It was a little less than two years ago that I got a call about a house down on Thoreau. The neighbors had complained to the city, and LakewoodAlive's housing outreach coordinator Hilary Schickler had also mentioned it to me. It seems that a well-meaning Lakewoodite had gotten down on their luck for a variety of reasons-- divorce, job lay-off, other problems-- it really doesn't matter as I has seen and heard hundreds of reasons, but the bottom line was, the mortgage was overdue, and the house had been walked away from. The person had simply become overwhelmed with everything in their life.
The house had been hit by a tree which had broken the roof open and now water was coming into the house. How much water? Well when I was invited in, on an afternoon just after a storm, water was running down the stairs! The city wanted to tear it down, the neighbors were happy to have anything there, there was even talk of them buying the property and splitting it for larger yards. That didn’t matter as the city had put it on its death watch, and it was going to be torn down.
One could easily argue that the house should have been torn down just for health reasons, or because of the amount of work needed to save it, that it was easier to tear down. But Hillary, a lifelong Lakewood resident, and on the board of the Lakewood Historical Society, was not willing to see another unique structure fall to the wrecking ball.
"The house has potential," she told me when we were at the house while it was at its worst. "The right person could come in and rebuild this house to be better than it was new. I know I could!"
Hilary speaks from experience. Besides helping Lakewoodites save their homes, paint their homes, heat their homes and more, she has bought and turned a couple of homes too, both here in Lakewood and in the "cool" area of Detroit-Shoreway where she also served on the Detroit Shorewary CDC. With a militant smile, she said, "I am going to find someone who sees the potential of this Fredrick Baird designed home.” That was two years ago.
This past weekend I went through the house again.
It has been cleaned and rebuilt by Dana Paul of Prairie Stone which specializes in "insightful residential renovation." The turnaround is staggering.
What was most pleasing besides the renovation itself was the reaction of the neighbors. One came in while I was there and was surprised and happy that the house had been saved, and flabbergasted over how nice it was. Heated new hardwood floors, heated bathroom floors, gutted and rebuilt living room, dining room, kitchen, upstairs, front and rear yards. They were happy and excited by the change.
Had the home been torn down, it would have decreased property values on the street; now it has raised property values on the street.
Let’s go through a before and after photo tour, and see if you agree with me, that it was well worth it to save this home.
1241 Thoreau Road - 2 years ago
A tree had fallen against the house crushing the back porch.
The roof had split open at the fallen tree, so water would come in every rain. When I
went in water was running down the steps from the latest storm.
The owner had tried to stay in and the buckets were catching rain from the second floor!
As things shorted out, the owner used electrical cords to run power around the house.
Finally they just walked away.
You can see the cobwebs from months of sitting.
Fast Forward to today.
1241 Thoreau today.
Stripped down and rebuilt.
Brand new dark hardwood floors.
Dana Paul standing in the kitchen.
Every room redone.
Upstairs bathroom
Down to the basement, which was standing water 6" deep.
Dry, clean and all new stuff.
Basement shower and bathroom.
And two finished rooms.
With a nice backyard.
JOB WELL DONE DANA AND PRAIRIE STONE!
1241 Thoreau Rd, Lakewood 44107
$179,657
Fully renovated to three bedrooms and two full baths.
Features include:
• Approximately 1,500 square feet of living space on two floors plus basement and
unfinished walk-up attic
• New kitchen with gracious storage space in new cabinetry, granite countertops,
dishwasher, breakfast bar
• New back landscaped entry with basement mud room, laundry, closet and full bath
• First floor living room from covered front porch and formal dining room
• New main bathroom with sky tube and heated floors
• New master bedroom with spacious closet
• Refinished wood floors
• One car garage
• New interior and exterior paint
• Designed by Architect Fredrick Baird, built for William Wooters, the secretary for the
Haserot Company.
Mechanicals:
• New gas fueled forced air furnace with central air conditioning and new air ducts
• All new plumbing including water heater
• New electrical system including new electric load center
• New roof
• All new windows
• New sidewall and second floor ceiling insulation
• Foundation walls waterproofed and foundation drainage upgraded
Cuyahoga County Parcel 312.-28-084; built approximately 1906; the lot is approximately 50' X156'
Open House: Saturday, 1~5pm
Sunday 1~5:00pm
Visit prariestoneltd,zillow.com or call 216-978-7409
.