'Life And Limb': La Grange Teardown Could Pose Danger, Neighbor Says

LA GRANGE, IL – A neighbor of a planned 39-unit condo complex in La Grange is arguing that a preceding demolition could pose a danger to his family.

Jonathan Robinson, a Seventh Avenue resident, was referring to the teardown of the Jackson Square antique mall building, 112 E. Burlington Ave.

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A building wall is on Robinson's lot line.

At last week's Village Board meeting, Robinson said he was able to get a copy of the demolition plan from the village. The roof is going off first, he said, leaving the wall unbraced.

The proposal is for a covered walkway in front of the Jackson Square building as well as the neighboring Becknell Industrial complex. But he said no protection exists on his side.

The plan is to hand-disassemble the wall in question. While that is good for keeping debris off his property, he said it impacts "life and limb safety."

"Once they remove the roof framing, the wall has no support," said Robinson, a structural engineer. "It is an unbraced wall that is flopping in the breeze, literally. You just can't leave that overnight."

He asked, "How do I keep my dog from that wall? How do I keep myself safe mowing the lawn?"

He has already sued the village and developer Dan Spain, owner of La Grange's The Elm restaurant, over the process to approve the four-story condo building.

Because of the litigation, the demolition has been delayed by more than a month.

Robinson emailed village officials about the wall issue a few hours before last week's meeting.

He pointed to Chicago's rules for demolitions, noting that the city deals with lot-line issues all the time. The city, he said, has rules to keep neighbors safe.

"This is an extremely complex demolition process," Robinson said. "This is not a normal situation. Please, please take the time to treat it correctly."

At the meeting, Village President Mark Kuchler did not reply to Robinson's concern.

In an email to Robinson on Tuesday, Kuchler said it was difficult to respond to Robinson because of the pending lawsuit and the "real possibility of future litigation."

"That being said, the Village takes safety very seriously, and your suggestion that we do not is unfounded," Kuchler said. "Obviously, if your priority is safety, you could allow the contractors access to your property. I assume that you have no interest in doing so."

In an email to Patch, Robinson said he had no issue with reaching a reasonable solution with the developer.

He suggested a temporary fence away from the wall put up in his yard as a solution.

"It is completely reasonable to expect that the developer contractor coordinate with the close neighbors and provide a reasonable and viable solution," Robinson said. "The developer not having those conversations just reinforces the poor neighbor label."