Lake Bluff Mansion Cuts Ask to $13M

A 12-acre estate in Lake Bluff has chopped another $1 million off its price, one of a series of cuts the seller has made in hopes of closing a deal during its years of dancing between on and off the market.

The 10,000-square-foot home has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms and was built in 1994. The Italianate-style property is now asking $13 million and includes a tennis court, a pool and even its own vineyard. The estate also includes a rare 700 feet of private beach on Lake Michigan.

It was last listed in June of last year for $14 million.

James Zenni, president and CEO of Z Capital Management, and his wife, Lisa previously owned the home. The couple has been divorced for several years and Lisa Zenni is selling the home. She originally listed the mansion at $19.5 million in 2018, making it the third-priciest residential listing in the Chicago area at the time and the recent price cut a 33 percent decrease from the initial ask.

Andra O’Neill with @properties Christie’s International Real Estate is now representing the property and declined to comment. Houda Chedid, with Coldwell Banker Realty, previously represented the seller. O’Neill also had the listing when it hit the market in 2018.

Various price cuts since then have brought the ask down to $13.9 million in July 2021. The home was reportedly under contract in early April 2022, before it was relisted later that month — indicating that the home likely had a buyer that pulled out of the deal.

The home is the only property for sale over $4 million in the Lake Bluff suburb. Should it sell at its current listing price, it would be a recent record. Last year, only two homes in the area sold for over $7 million.

The home is one of several on Chicago’s North Shore to take a major price cut in recent weeks, as a slowing market and a dearth of comparable homes make pricing a challenge.

Last week, a home at 325 Shoreline Court in Glencoe cut its price by $1 million after sitting on the market since November. Originally seeking just under $8 million, the home is now asking $7 million, a 13 percent decrease.

Another Glencoe mansion on Lake Michigan is also back on the market after a 14 percent price chop took it down to $12 million, one of several homes in the North Shore suburb seeking eight figures.

The home at 595 Longwood Avenue was previously marketed on an agents-only network for $13.8 million in September. The property, which was recently renovated, came back on the market this month at just under $12 million.

Laura Rubin Dresner, a broker with Baird & Warner, is now representing the sellers, David Kalt and his wife, Susan, who paid $5.95 million for the house in 2005. They previously listed the home with Gloria Matlin of Compass.