Birovs Aim for Record with Lakefront Kenilworth Spec Mansion

North Shore builder couple Leo and Milena Birov are setting an aspirational price on a Kenilworth spec mansion, which hit the market Monday asking $16.8 million.

The home is not yet built, but renderings and floor plans show the vision for a 17,000-square-foot house on the Kenilworth lakefront. The transitional-style house on a nearly one-acre lot will have seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

The listing advertises a refrigerated wine cellar, media room, wet bar and a four-car garage.

If sold for its asking price, it would be the most expensive home sale on record in Kenilworth. A historic six-bedroom, 8,280-square-foot mansion set the record for Kenilworth at $14.5 million last month.The home is being built by Heritage Luxury Homes, the North Shore homebuilder operated by the Birovs. Milena Birov is the listing agent on the home.

Although it has yet to be developed, it’s the second-priciest home listed now in the ritzy North Shore suburbs, after a Lake Forest estate seeking $27.5 million.

Leo Birov told The Real Deal he’s confident the home will reach its asking price, citing the $14.5 million sale at 219 Sheridan Road and the recent record-setting sale of an estate in Winnetka for $31.3 million. That record held until last week, when another Winnetka home closed for $32.5 million.

“It’s a brand new construction, it’s very different than 219 Sheridan,” he said, noting that house was more than 100 years old. “My lot is much bigger too. I’m very comfortable with this.”

The house has a projected construction date of 2027, and Birov said he’s in the process of obtaining permits for the house. The buyer will be able to make custom specifications on the details and finishes, Birov said.

The couple bought the original 1.6-acre property, which covered two parcels, for $6.8 million in September. They split the parcels and are advertising a separate house for nearly $6 million on the smaller of the two parcels, which faces Sheridan Road and does not have lakefront access.

The home previously on the two lots was initially listed for $14 million in 2021, but went through several price cuts before closing at $6.8 million with the Birovs purchase.

The Birovs are frequent North Shore builders, having listed new construction homes in Kenilworth, Glencoe, Winnetka and Wilmette. In addition to the two Kenilworth homes, Heritage Luxury Homes is marketing another spec mansion in Glencoe asking $5.7 million.

In June, another home they developed in Glencoe sold for $4.7 million. Their sales in Wilmette include a $2 million home on Sunset Drive in 2024, as well as a 9,000-square-foot French Colonial on Michigan Avenue that fetched $4.8 million in 2022.