6849 Riverside Drive

[DFlynn]

Hello all... posting this in a couple of places to hopefully get more eyes...

Does anyone have any historical information on the house at 6849 Riverside Drive?  I know who the owners are and were, just trying to find out more interesting stuff from back in the day...

This is the boarded up Greystone on the corner of Kenilworth and Riverside Drive just in case...

Thanks,
Darrin

[hanan]

Such a beautiful house, isn't it? It pains me to see it deteriorating.

[Artanis1215]

Heard the owner lives downtown (no not downtown Berwyn!) and refuses to do any repairs to the house. 

What a waste of a beautiful house!  Ladies and gentlemen, herein lies one of the problems we have in Berwyn.  Why can't the city force the owner to do something with the property.  If all that is happening is fines and they are being paid, big deal!  Can't the city take over the property by emminent domain?  Then sell the house, for revenue. 

[tony la]

This property has had many offers but none to satisfy the owner.

[Artanis1215]

This property has had many offers but none to satisfy the owner.

Too bad, such a beautiful piece of property and it is boarded up.

[Matryoshka]

Artanis, I agree w/you, it is a damn shame...from the time I first moved to Berwyn, I always admired that house and thought I'd like to buy it when/if it ever went on the market...

So Tony, do you know what kind of offer would satisfy the owner?

[Guy_on_Clinton]

not too much of an eye sore for me.... at least he has his lawn cut... unlike most of my neighboors...   bothering me more is the bank at the corner of oak park & cermak.

[Bonster]

jesus how much money do they want for a house with no back yard?!

[Matryoshka]

jesus how much money do they want for a house with no back yard?!

Yeah, almost all the Rvrsd Dr homes have tiny b/ys...

[Bonster]

interesting 'Rita...i figured the diagonal street would result in larger, triangular shaped lawns...never really checked them out.  I did notice that all the homes on OPA on the west side have tiny yards...those beautiful brink bungalows, many with driveways, too...dinky yards.  I'd go nuts.

[Count DMC]

Artanis, I agree w/you, it is a damn shame...from the time I first moved to Berwyn, I always admired that house and thought I'd like to buy it when/if it ever went on the market...

So Tony, do you know what kind of offer would satisfy the owner?

The kind of offer that a sane person would not make, making it almost impossible to buy it. The Owner is an interesting person to say the least.

[hanan]

You have to wonder how bad the interior of the house is looking by now. It's not good for a house, especially an old one, to go uninhabited for a long time.

I suspect it would be a money pit for anyone who did manage to acquire it.

Shame.

[Matryoshka]

Artanis, I agree w/you, it is a damn shame...from the time I first moved to Berwyn, I always admired that house and thought I'd like to buy it when/if it ever went on the market...

So Tony, do you know what kind of offer would satisfy the owner?

The kind of offer that a sane person would not make, making it almost impossible to buy it. The Owner is an interesting person to say the least.

Countie Sweetheart,

Is it the Mexican woman whose mother left the home to her? I heard she is an artist or something...is that correct or no?

[Bonster]

I'm assuming we're referencing this house


(credit to jqpublic)

right?

[Bonster]

If so, there was previous chatter regarding this place in a couple other threads...

FWIW:

I know the folks that live a few doors down Riverside Dr. from that house on Kenilworth. They called neighborhood watch several times to tell tham that something was going on and nothing was done until after the full blown vandalism took place. I believe a grand piano was destroyed. Funny how nobody heard anything, that had to make one hell of a lot of noise.

I remember reading about the gray house a couple of years ago when it was vandalized. It was left to a woman who is either a teacher or missionary in South America. She rarely gets back to Berwyn to deal with it. If memory serves me right she does not want to sell it, plans to someday come back and live in it.

From what I remember the home was broken into some time ago and vandals
trashed some of the furniture. BPD tracked the owner down who was living
in Africa at the time, and the windows were boarded to secure the home. I think
it was the home of her deceased parents and everything is still inside.

Property was on the market a few years ago extremely overpriced. E ven for a investor in a anything will sell market (which we were in at the time). I personally know of 5 people who have made offers on the property and she has not accepted any of them.

What a stellar home, it must be a HUD foreclosure
or some nonsense, I would think a developer would be
on that like a big dog even with extensive damage.

Do you know anything a bout the deal JQ?

And here is our latest Real Estate expert to the board.

...anyone check inside the joint for bones?     

Tow the son of a bitch.

[Ted]

This is the boarded up Greystone on the corner of Kenilworth and Riverside Drive just in case...

  That pic doesn't look like a Greystone??  It looks like a bungalow.  When I first read this post, I thought it was another house because DFlynn said it was a greystone.

  Ted

[Bonster]

What kind of stone is it, then?  Off-whitestone?


Actually, the white balance is off on that pic...you can't really see the stone too well. 

[tony la]

Acording to the listing when it was listed for sale in November of 2003 it is Indiana lime stone.  It was built in 1925.  At that time there were a handful of homes in Berwyn and Riverside that were built with that perticular limestone.

IMHO because the lot size is so irregular, the floor plan of that home is not real functional.   It was on the market for 325k. They had at least 3 offers that I know of.  I do not know what the offers  were, but obviously they were not to the owners liking.

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

The assessors office reports the house with 2938 sq feet with 3 full baths and 1 half and the lot size as 9734 sq feet.  A big house on a big lot especially by Berwyn standards.  It is a shame that it's sitting unoccupied in a state of disrepair.  I'm sure if the right people bought they could turn it into a gem.  There's a house that needs a whole lotta love.

[DFlynn]

Hi Everyone... Great to see so many responses and thanks to those that emailed me some great history on the house....

So here goes...

This home at 6849 Riverside Drive will be hitting the MLS on September 1st.
List Price is $379,900

This house has been vandalized... unfortunately most of the original light fixtures and some of the French Doors were broken (muttons and glass knocked out).  Some of the upstairs walls were kicked in and the repairs were started but never finished.  There are also several broken window panes... thus the boarding up.

In the next couple of weeks, you can look forward to seeing the landscaping brought back under control, and most of the boards coming off of the windows.  The roof is also being repaired with the Green Tile.

On the up sided, the Mahogany crown molding and trim is intact.  The AMAZING carved stone fireplace is also great.

This will be an amazing home for someone that loves Bungalow's.

American Bungalow Magazine is also entertaining the idea of doing a follow-up article on this house... tracking the sale (when it happens) and the restoration if the new owner is ok with it.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Darrin Flynn
Baird & Warner
630-291-6654 cell
708-697-5937 office