butcher, the chief executive officer of Missouri-based cherub statuette maker Precious Moments, and his wife, Melissa. The couple built the mansion both as a home and for use as a corporate retreat for their various businesses.
The Butchers sold the mansion and the 26.2 acres in 2021 for $2.4 million to Charles T. Lee Jr., and they sold a separate and adjacent, 19-acre vacant parcel at the same time to Lee for $600,000. Lee sold the mansion and 26 acres to Milton Eason in 2022 for $2.5 million, and Lee also sold the 19-acre tract earlier this year to a homebuilder who plans to subdivide that land.
Now, Eason has placed the mansion and 26.2 acres for sale for almost $500,000 more than he paid for it.
The mansion has 8-1/2 bathrooms, a great room with a 25-foot ceiling, an indoor swimming pool with a spa area, a kitchen with a center island, an indoor garden atrium, a wine room, an office, a main-level theater room and conference and studio space. Outside on the property are gardens designed by Japanese landscape artist Hoichi Kuisu, a custom swimming pool with a waterfall, a one-mile manicured walking path with bridges, a meditation deck, fire pits, a tennis court and a gazebo.
Listing agent Carol Arechiga of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate told Elite Street that the mansion has “a very West Coast vibe in the suburbs of Chicago.”
“It’s a house like I’ve never seen before,” she said. “It sits on a beautiful piece of property, the wetlands are stunning and the grounds are beautiful. When it was built, they put in over $3 million of exterior landscaping. It’s just stunning — it had trees flown in from all over the world. It’s like a property that you’ll never see (elsewhere). I’m surprised a local celebrity hasn’t picked this up. It’s so private.”
Asked why Eason is selling the home one year after buying it, Arechiga said Eason and his family “decided they wanted to stay where they are,” which, she added, is a short distance away.
“They bought it under the assumption that they would move in and renovate it, but they decided they wanted to stay where they are,” she said.
The 26.2-acre property had a $66,397 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
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