Historic Kenilworth Mansion Fetches Record Inland Price

A Kenilworth house that mixes traditional architecture with modern updates has sold for $6.1 million, making it the most expensive non-lakefront property to sell in the North Shore village since at least 2020.

The 8,100 square-foot house at 149 Kenilworth Avenue was designed in 1896 by architect Franklin Pierce Burnham. The house maintains the original neoclassical facade, but it went through major renovations in 2022 that transformed the interior with an open floor plan and modern finishes.

The house, on a 0.6-acre lot, has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, along with a detached three-car garage that includes an office. The backyard hosts a large enclosed patio with a pizza oven and grill.

The extensive interior work and expansion of the back of the house was led by the previous owners, Stephan and Janet Scholl, who bought the property in 2021. The identity of the buyers hasn’t yet been made public in real estate records. John Mawicke of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, who represented both the buyer and seller in the deal, didn’t provide comment.

It was initially listed in July seeking $6.85 million, making the final sale price of $6.1 million an 11 percent cut from the ask. There doesn’t appear to have been a previous non-lakefront sale for more in the village’s history, according to public real estate records.

The Scholls bought the house in 2021 for $3.82 million. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 under its previous owners, Brad and Suzette Bernstein.

The house was built by the Kenilworth Company as part of the original development of Kenilworth in the 1890s. Its neoclassical design was a rarity in residential architecture at the time, and one of only a few houses in Kenilworth in that style.

The previous owners paid about $75,800 in property taxes in 2023, Cook County records show.

The house is a few blocks from the Lake Michigan shoreline, and its price tag appears to be a record among inland Kenilworth properties. Even counting lakefront properties, it is among the most expensive homes sold in the village dating back to at least 2020, based on public listing services and reports.

Two other homes are currently pending sales with higher list prices: A mansion on Sheridan Road listed for $15 million went under contract in September, and a property off the lakefront on Cumberland avenue is under contract with a $6.5 million list price.

The Kenilworth house isn’t the only new construction in the North Shore village known for historic buildings. Developer Leo Birov listed an upcoming new construction house this week near the lake for nearly $6 million. The house is on part of the property he paid $6.8 million for in September, and it’s likely another spec mansion is in the works on the second parcel there.