Gilded Age estate rolls the dice, sells in three months for $4.2M

While many of the Chicago area’s estates from the Gilded Age have languished on the market for months or even years, a Lake Forest property has found a buyer after only three months thanks to a smart marketing bet. 

A 15,000-square-foot mansion at 500 North Green Bay Road that belonged to James S. Mills and his wife Vicki closed for $4.2 million earlier this week. The couple bought the 3.5-acre property in 1977 and kept it in the family until Jim died in July 2019, and Vicki died earlier this year. It was originally listed at $4.9 million, so the buyer took advantage of a 15-percent price reduction. 

Known as Pembroke Lodge, the property was built in 1895 for real estate and zinc mining entrepreneur David Benton Jones. The Mills were only the third owner of the estate. Constructed with Wisconsin limestone, the mansion has eight full bathrooms and three half baths, four fireplaces and a game room. 

Jena Radnay of @properties represented both the seller and the buyers, who are not yet disclosed in public records. She said she took a unique approach with the listing, which played off the interior design that is modeled after Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. 

“I said let’s be true with this property and let’s develop a strategy around this whole idea of ‘Viva Las Vegas,’ meaning everything in the house is fun, it’s whimsical,” she said. “Why are we going to pretend to be something this house is not?’” So I found a way to attract a person that likes to have fun; that likes Vegas; that is all about enjoying life and not taking yourself too seriously.”

Radnay said her strategy not only included playing up the design in photos and marketing materials, but also broadening the reach beyond just the North Shore or even the Chicago area to cast a wider net in the buyer pool. 

“I didn’t think my [buyer] was going to be in Lake Forest,” she said. “I didn’t think my buyer was going to be in Chicago. I wanted to tap into the Christie’s affiliation side of @properties. I wanted my buyer to find me outside of the Midwest.”

Another factor that likely made this property move faster than others was its price. The 18,000-square-foot home breaks down to about $235 per square foot, making it a relative bargain compared with other homes of similar ages and square footage on the North Shore. 

A good example is the Glencoe estate built for a Pabst Brewing Company executive in 1936. The 20,000-square-foot home is asking $12 million after years on and off the market. Its ask breaks down to about $600 per square foot. 

Another home in Lake Forest is asking $5.9 million for just over 10,300 square feet, meaning it’s seeking about $570 per square foot. Even a home just down the street from the Mills’ estate is seeking about $600 a square foot. That home, at 255 N Green Bay Road, was built in 1934, and listed at $8.9 million for 15,000 square feet.