Condemned Mundelein hotel may get new lease on life

It's the eyesore that won't go away.

Four years after Mundelein officials condemned a rundown building at 534 N. Seymour Ave. and threatened to raze it, the former Central Hotel still stands.

And now it may have a new lease on life.

At the request of a Lake County judge, Mundelein officials have issued a building permit that would allow repairs to the 122-year-old, two-story building just north of Hawley Street.

However, they're not optimistic the mysterious owner of the property actually will complete the work.

"We absolutely question his sincerity," Village Administrator John Lobaito said Friday. "He has been dodging his responsibility on that property for more than 25 years."

The building-permit application lists a "C. Pelfresne" of Muskegon, Mich., as the property's trustee.

Public records have listed Eleanor Schiessle and members of her family as the owners of the building. Court records from an unrelated case indicate the Pelfresnes and Schiessles are related.

A man who answered the phone at the number listed on the application identified himself as Charles Pelfresne, but refused to say whether he owned the building. He hung up without answering any questions.

A woman named Deborah Wilmers, hometown unknown, applied for the permit and is listed as the contractor on the form. She could not be reached for comment.

Built in 1886, the building is one of the oldest standing structures in Lake County. It's been used as a hotel, a livery and stables, a restaurant and apartments.

It fell into disrepair sometime after it was sold in the 1970s. Broken windows, peeling paint and other hazards are visible on the outside of the building, and village officials say more dangers lurk inside.

A lone tenant was evicted in 2003 because of the building-code violations. Her belongings, including clothes and a television, remain inside, Lobaito said.

The village sought court permission to demolish the building last summer. But after an attorney for the owner stepped forward and said the building would be repaired, Associate Circuit Court Judge Mitchell L. Hoffman denied the request and urged the village and the owner to settle the matter, Lobaito said.

Wilmers applied for the building permit in June, records show. It was paid for and approved July 18, village Building Director Pete Schubkegel said.

On the application, Wilmers estimated the cost of repairs to be $58,000.

Although officials have their doubts about the project, the application was in order, Lobaito said.

"First and foremost, we have a duty to follow the law," he said. "Our obligation is to issue the permit if plans have been submitted in substantial detail, and we've done that."

Village officials will ask Hoffman to legally compel Pelfresne to start and complete the work by specific dates.

"Because otherwise, we don't think he's going to do anything," Lobaito said. "We're not going to sit around and do nothing while this guy pulls down property values around (him)."

Citing concerns about bugs, wild animals and squatters, Trustee Terri Voss hopes Hoffman will reconsider allowing demolition if the work isn't done.

"It's an unsafe condition, and I don't want it to continue," said Voss, who owns a business not far from the building.