Late Rudolph Isley’s Olympia Fields mansion, once owned by R. Kelly, sold for $1.6 million

The Olympia Fields mansion once owned by Chicago-born R&B singer R. Kelly sold for $1.6 million on Wednesday, more than year after it hit the market.

The sprawling estate at 1 Maros Lane — owned by the late Rudolph Isley, of the soul group the Isley Brothers, and his wife, Elaine — was listed in January 2024 with an asking price of $3.49 million.

The 21,182-square-foot home sits on 3.7 acres and has seven bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. It has an indoor two-story jungle-themed pool hall with a waterfall, grotto and two-story treehouse.

Adjacent to the Olympia Fields Country Club, the property also includes an elevator, home theater, diner, fitness center, library and private sport courts that include basketball, tennis and pickleball, according to listing details. The state-of-the-art garage can accommodate up to nine cars and has a bar area and bathroom.

“The two biggest challenges we had selling the house were the sheer size of it and the property taxes,” said Alex Wolking, of Keller Williams ONEChicago, who represented seller Elaine Isley. Wolking said the home’s property tax bill was more than $250,000.

“We fought the taxes on an appeal and won — reducing the assessed value from $4.7 million to $2.6 million, effectively slashing the property tax bill in half,” he said. “Now that the home has closed another $1 million below the new assessment, the new owner has a great case to make to appeal the taxes again.”

The property has seen some famous owners, from James Maros, one of the first owners of a McDonald’s franchise, to R. Kelly and the Isleys, Wolking said. “It takes someone who lives large, and when they recognize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they seize it,” he said of the mansion’s size.

It’s unclear who purchased the property.

Records show now-imprisoned R. Kelly purchased the home in 1997. He then undertook a “massive overhaul,” making two “major additions” to the estate while retaining some of the original 1972 home’s base, according to Wolking.

Kelly is serving a 31-year sentence for a 2021 and 2022 conviction on several sex crime charges, including child pornography.

Testimony from the singer’s 2021 federal trial revealed the Olympia Fields home was the the site of Kelly’s “Chocolate Factory” studio from 2004 to 2010, CNN previously reported. Witnesses testified that Kelly closely monitored female guests and employees in the home with cameras and required nondisclosure agreements. Some testified many female visitors were not allowed to leave their rooms without permission.

The property went into foreclosure in 2011, with Kelly owing more than $2.9 million on the home. The home was in “decay and ruin” before the Isleys purchased it and took on a multimillion-dollar renovation, the listing said.

The couple paid $587,500 in 2013 for the property, according to Cook County property records. Elaine Isley listed the home after Rudolph Isley died in October 2023.