Lake Forest Ask for $28M Extends North Shore Luxury Mania

The latest Lake Forest mansion to hit the market has one of the highest asking prices sought all year in the Chicago area, and adds to a rare run of massive listings of more than eight figures on the posh North Shore.

A 15,000-square-foot estate, located at 595 Circle Lane, was listed Wednesday night for $27.5 million, or $1,833 per square foot, making it the second-highest priced property for sale in the Chicago area and the second in under 30 days with an asking price exceeding $25 million, Crain’s reported.

The mansion sits on nearly 5.3 acres of land with 570 feet of prime lakefront, which includes a boathouse, pool and spa, and garage space for 22 cars.

The Lake Forest listing comes on the heels of a Winnetka home hitting the market in early August for $35 million. This is part of a recent surge in North Shore properties getting listed for $10 million or more, a price point seldom exceeded in the Chicago area.

Among them are two other Lake Forest properties: a garden-filled estate listed in mid-August for $15 million and a lakefront mansion priced at nearly $12 million hit the market days earlier. Both the $27.5 million and the $15 million Lake Forest listings are being managed by @properties Christie’s International Real Estate’s Ann Lyon and Kim Campbell.

Lake County public records show the current owner of 595 Circle Lane is Lake Forest entrepreneur Terry Rozdolsky, founder of Harbortown Industries. Rozdolsky, whose company supplies major retailers like Walmart and Target with picture frames, acquired the site in 2010 for $4.5 million.

The site’s existing mansion was completed in 2019 after Rozdolsky demolished a 13-room house that previously stood on the lot. Designed in an Italianate style, the mansion boasts two three-car garages that flank a grand entrance, as well as a 16-car basement-level garage.

A 75-foot bluff provides the estate with sweeping views of Lake Michigan, and a protected cove at the bottom of the bluff offers its residents swimming and a boating dock. One of the estate’s most striking features is a grand formal staircase that descends from the mansion to the lake, a vestige of the legendary Villa Turicum estate that once dominated the area.

Villa Turicum was a 269-acre estate established in the early 20th century by Harold McCormick, son of International Harvester founder Cyrus McCormick, and Edith Rockefeller McCormick, daughter of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. The couple’s 44-room mansion was a marvel of its time, designed by renowned architect Charles Platt and set amidst lush, landscaped grounds.

The estate’s bluff staircase, completed in 1912, is one of the few surviving elements of the once-imposing estate. Though the McCormicks divorced in 1921 and the mansion was eventually demolished in 1959, the site has since had multiple homes built on the grounds.

Today, the Rozdolsky property represents the third mansion to occupy the historic estate, with previous owners, Carole and Ron DeBruin, having restored the original staircase and a reflecting pool during their tenure.

While the reflecting pool appears to have been replaced by a motor court, echoes of the estate’s grandeur still linger in the surrounding properties, including the Villa Turicum teahouse, which remains a landmark for visitors exploring nearby ravine preserves accessible via public trail.

If this estate sells near its asking price, it will join an exclusive list of eight-figure multimillion-dollar transactions in this prestigious Chicago-area enclave.

— Andrew Terrell