Bungalow expo at IIT today

[OakParkSpartan]

Parking over at Comiskey.  I was there last year, and it was pretty interesting.

Cheers,
Brian

[shrugger]

so did anyone attend this last weekend? was out of town, although I am not sure if I would have made it anyhow. but seeing as how it will probably be back next year I am wondering about the experiences of anyone who went (this year or in past years).

and speaking of the Chicago Historical Bungalow Initiative... I think that it would be a great idea for the city of Berwyn to take a look at how successful (or unsuccessful) some of the Chicago programs have been at helping to restore homes. I would say that the beautifully sturdy housing stock is Berwyn's most valuable resource, and the real key to any future economic development.

[markweiner]

I went and saw many other Berwynites; many of them did not even own bungalows, such as myself.  I went to get information because we are hoping to have a bungalow walk by the end of the year.

MarkWeiner1@Hotmail.com

[Ana]

Awesome Mark, PLEASE, don't forget the beautiful bungalows that are on the southside of Berwyn.  3612 Wesley has done a magnificient job of remodeling and keeping to the period of the home.  For some reason our side of Ogden gets lost in the shuffle.  There are quite a few on both Wesley and Euclid that are worth looking at.

Ana

[Suedehead]

I think Berwyn should come up with a way to certify historic, unmuddled bungalows and offer incentives to homeowners to restore the remuddled ones back to their original beauty. I don't think Berwyn could do something on the level of what Chicago is doing, but I think they should be doing something.

[Ana]

I think if we give the IVB a little bit of time they will eventually work this into their plan.  They realize that there are people moving to Berwyn to find a bungalow that can be restored.   

[Suedehead]

I hope so; owning our own bungalow was one of the main reasons we moved here from Chicago. I love our pile of bricks and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

[shrugger]

I would say that it would be tough to match some of the things that Chicago is able to offer/leverage, but I think that a major piece of their bungalow program is just the symbolism of it all. offering certification and showing some level of stated commitment to preserving/restoring these homes helps to solidify the trend.

I kind of wonder how much the various grants and such have even been used, and how much they are really incenting people to purchase and restore these homes. maybe they offered some stats at the Expo?

[Ana]

Maybe there are some stats on their website.  I've gone into their forum and it seems there are quite a few people that have gotten their bungalows certified and are getting vouchers, etc. for upgrading and restoring. 

[Suedehead]

According to an article in the Suntimes last week:

" The Bungalow Initiative was launched by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2000 to ensure the longevity of Chicago's historic bungalows. More than than 6,000 homeowners throughout the city have purchased, restored and modernized their bungalows with assistance from the HCBA since its inception.

"So far, the HCBA has provided more than $1.5 million in incentives to the owners of certified Historic Chicago Bungalows," said Charles Shanabruch, executive director of the HCBA. "Seniors take advantage of the program. It can be a real boost for larger families on restricted budgets."

Last year, 140 households took advantage of the low-income grants, with the average grant being about $4,300. "

The whole article is here:
http://www.suntimes.com/special_sections/bungalows/hof-news-bunglede22.html