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Armour estate in Lake Forest sells for $7.2 million

A Lake Forest estate that was the home of meatpacking magnate A. Watson Armour III and his wife has sold for $7.2 million.

Real-estate agent Eleanor Dowling of Koenig & Strey Real Living declined to identify the buyers of the property abutting Lake Michigan on Lake Forest's southeast side. She said the 7,800-square-foot house and an adjoining, 2.5-acre vacant lot were on the market about 10 months and sold last week.

Dowling said Thursday the 10 months it took to sell the Armour estate was considered fast in a struggling real-estate market. She said it's difficult to estimate how much the property would have fetched beyond $7.2 million before the recession.

“A lot of (properties) here in Lake Forest have been on the market three, four years,” said Dowling, a 44-year real-estate professional who represented the seller and buyer for the Armour transaction.

Sarah Wood Armour, known for her ardent support of Chicago's Lyric Opera, died in August 2010. A. Watson Armour III died in 1991.

Dowling said the Armours' home on Bluffs' Edge Drive was designed by Lake Forest architect Stanley Anderson and built in 1958. It underwent extensive renovation after the couple purchased it in the 1980s. Prominent New York architect Charles Thompson, who helped to create a home for Aristotle Onassis in Manhattan, was hired to add a second floor.

In addition, Dowling said, the Armours spent more than $1 million on upgrades for 240 feet of private shoreline that included protection from Lake Michigan's waves. Home amenities include a library, solarium, elevator and a generator in the main garage.

Dowling sold a 20,000-square-foot Lake Bluff mansion originally owned by another family member, Lester Armour, about 15 years ago. Architect David Adler designed that Armour abode.

One of the rooms of the Armour estate in Lake Forest, which sold for $7.2 million last week. Courtesy of Eleanor Dowling of Koenig & Strey Real
One of the rooms of the Armour estate in Lake Forest, which sold for $7.2 million last week. Courtesy of Eleanor Dowling of Koenig & Strey Real