While Dolton is moving ahead with negotiations to buy Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home in the village, it’s unclear how trustees were consulted about the decision, which hasn’t been discussed at an open meeting.
As Mayor Jason House seeks to come to terms with the home’s owner, at the same time the village attorney is threatening court action to acquire the property via eminent domain.
Burt Odelson said he spoke Tuesday night with the owner of the New York auction firm, Paramount Realty USA, which is scheduled to start taking bids on the house at 212 E. 141st Place, next month.
“They want the property to be the best it possibly can be, but obviously the owner wants a fair price and we intend to pay him a fair price,” Odelson said.
Odelson said he was directed by House to write a draft of a letter that was emailed and sent by certified mail Tuesday to Paramount.
He said he understood House got a consensus from trustees to start talks and send the letter to Paramount, but was not sure when the mayor spoke with Village Board members.
The board voted Monday to give an honorary street name to a portion of 141st Place in front of the home, that will be dedicated Pope Leo XIV Place, but did not discuss the village’s potential acquisition. A representative of Odelson’s law firm attended the Monday meeting.
House and members of his slate elected April 1 pledged transparency in actions. House did not respond to a message left Wednesday.
House said after Monday’s meeting he spoke earlier that day with the home’s owner, Pawel Radzik, and said negotiations aimed at a purchase by the village were underway.
Odelson said whatever comes of the talks, whether it’s the village buying the home or going to court, the board would need to approve the next steps.
The home was purchased by Radzik last year for $66,000, a Homer Glen-based home rehabber, who then renovated the home’s interior.
Radzik put the house on the market for sale, then pulled it earlier this year after learning of the property’s heritage and now worldwide importance.
The village’s Tuesday letter to Paramount gave notice that Dolton “intends to purchase the home either through direct purchase or through their eminent domain powers,” according to a copy provided by Odelson’s office.
Odelson said he expected to hear back soon from the auction firm regarding whether negotiations will be successful or whether Dolton will have to go to court and file a lawsuit.
“The last thing we need is another lawsuit,” Odelson said, referring to the several pending cases that have been filed against the village in recent years. “But it will happen if we need to.”
Odelson said he has not talked to the property owner, but said the auction firm’s president indicated he would talk to the owner and a real estate broker that had been hired to market the property.
The modest brick home, at just a bit over 1,000 square feet, was where Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, grew up.
Prevost’s parents — Louis, a school administrator who died in 1997, and Mildred, a librarian who died in 1990 — owned and lived in the brick house for decades. Louis Prevost sold the home in 1996 for $58,000.
Paramount’s website notes the auction is an opportunity for one buyer to “own a sacred piece of history.”
The home “served as the foundation of a life that would lead to the Vatican,” according to the auction listing.
Bids are being accepted by the company starting June 18
Odelson said that should negotiations between the village and property owner stall, the notice sent to the auction firm tells them they have to tell a prospective buyer that their ownership could be temporary.
If the village cannot buy the house outright, it would go to court and, through the process of eminent domain, a fair value would presumably be set.
Steve Budzik, a real estate broker hired by Radzik when the home was being offered for sale, said Wednesday Radzik is “definitely open to engaging in negotiations” with the village.
Budzik said he had initially contacted the Chicago Archdiocese about whether there was interest in acquiring the home due to its historical importance. A message left with the archdiocese seeking comment was not immediately returned.
“The seller’s not fighting it, he likes the idea” of preserving the home as a public space, Budzik said.
Odelson, and the letter to Paramount, indicate that is Dolton’s goal.
The letter tells the auction firm that Dolton “intends to work with the Chicago Archdiocese and other agencies to allow the home to be viewed and visited as a historic site.”
Odelson said he’s “had really good conversations” with the archdiocese about being involved in the preservation of the home.
Whether through negotiations with the property owner or through the courts, setting a value for the home will be difficult, the attorney and real estate broker said.
“It’s really a difficult thing to determine, it’s problematic,” Odelson said.
While nearby comparable sales prices would be used by an appraiser, for example, to set a property’s value, the attorney and Budzik said the intangibles of the home’s history have to play into the equation, but exactly how they’re not sure.
“We know that the value is more than what we had it posted for, but what is that value?” Budzik said.
Radzik first listed the house in January for $219,000, reducing that to $205,000 later in the month then cutting it in February to $199,900 before later taking it off the market.
House said Monday that, despite Dolton’s financial problems, he felt it was important for the village to try to gain ownership. Odelson agreed.
“We have to find the money, we have to,” Odelson said. “It is something the village has to do for the people, not just Dolton but for the world.”
mnolan@southtownstar.com
