Decision To Tear Down Elmhurst House Explained

ELMHURST, IL – The lawyer for an Elmhurst family who wants to tear down a nearly century-old house explained the decision to go that route Monday.

In March, Richard "RJ" Parrilli bought the house at 292 S. Arlington Ave. for nearly $2 million. Along with his wife, Alyssa Parrilli, he attended Monday night's Plan Commission meeting.

Their lawyer, Francis Bongiovanni, told the commission the Parrillis got an inspection of the house before buying it.

"The inspector came back with a 177-page report with 136 requested or suggested repairs to the home," Bongiovanni said. "After looking at it, whether you tore it down or rehabbed it, it would be greatly significant dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The house at 292 S. Arlington Ave., owned by Richard "RJ" Parrilli, is nearly a century old. Parrilli and his wife, Alyssa Parrilli, want to tear it down to make way for a new house. A video tour of the house is available online. (David Giuliani/Patch)

The couple is seeking to consolidate the lot that includes the house, which is at Arlington Avenue and Adelia Street, with a smaller lot to the south. They plan a new house on the larger lot.

This would require changing a zoning designation that is common to the larger lots mainly to the north of the house.

At the public hearing, the commission's chairwoman, Susan Rose, told the audience that the issue at hand was the lot consolidation, not the planned demolition.

"The owner of the property has the right to do that," she said.

Rose said the commission has nothing to do with the broader issue of teardowns. That is the purview of the elected City Council, she said.

Dozens of neighbors showed up at the meeting, asserting that the home's demolition would hurt the city.

As of Wednesday morning, a Change.org petition opposing the planned demolition had drawn 995 signatures.

During the hearing, Jim Schuetz, who lives a block over on Kenilworth Avenue, noted a 2010 city historical preservation study that pointed to 28 homes in the area as having historical and architectural significance. Nine of those homes have been demolished since then, he said.

"We believe we are at a tipping point in the protection of Elmhurst's history and architecture," Schuetz said. "Let's not waste this opportunity."

Michael Cramarosso, who lives across the street from the house in question, said his family considers themselves the caretakers for their piece of local history – a house built in 1905.

"We assume the responsibility to preserve the house for future generations," he said. "The sad truth about demolishing a historical home is you cannot replace it. It's gone forever. We're not building any more historical homes."

Reid Stanton, who lives a dozen blocks away, said the city does not care about preserving historic homes.

He recalled the controversy in early 2020 when a young couple struggled to get the City Council to approve a 49-square-foot addition to make way for a second full bathroom. Yet a "wealthy person" in the latest case doesn't think a significantly larger house is big enough for him, he said.

Stanton called such inequality the "skyboxification" of society, with the "rest of us down here."

Cathy O'Neill, who lives nearby in the 200 block of East St. Charles Road, said Elmhurst needs to wake up and register some of its houses as historic properties.

After her husband died a few years ago, O'Neill said she considered selling her nearly century-old house. But she decided against it.

"I'm not going to let someone buy this home and tear it down," she said.

Ryan Forst, who lives in the 100 block of Fellows Court, said he graduated from Elmhurst University years ago. Then he left.

"I fell in love with this town because of Arlington," said Forst, whose neighborhood of townhomes is behind Kohl's. "It took me 10 years to come back to this town."

Not all of the Parrillis' neighbors opposed their request.

Joe Sergi, who lives a block away on Kenilworth, said he preferred consolidating the lots.

"It makes sense to have a larger site rather than two larger homes. It would be less density," he said.

Comments from the public lasted more than an hour, ending a 10 p.m., which is when city meetings often close.

Chairwoman Rose said the hearing would resume May 21.

"I'm in no rush to make a decision," she said.

A video tour of the house at 292 Arlington is available online.