A North Shore developer is quietly shopping a yet-to-be-built Winnetka spec mansion on a nearly one-acre Sunset Road lot for $16.9 million, betting big that buyers will pay lakefront-style money without the actual lake. The marketing teases more than 17,000 square feet of living space with museum-grade touches, including a 50-foot art gallery, a full wellness center with steam, sauna and cold plunge, plus a golf and sports simulator. The builder is targeting a 2027 completion and is pitching the project as a five-star inland alternative to the usual shoreline trophy homes.
As reported by The Real Deal, the property is held by an LLC tied to local builder Michael Klein, and county records show the lot has been sitting vacant for years. The listing, handled by agent Mary Maris of Village Realty Group, quietly hit the market at $16,900,000, a number that would top recent off-lake sales in Winnetka if it closes anywhere near asking. According to The Real Deal, the developer did not respond to requests for comment.
Listing highlights
Per the MLS entry on Compass, the home is listed as MLS #12600188 with 15,000 square feet of finished space, six bedrooms, and ten bathrooms on a 0.93-acre lot. Marketing materials on Urban Real Estate and Xome stretch that to more than 17,000 total square feet when you count every level and amenity space.
Those listing pages spell out a long wish list: a 60-foot pool with a cabana, a dine-in wine cellar that sounds ready for serious collecting, a four-car heated garage, and the signature 50-foot gallery that anchors the marketing pitch. Renderings show a transitional-style stucco exterior, and the materials all circle the same target completion date in 2027.
Where this fits the North Shore market
That asking price drops the house into rarefied company for an inland address. The Real Deal documented several North Shore lakefront trades that cleared the $30 million mark in 2025, underscoring how unusual it is to see a non-lakefront number flirting with $17 million. This listing is likely to be watched closely as a test of just how far buyers are willing to stray from the shoreline for resort-level amenities.
Who’s behind the build?
Michael Bennett Homes is marketing 915 Sunset as a Michael Bennett Luxury Homes project, and the builder’s site places the company within The Airoom Companies portfolio while highlighting high-end custom work. Public sale records reported by Redfin show the lot last traded on July 11, 2024, for roughly $2 million. The current listing notes that Village Realty Group and Corcoran Urban Real Estate are handling inquiries and directs serious buyers to agent Mary Maris.
The property is marked "new" on the MLS and showings are by request only, but renderings and a virtual tour are already circulating in broker materials, offering a highly polished look at a house that exists only on paper for now. Whether the price holds, softens or draws an early taker will likely come into focus as construction milestones stack up on the way to that 2027 target. We will keep an eye on the listing and comparable local sales for any movement or signed contracts.
