Barrington hopes $1 price tags can preserve two homes
Even as Barrington village officials are preparing for a new development in the downtown area, they are working to preserve a piece of history.
Village President Karen Darch said that in hopes of saving two homes in the area from demolition, they are being offered for sale to anyone interested in moving them.
"It could be a win-win for someone who wants to move into a house already built and we can preserve some history at the same time," Darch said.
The village is offering to sell the homes, at 132 and 138 West Station St., for only $1, in return for the new owner relocating the homes by Dec. 15.
But since the homes reside in the village's Historic Preservation Overlay District, Jim Wallace, Barrington's director of building and planning, said approval to move them must come from the village's architectural review and plan commissions and board of trustees.
"Our offer of sale is contingent" on the commissions' and trustees' approval, Wallace said.
The architectural review commission is scheduled to have an initial review of the case at its Oct. 11 meeting.
The Historic Preservation Overlay District was created as a way to protect and preserve areas of the village that have historic, architectural or cultural significance.
It was also intended to make sure that any redevelopment in the Historic District fits in with the character of the district.
All the structures in the Historic District are at least 50 years old or have achieved some exceptional importance in the last 50 years.
The homes the village wants to see moved, Darch said, are representative of Barrington's early years.
"These were the kinds of houses that were traditional Barrington," Darch said.
Relocating buildings with historic significance is not a new process for the village.
In 1999, a blacksmith shop, built in 1928, was relocated to the Barrington Area Historical Society's property on Main Street to make room for Barrington's new village hall.
Wallace said the homes need to be moved so storm sewers can be relocated to prepare for the first phase of the redevelopment project.
The redevelopment project, however, still needs to go through the village's approval process, Village Manager Denise Pieroni said.
In May, Palatine-based developer The Hummel Group presented a proposal for a mixed-use development at the southwest corner of Hough and Main streets. The proposal includes high-end residential, retail and restaurant uses.
The current goal, Pieroni said, is to have the project start going through the review process with the architectural review and plan commissions by the end of the year.