Motorola founder’s heir Will Galvin sold Winnetka mansion for $5M

Deal closed for $2M less than listing price when it hit market last March

Motorola Heir Will Galvin Sells Winnetka Mansion For $5M
Motorola co-founder Paul Gavlin and 35 Indian Hill Road (Motorola Solutions Archives, VHT Studios)

Will Galvin, great grandson of Motorola co-founder Paul Gavlin, has sold his Winnetka mansion for nearly $2 million less than its listing price when it first hit the market last year.

Buyers, who have not been publicly identified, paid $5.1 million for the seven-bedroom, 9,700-square-foot home at 35 Indian Hill Road in the north Chicago suburb, Crain’s reported. Karen Stroble and Nancy Nugent of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty represented Galvin and his wife Steffi, while Nugent and Linda Levin, also of Jameson, represented the buyers.

The couple first listed their home for just shy of $7 million in March 2022 and later lowered the price to $6.6 million before yanking it off the market. They relisted the 2.3-acre estate for $5.5 million in May, and the final sale price was a little more than the $4.9 million they paid for the site in 2017.

The transaction likely equated to a loss or a slim profit at best for the Galvins, as they performed a number of renovations over the years, including upgrades to the kitchen, baths and utilities, along with replacing the roof and gutters.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The deal marked the 27th Chicago-area sale to exceed $5 million this year, the outlet reported. The two priciest deals both happened in Winnetka — a 12,000-square-foot mansion at 691 Sheridan Road that traded for $12.5 million, and a 10,000-square-foot house at 445 Sheridan Road that sold for $12.3 million.

The Indian Hill Road mansion, built in 1927, is a Tudor-style design with a steep slate roof and half-timbering on the exterior. It features large formal rooms, antique oak and pine paneling in the living room and library and large windows offering picturesque views of trees and a pond.

The Galvin family has a long history in the area, with Will’s parents, Cindy and former Motorola CEO Chris, owning the house next door since at least 1992. Will Galvin, who manages a family investment firm, disclosed in May that he and his wife were relocating to the Carolinas to be closer to her family. 

— Quinn Donoghue 

Read more