Subsidy Sought For Hinsdale Historic Home's Project

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale is poised to partially subsidize a family's project to build an addition and attached garage.

The incentive is part of a village program that encourages owners to preserve historic homes, rather than tear them down.

The house is at 408 S. Washington St., owned by Ian and Emily Nelson. They bought the property for nearly $1.6 million last year, according to real estate records.

The couple plans to demolish the 1970s detached garage and the 1980s two-story addition.

They will then build the new structures, costing an estimated $318,000.

The two-story Craftsman-style house was built around 1910.

Under Hinsdale's program, a homeowner can receive a rebate for the village's part of the property tax bill for five years. That is expected to amount to $7,600.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, Abigail Rohlinger of Clarendon Hills-based Michael Abraham Architecture said her clients, the Nelsons, worked hard to make sure their plan did not affect the home's historic facade.

"The biggest point to them was to make sure that we were matching the character of the neighborhood," she said.

Under the village's preservation program, owners of historically significant properties can propose rear additions while keeping their homes' historic character.

In return, the village grants property tax rebates, exemptions in square footage limits, building fee waivers and sped-up processing of applications.

By contrast, the village deliberately makes the process for demolishing historic homes more cumbersome.

Also on the board's agenda are owners' requests to place eight homes on the village's historically significant properties list.

The properties are at:

• 7 W. Ayres St.
• 120 S. Elm St.
• 218 E. Hickory Ave.
• 730 S. Lincoln St.
• 108 Minneola St.
• 425 S. Monroe St.
• 427 N. Vine St.
• 404 N. Washington St.

Village Trustee Scott Banke owns the Vine Street house. He said he would recuse himself from the board's vote.

The votes on the subsidy and the historically significant properties are expected to take place in two weeks.