LAKE FOREST, IL — A massive French Provincial mansion custom built for the family of the CEO of an electronics company has become the most expensive home sold in Lake Forest in more than three years.
The eight-bedroom, 10,700-square-foot estate home sits on more than 3 acres on the south side of Onwentsia Road.
Designed by the Chicago-based firm Liederbach & Graham, construction of the house took more than five years, according to its listing.
Jeffrey and Chrystal Gannon purchased the property in July 2007 for $4.3 million, prior to the current structure’s completion. Mr. Gannon is a former CEO of Zenith Electronics and several other electronics companies. According to its listing, the interior includes 14-foot ceilings, custom mahogany windows, intricate mill work, custom marble, limestone and white oak floors.
The home includes six stone fireplaces, a guest apartment with its own entrance and a separate chef’s kitchen for “seamless large, catered parties,” according to the listing. The grounds of the “one-of-a-kind secluded retreat” include a landscaped lawn, large circular drive, limestone terrace, stone fire pit and a custom pool and spa. The Gannons first put the house up for sale in January 2019 with a $7.9 million asking price .
The price tag was thrice reduced, eventually dropping to just under $6.6 million in October, according to listing records.
An offer was accepted in March and the $5.35 million sale closed earlier this month. The new owners have not yet been identified in public records.
The estimated market value of the property for taxing purposes is about $3.8 million, and the annual property tax bill for the two-parcel property was about $70,000 last year. The sale is the most expensive in Lake Forest since the February 2018 purchase of a lakefront property on Mayflower Road by the late local philanthropist Nancy Hughes .
The most expensive Lake Forest home sold in 2019 went for $3.85 million, while last year saw an increased demand for spacious high-end suburban residential properties.
Previously, the most expensive post-pandemic local home sale was the historic Schweppe Mansion, also known as Mayflower Place, which sold to a trust for $5 million.
The city’s biggest home sale of 2021 so far had been a Sheridan Road mansion designed by Stanley Anderson in 1931 for notable early Lake Forest businessman John Griffith. Built: 2008
Lot Size: 3 acres
Square Feet: 10,687 Bedrooms: 8 Bathrooms: 7 full, 4 half Last Sold: $4.3 million in July 2007 First Listed: $6.6 million in October 2020 Sale Closed: $5.35 million on June 1 Listing information originally appeared on realtor.com.
