A Hinsdale couple who wants to have the landmark designation for their house withdrawn did not convince the village’s Historic Preservation Commission of the need for the change.
Warren and Nancy Furey, who have lived at 244 E. First St. since 1971, need to sell their home. As Warren Furey explained to the commission and in a letter to the village, his wife’s cancer diagnosis earlier this year has necessitated a change in their living arrangements.
“We find ourselves in a position where we need to sell our home in a reasonable timeframe,” Furey wrote. “We are concerned that the landmark status will increase the time our home sits on the market waiting for a buyer, and we will be forced to accept a significantly lower sale price which will greatly affect our financial retirement security.”
Furey said in the past six months, two parties have expressed an interest in buying and restoring the house, but they have no interest in purchasing the house at any price with the landmark designation.
The village code allows the withdrawal of a building’s landmark designations for certain reasons. One of the reasons is if the owner is experiencing significant and continuing financial hardship, so they are not able to adequately maintain the structure.
However, the Historic Preservation Commission voted Wednesday to deny Furey’s request. The request now goes to the Hinsdale Village Board for a final decision.
Although they were sympathetic to the Fureys’ situation, several commissioners said there was not enough evidence that the home could not be sold while designated a landmark.
The Furey family said the interior of the home needs improvements.
But James Prisby, a member of the preservation commission, said no evidence of the condition of the house or an estimated cost of the needed work was presented.
Carrie Kenna from Kenna Homes and BHHS Koenig Rubloff Realty Group said potential clients who expressed an interest in the house ruled it out due to the landmark status.
“Given the home needs extensive work, any potential buyer will be impacted by the landmark status,” Kenna wrote. “The risk a buyer would need to undertake in dealing with this comes at a steep price and may require a substantially longer marketing period to find that right buyer.”
If a structure is designated a historic landmark in Hinsdale, alterations to its exterior or its demolition have to be presented to the Historic Preservation Commission, which then would review the project and decide whether to issue a certificate of appropriateness. If the commission denies the certificate, their decision can be appealed to the Hinsdale Village Board.
Prisby and fellow commission member Janice D’Arco also said they do not think the house was marketed extensively enough.
Prisby, a principal in the firm Caprio Prisby Architectural Design in Hinsdale, said while it is not easy to sell a historic home, there are many clients who would take on such a project. He said as an architect and a builder, he has been involved in renovations of seven or eight historic homes.
Prisby said the house was not publicized on an open real estate listing or a website, such as Zillow, nor was a “for sale” sign put in front of the house.
“The way they have done it has limited the number of people that could potentially buy and renovate the home,” Prisby said.
He wanted more time to discuss the request, but the meeting was running late and Furey had requested the commission vote that night.
Anne Schultz, who spoke on behalf of her parents, Warren and Nancy Furey, said they presented their request and packet of information in early October, but were not scheduled for a commission meeting until December.
“We fully understood from their line of questioning and deliberation that we would need to continue the process at the board level which will take at least another one to two months,” Schultz said after the meeting.
If the Village Board votes no, Schultz said they will need to proceed to the Illinois court system.
“We believe these requests to continue and delay only further contribute to their emotional stress and financial hardship,” she said.
Furey explained that he and his wife decided to landmark their home in 2002 to raise awareness and appreciation for historic architecture, in response to all the teardowns of old homes that were occurring in the 1990s. They understood the designation was voluntary and they could withdraw the designation in the future.
They did not take advantage of any possible tax savings due to their home’s landmark status, Furey said.
Furey also said he hopes the buyer of his house will restore it to its former luster, as opposed to tearing it down.
The Fureys’ wood frame home, built in 1893 in the Victorian Renaissance style, was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston, the architectural firm that designed the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Cultural Center.
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