B-3 Companies Lists Lots on Historic Suburban Chicago Estate

Two prime lots from a historic estate, a site in Glencoe rich in history and once the residence of the Hoover vacuum family, have come on the market.

The lots, priced at $895,000 and $1.2 million, are part of a larger residential development by B-3 Companies, which acquired the 12.2-acre estate at 1801 Green Bay Road earlier this year, Crain’s reported. Compass’ Samantha Worth and Jacqueline Lotzof are managing the listings.

Eleven of the estate’s 18 lots have already been sold off-market, with buyers paying an average of $1 million per lot, said Simon Berger, a partner at Skokie-based B-3. The remaining lots could go on the market later.

Most of the development’s buyers have been empty-nesters looking to downsize from larger homes while enjoying the natural beauty of the wooded estate, he said. The lots are expected to attract buyers looking for high-end homes between 4,100 and 6,500 square feet.

While much of the original architecture has been lost, the estate’s brick gates and antique French statuary remain a nod to its legacy. Known as the Hoover Estate, it was previously owned by H. Earl Hoover, who took over the Hoover Vacuum Company from his uncle in the 1920s. It had a mansion and a greenhouse for growing orchids. His widow, Miriam Hoover, died at age 104 in 2018, when the estate was put on the market.

B-3 is aiming to retain about 75 percent of the mature trees on the property while also planting new trees in a half-acre natural area within the development.

“This land is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There hasn’t been something like this available in Glencoe in many years, and there won’t be another one for a long time,” Berger said.

The previous name of the development, Forest Edge, has been abandoned, with a new name still in discussion. The village of Glencoe has required that all homes be completed within 36 months of when B3 started in July.

“They don’t want to see this sitting, and we’re not going to let it sit,” Berger said.

Chicago’s suburban luxury market has been active recently, and demand often outweighs supply, especially in the $2 million range.

— Andrew Terrell