Illinois’ most-expensive listing is this Winnetka estate asking $35M

The owners of a historic estate north of Chicago listed their lakefront property for $35 million, making it the most-expensive listing in Illinois.

The 1920s estate, at 419 Sheridan Road in the affluent suburb of Winnetka, was listed by Muneer Satter and Kristen Hertel, who spent a fortune renovating the property, the Wall Street Journal reported.  

The asking price of $1,750 per square foot would represent a loss for the sellers, who bought the property for $9.5 million in 2002. They have invested about $35 million in renovations and expansions, transforming the 2.3-acre property into a lavish lakeside retreat.

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The home features 220 feet of Lake Michigan beachfront, exceeding the 70 to 85 feet typical for the area. The 20,000-square-foot home includes eight bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. Jena Radnay of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate has the listing. 

Among its highlights are stained-glass windows, ornate ceilings, parquet floors and a two-story great room that once served as a music room for opera singer Louise Hunter. The home also includes a “palm room,” adorned with vibrant murals and blue tiles, reflecting the vision of the original owner, Popular Mechanics magazine publisher Henry Haven Windsor Jr., who sought to infuse his Winnetka residence with a touch of Florida.

It has a swimming pool, a boardwalk along the lake, a boathouse and two changing rooms built into the bluff. 

Hertel and Satter, a retired Goldman Sachs executive now working in private equity, are downsizing as empty nesters and plan to relocate to Florida.

It’s likely that only Justin’s Ishbia’s controversial mega mansion, under construction nearby on the Winnetka lakefront, could exceed their home’s listing price.

The estate is just one of several Winnetka homes that have recently been listed for sale. Earlier this summer, Cathy Busch, deputy chairman and managing director for the Midwest region of auction house Christie’s, and her husband Michael Busch, CEO and president of Burling Bank, listed their Winnetka home for a little under $5.3 million, or $660 per square foot.  

The ultra-luxury market, comprising homes priced $10 million or more, is growing fast in the United States. Sales in that bracket climbed 3.9 percent — there were 838 deals totaling $14.6 billion — in the first half of the year, according to Compass. However, those transactions were not evenly spread across the country but were mostly clustered in certain parts of Florida and California.

— Andrew Terrell

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