By Adam Studzinski
NORMAL – The Normal Town Council will vote tonight on selling a pair of properties on North School Street, which had previously been used mostly by students.
City Manager Mark Peterson explained the house at 614 N. School St. is being bought by David Geshiwlm for $45,000. The town had bought the house last November for $190,000.
“You could fill it with students and you could rent that property. And there are students that aren’t too concerned about the condition of the property, and it was in poor condition,” said Peterson. “But that’s the value of a non-conforming use like that.”
Peterson added Geshiwlm expects to invest about $80,000 of his own money to turn the house into a single family home, which will be a better fit for the neighborhood. Geshiwlm will likely sell the property for use by another family.
The property at 513 N. School St. is being bought by Isaac Gaff for $70,000. Peterson said Gaff and his family expect to live in the home once they restore it. This property was bought by Normal in September 2015 for $170,000.
According to Peterson, the town knew it would take a loss on both these properties when the purchases were made.
“We are solving a significant problem,” said Peterson. “We think this is going to help to further stabilize that very beautiful historic neighborhood on North School Street.”
Peterson said the town wants to ensure the investments made by the other property owners in the neighborhood are not mitigated by a few nuisance lots.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at adam.studzinski@cumulus.com.
