A Frank Lloyd Wright-designed residence in Chicago that has been in a state of dilapidation faces an uncertain future after its ownership was transferred to a mortgage company following a failed foreclosure auction.
Artnet.com reports the Prairie style Walser House has been unoccupied and unmaintained since 2019, when the property’s last owner died. The property has been in foreclosure since 2023 and carries a reverse mortgage that is greater than the home’s value, which was appraised at $65,000.
A foreclosure was sale held on Dec. 1, but the minimum bid level of $240,000 was too high for local preservation groups that estimated it would cost over $2 million for restoration services. PHH Mortgage, which currently owns the property, has not stated what plans it has for the property.
However, the property cannot be allowed to collapse into complete ruin. As a landmarked site, it falls under Chicago law that prevents new construction on sites whose owners allowed demolition through neglect. Walser House is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Among the property’s problems are rotting wood, cracked and failing exterior stucco, exposed structural elements, and a deteriorating roof and chimney. It also has a list of building code violations that need to be addressed – which is no surprise, considering the great architect designed the property in 1903.
Photo courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy
Sad, this happened and I hope the home is saved.
I”m sorry but a 2 million dollar renovation cost? This is why Historic Preservation Districts or in this case a particular home has negative impacts on “fair market value”. I love Frank Llyod Wright homes. In the photo the house is adjacent to what looks like an apartment building. Also for $65k in the Chicago area means that the home is in one of the cheapest areas of town. Home ownership is limited in these areas. Rentership is way above the city average. Maybe the apartment complex could buy it, have it moved to another site and then use that space for a parking lot or green space for its tenants. Being next to an apartment complex the home suffers from locational obsolescenes. It looks like some of the windows in the apartment complex allow people to look down into the backyard of this FLW home. Yuck! Yes, I hope the home can be saved but you need a “deep pockets” philanthropist to step up or the mortgage company maybe could donate the home to the Historical Preservation Society and take a write off of its costs.
Why was the enormous brick wall built right on the adjacent lot line? That alone ruined the house. What a pity. The Walser house should be accurately recorded and reconstructed as a replica on another more fitting site as such a building design has academic, historic and cultural merit. The cost would be about the same.
F.L.Wright designed a lot of houses but time moves on. This clutching of supposed historic pearls is silly and a “TAKING” of value to current property owners. If the historic value was truly there “Historic” designation would be a desired value builder – and sometimes it is. If it’s not the natural order of capitalism should be allowed to take it’s course and clean it up. This thing need to see a D9!