Newly Remodeled 1889 Evanston Farmhouse Asks For $1.1 Million

EVANSTON, IL — The price on a recently remodeled 1889 Italianate farmhouse in Evanston's 9th Ward was reduced to below $1.1 million Monday, two months after hitting the market for more than three times what it sold for less than three years ago.

The home underwent about 18 months of renovations, which completely reconfigured the first floor and added a finished basement, a side deck and a completely new garage, according to listing agent Rafay Qamar.

Exterior improvements include new siding, wood paneling, molding and landscape work with imported trees beside the neighboring multi-unit building. A vegetable bed and irrigation system has been added. A side deck with a pergola and wooded screen is another new addition.

Inside, the front door now opens into an open dining room, kitchen and family room. The old cramped kitchen has been replaced with a half-bathroom and powder room, while the new kitchen includes custom hickory cabinets and Corian heated countertops.

There are three reconfigured bedrooms upstairs, including a master suite with seven windows, two skylights, a large walk-in closet and a gas fireplace. The master bath features a steam shower and double vanity. The other two bedrooms share another full bathroom upstairs.

There is radiant heating and white oak flooring throughout the home's 2,268-square-feet of above-ground living area, Qamar said. A new finished basement adds about 550 square feet of carpeted space.

The exterior crown moldings and trim were restored, the listing agent explained, and the underside of the porch overhang was repaired after it was in very poor condition before the remodel. An existing screened-in back porch, which now connects to the completely new deck, was also restored.

City officials mandated the facade and certain elements of the property needed to remain unchanged so as not to jeopardize the integrity of the property, providing a list of pre-approved vendors to conduct the restoration, according to Qamar. City records show permits for sewer repair, garage demolition, a new brick walkway and at least $180,000 in interior renovations.

"She preserved as much as she could to maintain [its] vintage charm, even when you enter you have the beautiful grand staircase that goes up," Qamar said. "But it's got all modern functionalities."

The home now includes floor-to-ceiling windows, recessed lighting throughout and custom chandeliers, he said.

Property records show the home was last purchased for $390,000 in a June 2016 estate sale by Cindy Joa of Kohler, Wisconsin, whose daughter lives in Evanston.

Joa rehabbed the home with plans to live there as a retirement property near her family, spending a total of close to $700,000 to remodel the home, according to Qamar.

"If this was a rehab [to flip] she wouldn't have used the Corian, she wouldn't have used all the materials — the white oak, the radiant flooring — she would have done it differently," Qamar said. "She would have kept the budget a lot more modest, but she was going to be for her to live in, that's why she put so much money in."

Joa first listed the home in January for $1.2 million. The price was dropped last month to $1.145 million and again Monday to just under $1.1 million, according to its realtor.com listing.

According to the Cook County Assessor's Office, the 2017 market value of the home was nearly $500,000 for taxing purposes. But in 2018, it dropped to below $125,000. Its 2017 tax bill was $13,387.

• Address: 809 Monroe St., Evanston
• Price: $1.095 million
• Square Feet: 2,268
• Lot Size: 0.14 acres
• Bedrooms: 3
• Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half
• Built: 1889
• Rehabbed: 2017-18

Listing information originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.