Naperville mansion sells for record $8.1M via auction

Sets new high water mark in DuPage County, topping $7.95M sale in 2003

Naperville Mansion Sells For Record-Setting $8.1M
@properties' Katie Minott with t 222 West Van Buren Avenue (LinkedIn, Google maps, Getty)

A Naperville mansion just changed hands for a record-setting amount, despite selling for $7 million less than its asking price when it first hit the market in 2021.

Buyers whose identities haven’t yet been publicly revealed paid $8.07 million for the five-bedroom, 9,300-square-foot home at 222 West Van Buren Avenue in the western suburb at an auction sale on Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Katie Minott of @properties served as the listing agent, representing the seller, Jane Brooks, who put the house up for sale after her husband Donald died in 2021.

The transaction goes down as the most expensive home sale ever in DuPage County. The previous record was set in 2003, when former Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas sold his 41-room Oak Brook mansion for $7.95 million.

The new record could be short lived, though, as a 15,820-square-foot Oak Brook estate was listed last month for nearly $12 million. Plus, BJ Bohne, the CEO of Imperial Crane Services, and his wife Irena are seeking nearly $8 million for their Oak Brook mansion, also in DuPage County, that was listed in May.

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However, homes selling for even close to eight figures is unheard of in DuPage County, and thus it’s possible that house also undergoes a big price chop, akin to the one at 222 West Van Buren.

The Naperville mansion first hit the market at $15 million roughly two years ago. It was then pulled off the market and relisted for $12.75 million in February, before the price was lowered again to $8.2 million in August.

Donald Brooks, former owner of McCrone Associates in Westmont, built the mansion in 2018. Designed by Chicago-based Cook Architectural Design Studio, it features a stone and stucco facade with steep pitched roofs, fireplaces, a gym and a studio. It also has a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen and fire pit.

The property’s tax bill was $106,934 in the 2022 tax year, the publication reported.

— Quinn Donoghue 

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