Lake Forest mansion listed for $15M, ranking it near top of the market

Former manufacturing and real estate executive Barry Carroll and his wife, Barbara, are listing their Lake Forest mansion for $15 million, the third-highest asking price for an existing home in the Chicago area.

The Wyldwoode estate at 55 North Mayflower Road was originally owned by Clyde Carr, the president of Ryerson Steel, and his wife, Lillian, according to Crain’s.

Interior of Wyldwoode Estate (Credit: VHT Studios)

Carroll, now an investor, and his wife bought the home in 1987, though property records did not indicate how much they paid for it.

The only other existing homes listed for more in the Chicago area are a mansion on Burling Street in Lincoln Park asking $50 million and a Gold Coast home asking $22 million.

The 13,000-square-foot Wyldwoode sits on nine acres overlooking Lake Michigan and is listed by Houda Chedid.

Front view (Credit: VHT Studios)

New York architect Harrie Lindeberg and Boston landscape designer Warren Manning set up the building to create views down a ravine to the lake, although the property itself doesn’t reach the shoreline. Carroll told Crain’s “you can walk for 45 minutes without necessarily leaving the property.”

If it sells near its asking price, the Carrolls’ eight-bedroom estate will be the fifth home in Lake Forest ever to sell for more than $10 million, and only the second since 2008, according to Crain’s. The other is a $12 million sale from February.

The Chicago-area luxury home market has been strong in recent months, including a $6.6 million sale in the Gold Coast. [Crain’s] — John O’Brien