Coin flip will decide final price of Barrington-area waterfront house
Heads or tails will decide the final purchase price of a Barrington-area luxury house with a waterfall flowing into the Fox River.
Two prominent business executives will have a coin flip to decide who prevails in a $25,000 disagreement on price while raising funds for charitable efforts run by sheriff's offices in Lake and McHenry counties. The fun gathering is set for 6 p.m. Sunday at No Wake Bar and Grill, 99 Kazimour Drive in Port Barrington.
On one side of the coin will be Jack Kraft, who's selling the “Waterfall House on the Fox River” in unincorporated Lake County in the Barrington area. He's a retired vice chairman and chief operating officer of Leo Burnett Co. Inc. now advising internet advertising and technology startups.
Kraft's friend, David Wescott, will represent the other side of the coin and wants to pay $25,000 less than Kraft's asking price. He's a longtime CME Group Inc. board member, managing partner of the Dowd/Wescott Group and part of the ownership of Port Barrington Motor Sports Marina and No Wake Bar and Grill.
“It is an exquisite piece of property,” Wescott said, “and I have admired it for more than 40 years.”
Wescott likes Barrington-area Fox River properties. He bought a home next door to Kraft earlier this year and is selling a house and 17 acres farther north along the river.
Kraft has owned the luxury waterfront house since 1987. Rebuilt in 2009, the home's centerpiece is the five-pool waterfall that drops directly into the Fox River.
He declined to say Friday how much Wescott is offering for the house. Kraft and Wescott had been $150,000 apart on price until they gradually came close enough to agree the coin flip will determine the winner on either side of the $25,000 gap.
In addition to the waterfall, Kraft's property has a pool, private beach, boat house, docks and piers. The waterfall is surrounded by a bridge, staircase and custom-designed decks.
“I will miss the waterfall,” said Kraft, who's downsizing to spend more time in Florida with his wife, Alana Hadfield. “It is the perfect place to spend summer afternoons entertaining. I will also miss greeting and waving to boaters on the river who never fail stop by to say hello.”
Coins, which have images of Kraft and Wescott on them, will be sold at the event to raise money for the McHenry and Lake sheriff's offices.
Wescott said the closing for the house is set for Monday.