The characteristics that make the North Shore suburbs desirable-graceful old homes, stately trees and picturesque downtowns-are, paradoxically, the same characteristics that preservationists fear now threaten the area`s charm and ambience.
The gracious, old-money atmosphere of these upscale communities have made them prime locations for new home construction. But, because most of the lakefront towns are already ”built-out,” the only two ways to make room for new construction are either to tear down an existing house or to section off pieces of a large existing lot to create new, smaller lots.
For those bent on preserving the area`s history and character, the trends toward ”teardowns” and ”in-fill,” as the preservationists term them, are alarming. ”I always find it interesting that people are attracted to Lake Forest for the ambience, and then they want to do all these contrary things to change it. That`s a concern because we`re trying to preserve not just buildings but a quality of life,” said Linda Shields, president of the Lake Forest Foundation for Historic Preservation.
”When you have an area with a real sense of place, and someone comes in and builds something new and out of character, it breaks the almost invisible fabric that is there. One teardown jolts you and the next two or three are jarring. After that, one begins not to notice because there`s no sense of place there anymore,” agreed Carol Wyant, executive director of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois.
Not surprisingly, those who build, buy and sell these new homes tend to disagree. Real estate agent Merle Kirsner-Styer of Kahn Realty thinks new houses make old neighborhoods more attractive to buyers. ”They like the old feeling, but they also want all the conveniences of a new home. If there is new construction on the street, some people will pay a little more for that home,” she said.
”To have a new house in an old area is the best of both worlds,” agreed Ann Bickmore, an agent with the Prudential Preferred Properties in Highland Park.
Diplomatically, Lake Bluff Village Administrator Peter Cummins tries to see both sides of the issue. ”The good part is that our housing stock is being upgraded. The bad is that you could eventually lose the character and charm of the community,” he said.
Highland Park residents Michael Rothschild and Sari Kirson have made a successful business of building spacious contemporary homes in some of the North Shore`s best old neighborhoods. The owners of Highland Enterprise think their tasteful and very upscale homes improve the neighborhoods. ”It is a risky venture, but it is a rewarding venture because you take something that is not as desirable and create something that people want,” Rothschild explained.
As proof of their claim, Rothschild and Kirson point to the fact that they were able to sell, relatively quickly, the two houses they built in Glencoe last year, even in a slumping real estate market. The second home sold for more than $1 million.
The secret of their success, the two believe, is research. They have carefully targeted their market, they choose their locations carefully, and they build homes with contemporary but not revolutionary designs.
”We are not trying to reinvent the wheel by trying to create a market. We have picked a specific market that is there, and we are trying to cater to that market,” Kirson said. Because the idea is to replace a small two- or three- bedroom with a four- or five-bedroom home, Rothschild and Kirson look for a lot that is large enough to accommodate the bigger structure. They try to preserve the old trees that make the lot attractive and build something that, while probably bigger than other homes in the area, is still in keeping with the architectural styles and feeling of the neighborhood. Still, the neighbors are not always pleased.
A man living near one of the large Glencoe homes told Rothschild sadly that he feared that if the teardown trend continued, his dream of owning a small house on the North Shore would be gone.
These days, in this economy, Kirson and Rothschild are unique in that they are buying lots and building houses ”on spec,” without a particular buyer in mind. More often, the teardowns are done as build-to-suit projects, where the builder contracts with an individual buyer before construction. Some others occur when an individual buys the land and then commissions the design and construction of a new home.
Exact figures on the number of houses torn down each year are hard to come by. Ann Sabol, coordinator of the building division for the city of Highland Park, estimated that five or six homes had been torn down there to make way for new construction during the past two years.
”It`s nothing for a property owner to come in and tear down a $300,000, $400,000 or even $500,000 home,” she said.
Lake Forest has seen perhaps half a dozen teardowns in the past year, according to that city`s building department. The trend has continued at a steady rate of a few each year in Lake Bluff and doesn`t seem to have been affected by the downturn in the economy or the local real estate market.
”The land values here are such that we have seen a steady series of homes leveled to make way for newer, bigger homes,” said Cummins, the village administrator.
Many would-be home-sellers have recognized the fact that their lots may be worth the same with or without the houses that stand on them. About two-thirds of the ”vacant” lots currently listed for sale by area real estate firms actually have houses on them, Bickmore noted. ”They recognize that they may not have a buyer for that little three-bedroom ranch, but they do have a beautiful lot to sell,” she said.
A Highland Park resident, Bickmore thinks that teardowns and in-fill are an inevitable part of a community`s growth, but she doesn`t think the new construction that has taken place thus far has changed the area`s character.
”It`s not going that quickly. It`s just an occasional thing. Putting new houses in among the old houses has been going on all along anyway. It`s an eclectic mix,” she said.
Not all teardowns and subdivisions are bad, Shields grudgingly acknowledged. ”At heart, preservationists hate to see anything changed, but when it is changed well, it can be suitable,” she said. A case in point was the subdivision, several months ago, of the 20-acre lakefront Lake Forest estate originally owned by the Schweppe family. The land was divided into two 5-acre lots, one of which contains the original manor house; and five other 2- acre lots. New homes will be built on the six additional lots the subdivision created.
A current proposal to divide another east Lake Forest lot has met with strong opposition, however. The property is in a historic part of the city and adjacent to a property that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Neighbors jammed a June meeting of the city`s Planning Commission to protest the subdivision plan. The opponents, who included Shields, argued that adding a new home to the block would crowd the houses already there, destroying the sense of open space. It would simply be out of character and out of context with the area, neighbor after neighbor argued. The Planning Commission has yet to take action on the matter.
The feeling of the Lake Forest neighbors reflects a trend in preservation circles to save not just architecturally significant buildings but the area around them. ”A single structure can be rendered meaningless without its context,” Wyant said. Even though there may be a great financial incentive now to tear down or subdivide properties in old neighborhoods, projects that destroy or disturb the contextual ambience of the area will ultimately reduce everyone`s property values, Wyant added.
