In exactly a week from today, Frank Lloyd Wright's Isidore H. Heller House in Hyde Park will have been on the market for a whopping 1,000 days. That's nearly three years that this early Prairie home has been actively seeking a new owner. It's not uncommon for Frank Lloyd Wright's homes in the Chicago area to languish on the market for months, or even years, however this particular home is significant for marking the turning point in Wright's architectural style and philosophy towards the straight lines, flat roofs, overhanging eaves and integration into the surrounding environment that would become Wright's distinct brand of Prairie School architecture. The home was built in 1897, so it's one of the oldest Chicago-area Wright homes on the market right now, however at $2.425 million, it's the area's most expensive Frank Lloyd Wright home currently for sale.
Many of the Wright homes that have hit the market over the last couple of years need a considerable amount of work to make them livable, and this can certainly affect the home's value and the level of interest that homebuyers are going to have. However, other Wright homes that have been updated throughout the decades and need little to no work can sell in less than a week.
At 6,100 square feet, the home is large even by today's standards. The home appears to have been preserved quite nicely and sports a lot of Wright's trademark design cues like art glass windows, low ceilings, flat roof lines and even some Sullivanesque exterior ornamentation. The only other Wright home in the area that comes close to size and appearance is the restored William Winslow House in River Forest which is asking $1.699 million. Is the Heller House asking too much? It's only taken a small $75,000 price cut since it listed in January 2012. The owners may not be in the biggest rush to sell, hence the lack of further price cuts over the years. One thing that's for sure is that the listing could use some updated higher res images than the ones taken nearly three years ago. Considering how long it's been on the market with no bites, it could potentially languish for another 1,000 days.
·5132 S Woodlawn Ave. Chicago, IL 60615 [Redfin]
·Wright's Heller House hits the market in Hyde Park for $2.5M [Curbed Chicago]
·Previous Frank Lloyd Wright coverage [Curbed Chicago]
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