Barn on Cuneo grounds is yours for $1, but you have to move it
Looking for a historic barn at a bargain price?
For $1 you can own one built more than a century ago on the grounds of the Cuneo Mansion & Gardens in Vernon Hills, but there's a catch.
Whoever acquires the gambrel-roofed structure has to relocate it to a new site, which could be a complicated process.
"The relocation of the barn is a fairly expensive proposition, and would likely require a disassembling and then reassembling of the structure at a relocation site due to its age, size, and height," explained Steve Christensen, director of communications for Loyola University Chicago.
Loyola acquired property west of Milwaukee Avenue in 2010 from the Cuneo Foundation. The jewel is the 31,000-square-foot Italian villa-style house built for utility titan Samuel Insull. For much of its history, it was occupied by the Cuneo family and later was a museum that recently reopened for self-guided public tours.
To raise money for mansion repairs, Loyola plans to sell 53 acres to Pulte Homes to build a gated community of 128 houses. Part of the ongoing approval process with the village involves a review by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency of structures on the site that need to be removed for Pulte to proceed.
Among those is a barn about 900 feet northeast of the mansion. It is said to have been built about 1907 on what was known as Hawthorn Farms. Insull acquired the property from local farmer J.N. Barr and completed the mansion in 1916. John Cuneo Sr. bought the house and property in 1937 after Insull's empire crumbled.
During the last century, the barn underwent several alterations and renovations for various uses, including a home for zoo animals; a garage for parking Cuneo's limousines and housing for a chauffeur; and a residence for the Cuneo Museum director, according to Christensen.
The preservation agency determined the barn was a "historic resource" - a term to describe properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places or determined to be eligible for listing because they contain one or more qualifying characteristics, he added.
The barn, according to the agency, was a contributing element to a potential historic district associated with development of the mansion and gardens.
As such, Loyola must make a good-faith effort to find an entity to sign a contract on or before Dec. 31 to buy the barn as is for $1 and relocate it by March 31, 2017. If neither happens, Loyola can demolish the barn, subject to complying with certain historical documentation requirements, Christensen said.
Loyola has contacted preservation groups and listed the property on historicforsale.com.
There have been about 10 inquiries but no commitments, Christensen said.