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Wicker Park Home Built in 1879 Likely Being Torn Down, To Dismay of Some

By Alisa Hauser | September 3, 2014 2:35pm
 Loretta Snell's home at 1721 W. Ellen St. in Wicker Park was build in the 1870s.
1721 W. Ellen St. in Wicker Park
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WICKER PARK — A Wicker Park home built in 1879 will likely be torn down when its sale is completed, but a local preservation buff says its historic relevance is being ignored.

Loretta Snell has lived in the wood frame home at 1721 W. Ellen St. for most of her life, but the 72-year-old could no longer maintain it. It went up for sale last month and already has a buyer who intends to demolish it. Snell said she has "no choice" in the matter.

"If I could preserve it, I would, but it's old and needs a new roof and porch," she said of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home located just north of Division Street in Wicker Park.

"Any area here, when they buy a house and tear it down, they build these ugly brick buildings that I would not live in if I had a million dollars," Snell said.

Alisa Hauser says Loretta's son is sad to hear the home may soon be demolished:

Realtor Melanie Giglio, who is selling the home, said on Wednesday that from what she understands, the prospective buyer intends to demolish the home and build a new single-family home on the lot, which is already zoned for residential construction.

"Land is very scarce over there and any land that comes about goes under contract very quickly," Giglio said.

Giglio added, "The home is very dilapidated. We were not even showing the inside of the home."

Located outside of the Wicker Park Landmark District, the home is not protected from being torn down. It is, however, listed in the city's Chicago Historic Resources Survey, which is a basic starting point for assessing a building’s historic or architectural value.

According to the survey, the Italianate-style home possesses "potentially significant architectural or historical features" and is rated "orange," which means there could be a delay of up to 90-days on demolition requests.

The city's Demolition-Delay ordinance allows the Department of Planning and Development to "explore options" for "certain historic buildings" — which could result in landmark designation.

A description on Redfin.com says the $379,900 home is being sold in "as-is condition," and is a teardown in a "hot hot area."

Humboldt Park resident Christopher Bartek alerted DNAinfo Chicago to the pending sale on Tuesday, and said the Historic Resources Survey previously listed the home as being constructed in the 1870s. The date was later removed, he said.

Pete Strazzabosco, a spokesman for the city's Department of Planning and Development, said on Wednesday that the home was constructed in 1879.

Bartek said he believes "the building is a rare existing example of the typical pre-fire housing being built in Chicago. And one that was not produced much afterward."

Bartek, a project manager for Vinci Hamp Architects a firm that specializes in renovations of historic buildings — said there could be a market for such a home if more people knew it was up for sale.

"There could be buyers willing to renovate it but developers are more active and aggressive in buying properties," Bartek said.

Bartek said a similar restored single-family home at 5630 S. Kimbark Ave. in Hyde Park, sold for $1.49 million in May 2012.

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