Issue 437  November 20th 2024

The Frank Lloyd Wright Real Estate Market Bucks Historical Trends

A newly renovated Frank Lloyd Wright home that owners Susan and Arthur Vogt call “a labor of love” sold on November 4 for $2.2 million, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Located in River Forest, Illinois, near Chicago, the residence, known as the Winslow House, was offered at $1.985 million on September 4, and was placed under contingent contract only four days later. Elizabeth August of @Properties Christie’s International Real Estate held the listing.

The sale is proof of a new reality: The Frank Lloyd Wright real estate market has changed. Now its increasingly common for Wright homes to sell almost as soon as they hit the market, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. In addition to the Winslow House, the Oscar Balch house, also in Oak Park, was placed under contingent contract in three days. It sold in October 2024 for $1.5 million, 3.7% over the asking price. In Wilmette, Illinois, one of Wright’s American System-Built Homes, had a contingent sale within four days of listing in March 2024, and officially closed about two months later.

This is a stark contrast to a decade ago, when Wright homes were significantly more difficult to sell, sometimes taking as long as 12 years to close. However, the shift in the Frank Lloyd Wright real estate market often has less to do with increased appreciation of the American architect, but rather the level of renovation work done by the sellers before listing.

The Vogts’ painstaking six years of renovations were critical in helping it sell for more than the asking price, the buyers said. Ryan Worl, the cofounder of a tech company that he sold in September, and his wife Gabrieli, offered 11% over the asking price, one of three offers the Vogts received.

“Wright’s facade brought us in the door, but the investments (the Vogts) made in the property sealed the deal,” Ryan told Crain’s Chicago Business. The Worls were impressed by the Vogts’ attention to the structure of the house, in addition to cosmetic details.

The other quick-selling Wright homes had also undergone significant renovations before listing, making them move-in ready for buyers who could appreciate the historic structures and their modern conveniences. The Balch House, for example, was one of the first homes where Wright employed his signature flat roof, and seller Samantha Lotti updated it to be more sustainable, using today’s green technology without altering the integrity of the designer’s work.

Click for more details: yahoo.com  

Have You Visited Cedar Rock, Iowa's "Hidden Gem" State Park?

In 2023, Midwest Living published an article titled, "Experts' Midwest State Park Recommendations," where they outline some of the "hidden gem" state parks across the middle of America. In Iowa, the featured park is Cedar Rock in Buchanan County.

The biggest highlight of the 426-acre Cedar Rock State Park is the Walter House, which is situated on a bluff above the Wapsipinicon River. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the "historic estate" was designed by iconic architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and it's "an iconic destination for reliving history." Construction on the house began in 1948, and in 1950, Agnes and Lowell Walter moved in. They lived in the home for more than 30 years. After Lowell passed away in 1981, Agnes donated the home to the Iowa Conservation Commission in 1982.

If you want to visit Cedar Rock State Park, you'll have to wait until the spring. The Iowa DNR reports that the Walter House and visitor center are open five days a week from mid-May through early October. Walk-ins are accepted, but reservations can be made by calling 319-934-3572 or emailing cedar_rock@dnr.iowa.gov. There is a recommended donation of $5 for the tour.

Click for more details: khak.com  

Lake Monona Shoreline Development

Plans for a major development along the shoreline of Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin, are moving forward. A proposed project would transform the area, adding new buildings, parks, and spaces for the public to enjoy. The goal is to improve the lakeside experience, boost tourism, and make the area more accessible. However, there’s also some controversy, with critics concerned about the environmental impact and the potential for increased traffic and overdevelopment. The project has sparked debates about balancing growth with preserving the natural beauty of the lake.

As people weigh the pros and cons, the debate touches on issues like affordable housing, public space, and how to keep Lake Monona's shoreline accessible while meeting the city's growing needs. It’s a big decision that could shape the area for years to come.

As these plans for a Lake Monona shoreline redesign take shape, The Cap Times Machine — an occasional photo essay of Madison's past, present and future — takes a look at the history of development from Olin Park to Law Park. Ruthie Hauge, a Chicagoland native, is photo director at the Cap Times.

Click for more details: captimes.com  

Explore The Froebel-Wright Connection

Wally Rogers, author of Close-Up View of Froebel’S Kindergarten with Frank Lloyd Wright at the Drawing Table, was a teacher, trainer, facilitator and consultant for 40 years in elementary and junior-senior high school classrooms; and, university, industry and school administration positions. For 20 years, interpreter and director of education at one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s finest Usonian homes; and, for 15 years director of research for Froebel’s Kindergarten studies.

"Proven over the course of twenty-five years, a newly-found Froebel-Wright Connection emerged with concerted effort and assurance. An unparalleled journey into the workings Froebel’s Kindergarten and the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. The on-going studies continue to generate lovely shapes and magnificent angles that acknowledge the design method common to the noteworthy German educator and legendary American architect."

"Wright’s account about his early childhood speaks directly to the proposition: “Mother’s intense interest in the Froebel system was awakened at the Philadelphia Centennial, 1876. In the Fredrick (sic) Froebel Kindergarten exhibit there, mother found the Froebel’s “Gifts.” And “gifts” they were. Along with the gifts was the system, as a basis for design and the elementary geometry behind all natural birth of Form.”

"Froebel's original German Kindergarten continues to be appropriate for children of all ages. Wright was no exception. Taught by his mother, Wright at ten years old and later into his teens caught on quickly to the underlying premise of the novel hands-on approach to schooling."

"My passion to comprehend Wright’s personal account, culminated in the publication of Close Up View of Froebel’s Kindergarten with Frank Lloyd Wright at the Drawing Table (2016). The beneficiary of it all is found among anyone willing to grasp the essence of Wright’s Prairie and Usonian architecture. Because every time we look, the architect’s drawings and built structures reveal the beauty observed by children in studies of Froebel’s German Kindergarten."

Get a free copy of Close Up View of Froebel’s Kindergarten with Frank Lloyd Wright at the Drawing Table by sending an email to wallyrogers@savefroebel.com.

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Frank Lloyd Wright Skyscraper Sale Hits Another Snag

For the second month in a row, the sale of Price Tower, the only skyscraper Frank Lloyd Wright ever built, has been postponed days before it was due to go to auction.

The tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, had been scheduled for auction from November 18 to 20 on Ten-X, a digital real estate auction platform that specializes in commercial properties. It was pulled from the sale on November 16.

Price Tower’s listing has since been removed from the Ten-X website. The Oklahoma-based broker connected with the listing did not respond to a request to comment.

The property, which has a starting price of $600,000, had previously been withdrawn from an October 7 to 9 auction. In that instance, the McFarlin Building Company, a Tulsa-based property developer, intervened with a legal notice claiming it had signed a purchase agreement to buy the tower for $1.3 million.

The tower’s removal from the auction is the latest twist in a long running saga. For decades, the Bartlesville landmark had been run by the Price Tower Arts Center, a local nonprofit which sometimes had to rely on the largesse of its board members to cover maintenance and operating costs.

In 2023, the nonprofit sold Price Tower to Cynthia and Anthem Blanchard, blockchain entrepreneurs, for a nominal fee. The couple promised to resolve the property’s $600,000 debt and secure $10 million to restore the property. The vision was to turn the 19-story skyscraper into a destination complete with a boutique hotel and high-end restaurants, one that fed into a broader project to build what Cynthia Blanchard called “Silicon Ranch,” a tech hub in the Ozark foothills.

None of this has come to fruition. The two restaurants that used roughly $35,000 in public development funds shuttered, investments have never materialized, and in August the building was closed and its tenants forced to relocate.

Earlier in the year, in a bid to cover costs, the Blanchards had attempted to sell off some the building’s unique furnishings to a mid-century design dealer in Dallas, Texas, a move that is prohibited under the terms of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy’s preservation easement.

In August, the Conservancy filed a claim against Price Tower’s owners and in October the Blanchards responded with a suit of their own. They claimed the easement, which was agreed to by Price Tower Arts Center in 2011, ceased to exist after they had purchased the building. The suit is seeking $75,000 in actual damages for the conservancy’s interference which has hampered its ability to sell the building.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has labelled the 1952 building as “Endangered” on its website.

Click for more details: artnet.com