Town of Normal staff are suggesting it is worth $190,000 of taxpayer money to eliminate a problem property on North School Street. The Town Council will decide whether to buy a house in the 600 block of North School and end its status as a student rooming house.
The century old house has a history of code violations and poor repair. Staff say students who leased it for the fall term even moved out.
Staff say the town has a history of trying to eliminate non-conforming uses in neighborhoods. The house is in a historic district and surrounded by single family homes and would return to single occupancy zoning if the town acquired it.
The town would intend to sell the house to a new owner who would either fix it up or tear it down and rebuild to compatible standards for the historic district.
