More Top Picks Best Cleaning Brush
player ready...Former Northwestern University running backs coach Lou Ayeni, who is now the running backs coach for the Denver Broncos, and his wife, Patrice, in May sold their six-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house in Glenview for its $1.45 million asking price.
A Northwestern alumnus himself who helped the team win a Big Ten Conference title in 2000, Ayeni was the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for Northwestern’s football program from 2018 through the 2022 season. In late February, the Broncos announced the hiring of Ayeni, who left the program several months before hazing allegations in Northwestern’s football program erupted publicly, eventually costing Ayeni’s onetime boss, former head coach Pat Fitzgerald, his job.
In Glenview, Ayeni and his wife paid $1.1 million in 2018 for the house, which was built in 2006. Features include five bathrooms, two fireplaces, a two-story great room with a gas starter fireplace and new custom built-ins, and a primary bedroom suite with a walk-in closet and an en-suite bathroom. The basement has 10-foot ceilings, a viewing room, an arts and crafts room, an exercise area and an extra bedroom.
Outside on the property are a 2.5-car heated garage, a stone fire pit and a brand-new patio.
The Ayenis first listed the house on April 11, and the home went under contract just nine days later. The house sold on May 5.
“The house had everything going for it, and they prepared the home well to sell it to today’s buyer,” Pam MacPherson of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, who co-listed the home with Lori Hooten, told Elite Street. “They bought the home well in an up-and-coming area, with phenomenal walkability. The home also had great design concepts, high ceilings and an updated kitchen with countertops, which gave it a new brightness.”
The agent representing the buyers, Joel Holland of Keller Williams OneChicago, told Elite Street that his clients were drawn to the fact that the home was built relatively recently.
“It was also a very nicely sized home, with a grand two-story foyer and living room,” Holland said. “Other key features were a first-floor bedroom and full bathroom, a very large primary suite yet still ample-sized additional bedrooms, and a full bedroom and bathroom in the basement, which all suited well for multigenerational living. And specifically, all these elements … (were) in their exact target neighborhood within proximity … to other family members in the neighborhood. The home sold with multiple offers in the first week on the market.”
The house had a $16,638 property tax bill in the 2021 tax year.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.