It seems unlikely that the people who just can`t give away a house in Wilmette will start offering enticements such as a miracle vegetable chopper, a genuine cubic zirconia diamond ring or an album of ABBA songs performed by some other group.
But, with the way the giveaway has been going, you never know.
Since August, Deerfield builder Alvin Solomon has been trying unsuccessfully to part company with a historically significant 1870 brick farmhouse, which straddles two lots on which Solomon wants to build new houses.
It is a large house and, from the outside, a nice-looking house. It includes two bathrooms and three bedrooms spread out over two-and-a-half stories and 2,400 square feet.
Solomon said he and representatives of ActiveLife Management have probably shown it 20 times since the such-a-deal offer started, and he has fielded another 50 telephone calls. And yet the historic house stands, at 2739 Old Glenview Rd., still very much Solomon`s.
Why?
It probably has a lot to do with the fact that although its free, relocation will cost about $200,000, according to Solomon`s estimate.
”I wish somebody would come along and say, `We want to move the house to our lot somewhere` and just take it,” said Solomon, president of S.K.S. Construction.
Moving costs alone would be about $25,000 to $30,000, he said.
Kermit Myers, president of the Wilmette Historical Society, estimates it would take another $75,000 to $125,000 to make the house shipshape, including things like new plumbing and wiring, which will probably be necessitated by the trauma of the move.
Myers still thinks it`s a good deal for a house that, according to a press release, is ”considered the best example of vernacular architecture in New Trier Township.”
The Random House Dictionary, Second Edition Unabridged defines
`vernacular` as ”a style of architecture exemplifying the commonest techniques, decorative features, and materials of a particular historical period, region or group of people.”
When Solomon first got involved with the property, he didn`t know what he was getting into. ”I thought the house was gonna be knocked down. No one knew it was gonna stay here.”
But then came the preservationists.
Because the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is partly involved in a retirement home ActiveLife is building behind Solomon`s lots, and because those lots were zoned in the same ordinance as the retirement home land, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency had to inspect the area to determine if the project would harm the natural or cultural environment, said Anne Haaker, the agency`s coordinator of resource protection services.
”According to visual inspection, the house possessed integrity-i.e. a great amount of original fabric. It looked like it did back when it was built,” said Haaker. ”In that area, it is the best representative example of an Italianate farmhouse.”
Based on that, she said, the agency determined that the house was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and that Solomon had to advertise the house`s availability for six months before he could touch it.
For Solomon`s part, he said he has suggested to Myers that, if no one has taken the house by the Jan. 31 deadline, the Wilmette Historical Society could sell its bricks to raise money. But, he said, he still has hopes that the PBS television show, ”This Old House,” could be talked into taking on the moving project.
