Ex-Cubs pitcher Jon Lester splits Graceland West property in effort to sell

Former Cubs pitcher Jon Lester split his Graceland West home into two parcels in an effort to sell it after more than a year.

Lester and his wife listed the 7,000-square-foot, five-bedroom Berteau Street home for $3.85 million and put the extra-wide side lot on the market for $1.15 million, Crain’s reported. The couple listed the properties together in April 2021 for about $6 million. The house is on a 42- by 125-foot lot and the side lot measures 40 by 120 feet.

The couple bought the house for just under $3.8 million shortly after Lester joined the Cubs in March 2015 and bought the neighboring property two years later for $1.35 million, meaning they’re now asking for less than what they paid for both.

The Lesters couldn’t be reached by Crain’s and nor could the Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty agents representing the property.

The house at 1442 West Berteau Avenue includes a heated four-car garage below a large finished roof deck for entertaining. In addition to the five bedrooms, one of which is being used as a home gym, the home also has a finished lower-level rec room with a wet bar and wine cellar. The home also has an elevator that goes to all levels, including the roof.

The side lot, which previously held a two-flat that the couple demolished, has a patio with an outdoor kitchen, a playground with a jungle gym and a sports court at the back of the property. The lot is zoned R3, meaning a new 6,500-square-foot house could be built there.

Lester signed a six-year deal with the Cubs in 2014 and became a free agent after the 2020 season. He retired in January after stints with the Nationals and Cardinals.

[CCB] — Victoria Pruitt