Preservationist agent Mimi Collins sells Hinsdale mansion for $6M

A century-old mansion in Hinsdale just sold for $6 million and turned a tidy profit for a luxury real estate agent who put her money where her passion for preservation is.

Mimi Collins of Jameson Sotheby’s international Realty bought the 7,000-square-foot property at 420 South Park Avenue three years ago for $1.8 million, or $257 per square foot, a price that reflected the land value, Crain’s reported. 

After extensive renovations, she listed the six-bedroom home in January for just under $7 million, or $1,000 per square foot. The estate sold last week for $6 million, or $836 per square foot. That 69 percent increase over the previous trade marked one of the most-expensive home sales this year in Hinsdale, one of the wealthiest suburbs in Illinois.

Collins also owns the home interiors store Anecdote and previously restored two historic homes in Hinsdale. This latest project restored original windows, updated utilities, redid exterior stucco and modernized the interior while maintaining vintage charm. 

She is among the preservationists who have fought to protect Hinsdale’s architectural heritage as the village has faced a wave of demolitions. Since the early 2000s, a quarter of all homes have been torn down and replaced with new construction. 

The trend led to incentives that encourage preservation, including a tax rebate and more flexibility in the size of additions, the outlet reported. The village has also taken a harder line against tear-down requests in historic districts. Last December, its historic preservation commission effectively killed a request to demolish a 1930s colonial revival when its owner wanted to build a modern house.

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Buyers are increasingly drawn to historic properties, provided they are updated for modern living, Collins said. Good timing was also at play in her latest deal. The previous owners, who lived there for 59 years, first listed the house for $3.8 million in March 2015 and sold it to her nine years later for less than half that price. The buyers haven’t been identified.

Meanwhile, Collins is on to the next one. After three successful restorations, she plans to start on a 1920s home designed by famed architect Harold Zook.

— Andrew Terrell