The Schweppe mansion, located on Mayflower Road in Lake Forest
The Schweppe mansion in Lake Forest is on the market for $12 million after a foreclosure lawsuit, according to a recent Crain’s article by Mary E. Morrison.
The 27-room English-style mansion has been listed by an affiliate of First Bank & Trust Co., which acquired the mansion through a judicial sale in November 2010 after the bank foreclosed on it.
The home was built in 1915 by John G. Shedd, then chairman of Marshall Field & Co., who gave it to his daughter, Laura, and son-in-law Charles Hodgson Schweppe as a wedding present.
The eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom estate was last renovated in the 1980s. Since gaining ownership of the home, the bank has painted, fixed the roof and repaired interior plaster, in addition to conducting major landscaping work, Morrison reported.
“It’s very livable,” said Arthur Miller, an archivist at Lake Forest College who was recently in the home. “There are probably little bits of work here and there, but basically it’s in pretty usable condition.”
Eleanor Dowling, a broker with Koenig & Strey Real Living in Lake Forest who is not involved with the listing, predicts the 21,000-square-foot property will sell for $10 million to $11 million.
“The square footage is intimidating,” said Dowling. “It’ll take a large family with deep pockets who wants a challenge.”