The exterior of the house, above, is largely repaired, but not enough interior work has been done to allow the village to issue an occupancy permit. The house was deemed uninhabitable in December, The house, at N.
Main Street, is on a prominent intersection in the wealthy suburb of Racine. Its location at the corner of N. Main Street and Four Mile Road has likely spurred greater concern on the part of the village than if it were in a less visible location. The house fell into disrepair after Joan Shulz, who bought it in with her late husband, Dr. Gilbert Schulz, walked away from it more than seven years ago to care for an ill relative.
The roof leaked and interior walls were covered with mold. A tarp covered the roof for a long time. June 30, A tarp covers the roof and the front of the house is overgrown. The house was deemed uninhabitable, and village sought a raze order in Bruner confers with village board member Karen Van Lone. Her husband, Richard Britton, is with her. The Schulzes confer with attorney Ludwig after the hearing.
The house is eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Recognizing its architectural significance, Judge John Jude, who originally heard the case, gave Schulz and her son Linden, who was going to do most of the restoration work, consideration rather than order the house razed. Although Schulz missed several court-imposed deadlines, he slowly made enough progress to get extensions from Jude.
The Schulz family was told in February that fines might be imposed at the May 8 hearing if there was no occupancy permit by then. Judge John S. Linden Schulz, the son of Joan Schulz, who owns the house, was closely questioned why he had not met deadlines set at a June court hearing for having a professional structural assessment of the house completed, and having the roof repaired. Judge Jude will likely order the house razed then if structural repairs have not been completed, and if the house has not been re-roofed.
