Lakefront Kenilworth Home Fetches $6.4M as Possible Teardown

A mid-century modern-designed waterfront home at 303 Sheridan Road in Kenilworth changed hands on Wednesday for just under $6.4 million, marking the latest high-dollar sale — and another potential demolition — in the North Shore’s robust luxury market.

The deal is notable not only for its price tag but for the buyers’ intent: it is being eyed as a potential teardown, which would pave the way for a new, custom-designed mansion on the prime lakefront lot.

While some local fans of the architecture may wish to preserve the 1959-built home, designed by noted mid-century architectural firm Keck & Keck, the buyer’s agent, Jena Radnay of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, said concerns exist about its structural integrity.

“What makes this house still so valuable is its location is premier,” Radnay said, noting that the nearby Plaza del Lago shopping center in Wilmette has been improved and added luxury retail tenants like Hermès since it was purchased by WS Development for $59 million in 2022.

“This property has a beautiful street curb appeal. You can see right to the lake, from Sheridan to the shore,” Radnay said, declining to identify the buyer. Public records of the sale aren’t yet available in Cook County databases.

Carol Hunt of Baird & Warner represented the estate of Nydia Hohf, the home’s former owner who died in September at 105 after living in Kenilworth for 67 years. Hohf and her late husband, Robert Hohf, commissioned the construction of the home. Nydia Hohf was also a daughter of the Wieboldt family, which ran an eponymous Chicago-area department store, Wieboldt’s, for over a century until closing in 1987.

Hunt said the house received huge interest for its unique architecture. She worked with the Kenilworth Historical Society to organize an open house, which drew 200 people to tour the home in two hours.

“In the mid-century modern community, people really wanted to see it,” she said. “It’s a unique property.”

Hunt said people were interested in preserving the property, but she noted the condition is in bad shape and it wasn’t clear how the house could be saved.

Radnay’s buyers came out on top after the offering drew multiple bids. The property was listed for $7 million in October.

The sale underscores the prevailing trend in the area, where buyers are prioritizing land value and location over existing structures. Another example is down the street, where a $6.8 million sale at 501 Sheridan Road is also a planned teardown, slated to be replaced by two new luxury homes by developers Leo and Milena Birov. The bigger property, which is on the lakefront, is a planned 17,000-square-foot mansion listed for $16.75 million. Next to it, on a lot facing Sheridan Road with no lakefront access, the Birovs are advertising a nearly $6 million, 11,000-square-foot mansion.

This year’s $14.5 million record sale for Kenilworth, at 219 Sheridan Road, further illustrates intense demand for North Shore lakefront property. To the north in Winnetka, Radnay also represented the buyers and sellers in last month’s $33 million sale of a Sheridan Road mansion that set the record for the priciest Illinois home resale in history.

With the luxury market continuing its high-dollar streak, developers and wealthy buyers are often willing to pay a premium to execute their vision for a new estate on irreplaceable land. The potential demolition of the 303 Sheridan home reflects the financial calculation that often prevails in the heated lakefront market. Adding the latest sale, six Kenilworth houses have brought in sale prices of more than $5 million this year, including two off the lakefront.

A gutted and rehabbed historic home on Kenilworth Avenue brought in a likely record sale for a non-lakefront in Kenilworth when it sold for $6.1 million in October. The 129-year-old home retained its neoclassical facade, but the inside had been transformed in 2022 with an open floor plan and modern finishes.