Burned-Out Lakeview Duplex Coming Down

The nightmare that has been the burned-out duplex at 567 Northgate Circle in Oswego finally is nearing an end.

Work crews picked up permits Thursday morning at Village Hall and soon began demolishing the home that was destroyed by fire in January, said Patricia Lariviere, the village's Building and Zoning manager.

The home has been the subject of countless neighborhood complaints since . The problem with getting it torn down, Lariviere said, is that the home was in foreclosure when it was destroyed and finding the responsible party became extremely difficult.

"This has been a very frustrating process and we empathize with what the neighbors have been through," she said. "These are unique economic times. Usually an insurance company will want to get homeowners back in their homes as quickly as possible."

Arlene Wilson lives across the street at 562 Northgate Circle. She said she spent the morning in her garage watching the demolition and drinking coffee.

"Everyone is just so happy," she said. "We didn't know who to turn to. It was just sitting here rotting away."

Wilson said the greatest concern of neighbors was safety.

"I would see children going up the driveway and with strong storms who knows what could have happened," she said.

The village eventually fenced the property, and progress toward demolition began in late August when the mortgage company, Flagstar Bank of Troy, MI, finally took possession of the home through a Kendall County Sheriff's Office sale. Since then, the village has been working with utility companies to ensure the safety of the demolition process, Lariviere said.

"Flagstar has been a great company to work with," she said. "They've been very responsive and communicative."

The other half of the duplex was occupied by a woman who has not been living in her home. Lariviere said the demolition company has offered to repair the wall that separated the two homes and install siding. 

A new home will not be built on the land, and Lariviere said the bank may offer it to the remaining homeowner.

"They offered the land to the and the park district, but the village doesn't need the land and it's too small for the park district," she said. 

Meanwhile, neighbors with a very similar situation across town still await word on the future of a home at 505 Meadowwood Lane in Gates Creek West. The top floor of the home was gutted by fire in June 2010 and has sat unoccupied and boarded up ever since. 

over the summer when debris began flying across the neighborhood during strong storms. 

That home was also in the foreclosure process at the time of the fire. Lariviere said the mortage company Wells Fargo will not return communication from the village and until the home's legal owner steps up, the village is limited in its options. 

"Again, this is private property, and the village can issue fines, but no one will pay them," she said.