Woodlawn mansion buyer shatters neighborhood record

A restored Woodlawn mansion made history last week, being sold for $400,000 more than any previous home in the South Side neighborhood.

Michelle Browne of @properties led the $1.2 million sale for the three-story, 6,000-square-foot property at 6352 South Kenwood Avenue, Crain’s reported. Joanna Olszynska of Compass represented the buyers, who have not been identified.

The record transaction is the latest sign of skyrocketing home prices in the South Side area undergoing rapid gentrification. Woodlawn’s residential market reached new heights last year when a newly built house on Greenwood Avenue sold for $769,000. Another property on Kimbark Avenue was recently listed at $949,000, and the final sale is expected to be close to the asking price, the outlet reported.

Browne believes new and restored homes in Woodlawn, like the record-setting Kenwood Avenue property, are “contributing to the neighborhood again,” as many properties in the area have been in ruins for a prolonged period. She also mentioned the increase in tax revenue they will produce. 

Lew Korompilas, the owner of Northbrook-based development firm Premium Buildings, has built and revamped a number of properties in Woodlawn over the past decade. The developer purchased the Kenwood site for $60,000 in 2014 and performed a complete overhaul.

The original structure, built in the 1890s, had a stale brick facade and an overall lifeless appearance before Korompilas took over. Now the house has a stone exterior, coffered ceiling, marble fireplace mantel and a custom-built wrought iron staircase railing rising all four levels, the outlet said.

With the nearby Obama Presidential Center nearing completion, concerns over soaring prices and gentrification are still mounting. However, the city implemented initiatives in 2019 to preserve ample affordable housing options in Woodlawn, by requiring developments on city-owned land to meet some affordable housing standards.

— Quinn Donoghue