Preservation commission rejects demolition and replacement plan for Hallmark House at 142 East First Street

The Hinsdale Historic Preservation Commission voted not to approve a demolition request or a certificate of appropriateness for construction of a replacement home at 142 East First Street, commonly referred to in the meeting materials as the Hallmark House. Both motions failed on roll call; commissioners recorded negative votes on the demolition motion and the COA motion.

Applicant Robert Samala, president of Legacy Homes (Samala Inc.), told the commission he inspected the house and consulted with architects who advised that remediation would be prohibitively expensive. Samala said lifting the house and installing a new foundation would cost about $390,000 and that, based on realtor feedback, potential buyers had treated the property as a teardown. “My opinion was that remodeling it just can’t be done,”…