For nine years, Baker Memorial United Methodist Church tried to get rid of a limestone house across the street from its sanctuary. The church had owned the property at 217 Cedar Avenue since 1993, watched it sit vacant and deteriorating, and by 2017 had settled on a plan: tear it down, pave it over, add parking. The city kept saying no.
This past July, that same house became an official St. Charles landmark. The story of how it got there, and who ended up paying for the restoration, says more about buying property in downtown St. Charles than any listing description will.
What Nearly Happened at 217 Cedar Avenue
The house is known as the Judge William D. Barry House, built around 1844 in the Greek Revival style, its original limestone walls buried under decades of stucco. Barry was a Kane County judge around the time of the Civil War and the first president of the Kane County Bar Association, with documented ties to Gen. John F. Farnsworth.
None of that history stopped the church from petitioning to demolish it. In October 2024, Baker Memorial asked the Historic Preservation Commission for permission to tear down both the Barry House and an adjacent two-flat at 211-215 Cedar. The commission let the two-flat go but would not sign off on the Barry House. The church pushed again in 2025, and the property landed on the state's list of Most Endangered Historic Places along the way. Local historian Steve Gibson told the city's Planning and Development Committee, "Tonight's vote will not just decide the fate of one building." The full City Council ultimately rejected the demolition request in August 2025.
That is where most versions of this story end: preservation wins, demolition loses, moving on. But the more useful part for anyone shopping in this neighborhood happened afterward.
The Same Rule That Blocks Also Pays
Once demolition was off the table, the city didn't just leave the church holding a deteriorating building it no longer wanted. St. Charles worked out an agreement: local developer Bob Rasmussen, operating as Geneva Heights LLC, would buy both the Barry House and the two-flat from the church for a combined $525,000. The city kicked in $125,000 from its downtown tax increment financing district to offset restoration costs, with up to $50,000 more available if Rasmussen could strip the stucco and expose the original stone facade. Separately, the city agreed to fund roughly $250,000 in new angled parking along the church, using the same TIF district, addressing the parking shortage that started this whole fight in the first place. The Historic Preservation Commission held its landmark hearing in June 2026, the Committee of the Whole recommended approval, and the City Council made it official on July 20, 2026.
Rasmussen has said the plan is to restore the house to single-family use and strip the stucco back to stone on three sides, leaving one later addition untouched. The two-flat next door stays rental housing.
The lesson buyers tend to miss: the Historic Preservation Commission is not only a gatekeeper that says no to vinyl windows and asphalt shingles. It is also the body that can direct real subsidy dollars toward a restoration, through the same downtown TIF district that funded the Barry House deal. Most people who tour a charming Cedar Avenue cottage hear about the first half of that equation. Almost nobody asks about the second.
Two COA Cases, Side by Side
Not every review looks like the Barry House. Most Certificate of Appropriateness cases are routine and mundane, which is exactly why they're worth seeing next to the exceptional one.
| Routine case (April 2026) | Exceptional case (2024-2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Property | A home inside one of the city's historic districts | Judge William D. Barry House, 217 Cedar Ave. |
| Request | Replace 2-over-2 windows with 4-over-4 clad windows, new fiberglass front door, repaint brick, rebuild porch with pine railing and cedar posts | Full demolition, later reversed to landmark designation and full restoration |
| Commission role | Standard design review against the city's guidelines | Years of denial recommendations, then landmark hearing and approval |
| Money involved | Owner's own renovation budget | $525,000 sale price, $125,000 city subsidy, up to $50,000 facade incentive |
| Timeline | Single meeting cycle | Multiple years, spanning 2017 petition to July 2026 landmark vote |
The window-and-porch project is what most buyers in a historic district will actually experience. The Barry House is what happens when a property becomes a genuine preservation fight, and what the city is willing to spend to win one.
What a Certificate of Appropriateness Actually Requires
St. Charles maintains three designated historic districts, Central Historic, Moody-Millington, and Millington, along with more than 45 individually landmarked structures spread across downtown. If a property sits inside any of those boundaries, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required before a building permit can be issued for exterior work. That covers windows, doors, siding, paint colors, porches, roofing, and, as the Barry House case shows, demolition itself.
The Historic Preservation Commission reviews COA applications against the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, looking at whether proposed changes preserve the architectural character the district was designated to protect. Interior renovations generally fall outside this review. Exterior changes do not, regardless of how minor they seem on paper. A homeowner in the Central Historic District found this out directly in 2025 when the commission flagged a Cedar Street property for missing the newel caps specified in its own approved plans, well after construction had started.
None of this means a historic-district address is a renovation trap. It means the timeline for exterior work includes a review step that a home in a newer subdivision simply doesn't have.
Why the Timing Matters for Buyers Right Now
St. Charles is not a market where buyers have room to absorb surprises. The citywide average home value stood at roughly $482,000 as of late July 2026, up about 6 percent over the year prior, and citywide inventory has been running under two months of supply through most of 2026, deep in seller's market territory. Homes close quickly. Multiple offers are common, especially near downtown and the Fox River corridor.
Inside the historic districts specifically, inventory is thinner still. Downtown's mix of Victorian cottages and landmark-eligible properties turns over slowly, and active listings in the Central Historic District at any given moment are typically a small handful, not dozens. That scarcity means buyers competing for a historic-district property rarely have the leverage to negotiate a longer due diligence period or a price concession tied to future renovation costs. If a COA review is going to affect your timeline or your budget, you need to know that before you write the offer, not after the inspection period has closed.
The Barry House also signals something for sellers holding older downtown properties in rough condition. The city has shown, with real dollars, that it will help fund restoration over demolition when a building has documented historical value. That is worth knowing if you're the one deciding whether to sell as-is or invest in a restoration before listing.
Questions Historic-District Buyers Actually Ask
Does a COA apply if I'm just repainting the same color? Exterior painting still falls under the review process in a historic district, though projects that match existing conditions typically move through faster than changes to materials or design.
What if the home I want is already an individual landmark, not inside a district? The same COA requirement applies. Landmark status and district designation are separate categories, but both trigger review for exterior work.
How long does a routine COA review actually take? Straightforward projects, like a window and porch replacement reviewed by the commission in April 2026, are typically resolved in a single commission meeting cycle. Contested cases, like the Barry House, can stretch over years.
Can I get city money for restoring a historic property? The Barry House deal used the city's downtown tax increment financing district to fund both the buyer's restoration costs and separate parking improvements. Availability and terms depend on the specific TIF district and the project, so this is worth raising with city staff early, not after closing.
The Bottom Line
The Barry House almost became a parking lot. Instead, it became proof that St. Charles will put real money behind preservation when a property's history warrants it, and that the same commission reviewing your window order is the one that can unlock that kind of support. If you're weighing an offer on a downtown property, or wondering what a historic designation means for a home you already own, that context changes the conversation you should be having before you sign anything.
The Tamara O'Connor Team has spent years walking Fox Valley buyers and sellers through exactly this kind of downtown St. Charles transaction, from what a COA review means for your closing timeline to what a historic property is actually worth in today's market. If you're considering a move in or around the historic district, reach out for a free home valuation before you make your next decision.
