"Relocation is probably tens of thousands of dollars, probably $70,000 to $80,000 to relocate, and then there are costs to bring the building back up, to restore the building," Kiraly says. Renovation costs would be another $200,000, he estimated.
Barbara Gordon, executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy, said the cottage was originally owned by Wright’s lawyer, Sherman Booth, and Booth’s wife, Elizabeth. "It’s really such an important part of the Glencoe story." "You wouldn't throw out a Picasso or a sketch of a Picasso. That's how I would look at this building."Gordon said Glencoe should focus on the original portion of the building. She says the original cottage is about 1,100 square feet but that another 800 square feet has been added in the form of bedrooms and other spaces. Village manager Kiraly hopes a solution is worked out in the next few weeks. If things don't work out toward keeping the building in Glencoe, he said people outside Glencoe have contacted the village in the hopes of moving the cottage elsewhere in Illinois.Still, he's hoping the end result is that it remains in Glencoe.When the new homeowners applied for a demolition permit, there was a 180-day waiting period. That period ended last Saturday, but Kiraly say that does not mean the small house could be torn down soon. He says that, in Glencoe, demolition cannot begin until a construction permit is approved. That has not been done yet.
