A month after the city of Park Ridge voted to put a moratorium on establishing new historic districts, a preservation expert delivered an argument for establishing at least one more.
Erica Ruggiero, a lead historic preservation specialist at the Evanston-based architecture firm of McGuire Igleski and Associates (MIA), presented the preliminary results of a survey of one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.
MIA specializes in community historic preservation and they were invited by Community Development Director Drew Awsumb to present ideas for future preservation. Ruggiero focused on the L. Hodges development and adjacent developments as that parcel is the earliest subdivision in the city, dating to 1873. The city paid for the survey by a grant.
Most of the 193 homes in the area aren’t that old and many date from a local housing boom that began around 1890 and lasted through 1930, but even so Ruggiero argued they have historic value and are worth being preserved. She said homes in the area included styles as diverse as Craftsman, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and others, with 89 % of the homes in the area as fitting into one style or another. She said the varied styles reflected the freedom available to homeowners at the time, who saw the subdivision as “a blank canvas.”
Ruggiero said 10 homes are eligible for national historic landmark designation and 121 homes had architectural integrity. The architectural survey recommends the city make efforts to preserve the homes as historically or architecturally significant.
Alderperson Joseph Steinfels asked Ruggiero if the homeowners were notified of the historic value of their property.
“It’s up to the city or the municipality to take it further if you would like,” she said.
The survey recommended the city do exactly that, and Ruggiero said some of the neighborhoods outside the studied area could also qualify as historic and are worth study.
However, a month ago, the city council voted unanimously to temporarily halt efforts to establish historic districts. At the time city leaders worried preservation efforts could stifle development or stymie homeowners from developing their own homes.
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In August, a group of homeowners petitioned the city to declare their neighborhood a historic district, so-called Spanish Town. This was the first such designation for Park Ridge and it allows homeowners within the district tax breaks and access to grants for preservation.
The city council took no action on the matter as it wasn’t up for a vote. The presentation was intended simply to offer information. The survey will eventually be published as an interactive web map.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.