A seven-bedroom mansion on Lake Michigan in Winnetka sold Monday for $12.75 million — one of the highest sale prices for a Chicago-area home this year.
Located on Sheridan Road and set on a 1.72-acre parcel, the mansion had been the longtime home of the late James Challenger, who founded the outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Challenger died in 2019 at age 93, and his heirs were the sellers.
Built in 1905, the mansion had been listed for $16 million in mid-June, and it went under contract in July. Features include the main house, which the Cook County assessor measures at 5,362 square feet, a coach house that is currently rented month to month, and a greenhouse, all of which are in need of repair or renovation, according to listing information.
The property has more than 150 feet of frontage on the lake.
Public records do not identify the buyers, so it is not yet known if the new owners plan to maintain the property’s home or demolish it and build something new. Listing agent Annie Challenger, who is Challenger’s daughter, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The mansion had a $133,005 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year.
At least three Chicago-area homes — but just one house — have sold for higher prices since the start of 2022. Billionaire Justin Ishbia, who has been trying to assemble a large homesite on Sheridan Road in Winnetka and previously spent close to $24 million buying properties adjoining a lakefront park, reportedly paid $16 million in July for another home on Sheridan Road. Earlier this year, two condominiums in Chicago sold for $20 million and for $17.4 million.
Goldsborough is a freelance writer.
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