Lakefront Winnetka Mansion Hits Market at $11.8M

Winnetka’s next eight-figure home sale may be on the horizon, while possibly raising the bar for Chicaoland’s luxury housing market this year.

The six-bedroom, 12,700-square-foot mansion at 139 Sheridan Road hit the market at just under $11.8 million, about $925 per square foot, the Chicago Tribune reported. Jena Radnay of @properties is the listing agent.

The owner, a retired airline executive whose identity is shielded by an LLC, bought the 0.75-acre property for $4 million in 2018 before building the lakefront mansion, which was completed in 2021.

Even if it sells for considerably less than the asking price, it would become the most-expensive residential transaction in the Chicago area this year, topping a $9.3 million condo sale in Chicago’s Gold Coast.

Most super high-end homes have undergone at least one price chop before landing buyers. The Gold Coast condo, for example, was priced at $13.9 million when it hit the market in March 2023. The most-recent Lincoln Park residence to sell for eight figures, a year ago, required a $1.9 million price cut, from $12.5 million to $10.6 million.

The Sheridan Road estate, designed by architecture firm Morgante Wilson, features six full bathrooms, a screened-in patio, a fireplace in the living room and a large balcony on the third floor. The second-floor terrace steps down to a private beach.

Winnetka is one of the driving forces behind Chicaoland’s luxury housing. The ritzy north suburb was home to the metro’s two priciest home sale of 2023 — a 12,000-square-foot mansion that traded for $12.5 million and a 10,000-square-foot house that sold for $12.25 million. Those transactions equated to $1,041 and $1,225 per square foot, respectively.

The $12.25 million home’s buyers, Shiraz and Vijay Kotte, want to tear it down due to renovation challenges, including concerns about the home’s foundation and repair costs. The threat of demolition comes amid broader efforts by Winnetka officials to address the proliferation of teardowns and safeguard the village’s architectural legacy.

—Quinn Donoghue