Jeffrey and Ashley Quicksilver, who in November sold their five-bedroom, 16,000-square-foot, Georgian-style mansion on Lake Michigan in Winnetka for $34.5 million — a Chicago-area sales record for the highest price for any single residential property in history — now has been revealed to have been the same buyers who paid $14.5 million in late October for a historic, six-bedroom mansion on the lake in Kenilworth.
In the Chicago-area world, it’s a rare buyer who downsizes to a more-than-$14 million mansion. However, that’s in effect what Jeffrey Quicksilver, who co-founded real estate investment firm Walton Street Capital, and his wife, Ashley, who owns the high-end Winnetka women’s boutique Athene, have done.
Records show that the Quicksilvers have explored seeking a variance to add a swimming pool on the tableland portion of the bluff of the half-acre property, which has a 115-foot sandy beach, a fire pit area, a glass-enclosed patio, a boathouse and multiple terraces. He also has expressed interest in adding a bathroom to the property’s existing boathouse.
Built in 1906 by Paul Starrett, who constructed the Empire State Building in New York and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the three-story Kenilworth mansion has been restored and has six full bathrooms, two half baths, two fireplaces, restored original moldings, oak sawn floors, custom wrought-iron railings, millwork, new mechanical systems, a new roof, new windows, a smart home system, custom LED lighting and zoned climate control. Other features include a primary bedroom suite with a custom-designed wardrobe room with custom leather accents and inserts, and a lower level with a wine cellar, a theater with surround sound, a catering kitchen and a wellness area with a sauna, a steam room, an exercise area and a massage room.
Jena Radnay of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, who represented the Quicksilvers both in their $34.5 million Winnetka sale and their $14.5 million purchase in Kenilworth, confirmed that the Quicksilvers were the Kenilworth buyers.
“My clients appreciated the exquisite level of finishes, and it was a no-brainer for them,” she told Elite Street. “It was the perfect trade-off. It wasn’t about a down-trade, it was an up-trade. The Kenilworth mansion was a smaller scale but the same level of exquisite finishes.”
The Quicksilvers bought the Kenilworth mansion using an opaque land trust that masks their identities. The seller of the Kenilworth mansion was Yoanna Kulas, who is the founder and owner of the design firm Caladrius Studio. Meanwhile, the $34.5 million buyers of the Quicksilvers’ lakefront mansion also made their purchase using an opaque land trust, and their identities have not yet been determined.
Records show that the Quicksilvers’ $14.5 million purchase of the Kenilworth property included $500,000 in personal property, such as furniture.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
