Buena Park, nestled between Uptown and Lake View, has seen home sales up to $2 million recently—and listings as high as $3 million, despite the median sale price of the larger Uptown community area hovering closer to a quarter million. In fact, the area was recently named a Top Up-and-Coming Neighborhood by this magazine. But is it hot enough to support a sprawling mansion listed at almost $4.6 million?

Listing agent Brad Lippitz with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services KoenigRubloff Realty Group, is optimistic for the 10,000-square-foot Buena Park house at 750 West Hutchinson Street that he is co-listing with fellow Berkshire Hathaway agent Sophia Worden.

The home, in the Hutchinson historic district within Buena Park, was designed in 1902 by architect George Maher and has been restored and modernized, Lippitz says. Maher was known for combining elements of traditional architecture with the Arts and Crafts style. In architectural circles, his influence at the start of the 20^th century was considered equal to that of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Rather than comparing the price to nearby Uptown and Lake View properties which are lower, Lippitz says buyers should consider that in Lincoln Park, $5 million buys a townhouse stacked several stories high with little outdoor space. This five-bedroom, five full- and two half-bath home, in contrast, is on two levels and six city lots, an expanse that makes it seem more at home in Kenilworth than the city. 

“It has proximity to the lake and all lakefront amenities and easy access to Michigan Avenue and downtown,” Lippitz says.

The home abuts Joseph Brennemann Elementary School, a location that might appeal to families with small children but might turn off those thinking about school yard noise. The seller has lived in the home for more than 30 years, adding such contemporary features as a master suite, which was built out over an attached coach house, and a commercial-grade kitchen.

“What’s really incredible about the house itself is that it’s both grand and intimate at the same time, nothing is too overwhelming,” Lippitz says. In restoring the home, “its owner has respected the architectural and the artistry of the house.”

Whether that respect translates into a sale at or near the asking price, at a time when high-end sales in general are slowing, remains to be seen. If the asking price holds up, it could be a signal that Buena Park has arrived on the Chicago high-end real estate scene.