Efforts continue, and fail, to raze ex-Hoffman mayor's house

The developer who owns the farmhouse where the late Hoffman Estates Mayor Michael O'Malley lived still wants to demolish the 156-year-old structure.

Current Mayor William McLeod remains opposed, saying he'd prefer the home be renovated.

O'Malley lived in the Freye farmhouse from 1989 until 2000, when he died in office.

New Haven Development Co. says the house can't be salvaged through a rehab, leaving demolition as the only financially viable option. The village approved a site plan in 2003 to renovate the house, but New Haven representatives claim economic conditions have changed. They project losing more than $168,500 if they renovate.

While the village this week rejected the demolition request, they did grant an extension to finish the project by Dec. 31, 2011. New Haven's Jerome Pinderski Jr. said the company wants to replace the farmhouse with a new single-family home by late 2009 or early 2010, saying that plan would help secure financing.

If allowed to build a new home, Pinderski said New Haven would ensure it's designed to match the character of other homes in the area.

New Haven also owns two lots on either side of the farmhouse on the 900 block of Freeman Road. The developer has already built and sold a home on one lot; the other remains vacant.

Pinderski said three or four families have approached New Haven in the past five years with interest in building a new home on the Freye lot.

"I'm afraid we've had to turn those families down," he said.

New Haven also presented a petition with 70 signatures from neighbors supporting the farmhouse demolition.

"There's just no saving the house," said Jeff Wolf, who's lived in the area for 17 years.

Ray Kincaid and Karen Mills were the only trustees to vote in favor of demolition. Kincaid said neighbors have told him they also want to see the farm razed.

New Haven went before the village board last year with a similar proposal that was rejected. This week, McLeod again said he believes the developer has deliberately allowed the farm to fall into disrepair, noting broken windows and peeling paint haven't been addressed.

The developer bought the house in 2003 from O'Malley's widow, and McLeod asserts she wouldn't have sold to New Haven if she thought the home would be torn down. He said New Haven isn't honoring its agreement.

"You've done none of that, and now you want to be rewarded," McLeod told Pinderski.

But Kincaid pointed out that the board allowed another builder, Terrestris Homes, to back out of a promise to save the historic Lindbergh schoolhouse along Shoe Factory Road. It was razed last year despite a long effort to save it.

Trustee Cary Collins countered that "compared to the Lindbergh School, (the Freye house) is a Taj Mahal."

Saved: House has fallen into disrepair