This historic Whitefish Bay mansion will likely be demolished – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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John Brodersen plans to demolish the "Herman Reel house" at 4640 N. Lake Drive. The house is one of four homes designated as historic by the Whitefish Bay Historic Preservation Commission.(Photo: Jeff Rumage/Now News Group)

One of four buildings on Whitefish Bay's historic registry will likely be demolished.

The village'sArchitectural Review Commission unanimously voted April 9 to issue a demolition permit to John Brodersen, who for the past 18 monthshas sought permission to tear down his house at 4640 N. Lake Drive.

The English Tudor Revival-style house, built in 1928, was added to the village's historic registry in 2007. The home was designedby architectRichard Philipp, who also designed the Holy Hill Monastery andThe American Club in Kohler.

The home needs $1.2 million in renovations, including the remediation of lead, asbestos and mold, as well as the installation of new wiring, plumbing and sewer laterals, according to consultant Rob Ruvin.

Brodersen has said he wantsto demolish the property and build a new house, similar to what he did with a house next door at 4646 N. Lake Drive. He paid $1.75 million for that house.

Whitefish Bay's zoning code states a demolition permit cannot be issuedfor a historic property unless the applicant has made good faith effortsfor at least 60 days to find a buyer who agrees to preserve, relocate or otherwise rehabilitate the historic building.

Brodersen first applied for the demolition permitin October 2018. The commission denied the permit in March 2019, ruling that he had notmade good faith effortsto sell the house to someone willing to restore or relocate the structure.

Brodersen appealed that ruling, but it was upheld by the Whitefish Bay Village Board.

In his first application for a demolition permit, Brodersen did not list the house for sale online, because he only wanted to sell the building and not the land. He also said he would sell the house for $1 to anyone who would pay for it to be relocated.

In preparing for a second permit application in August 2019, Brodersen listed his property for sale online. The property was marketed byFalk Ruvin Real Estate and listed on real estate websites.

The property was originally listed for $1.65 million, which is the price Brodersen paid in 2016. Brodersen reduced the price to $1.55 million July 3.

The house netted one offer for $800,000 from broker Bob Herzog. Herzog said he made the offer on behalf of Darin Early, who plans to move to the Milwaukee areafrom Providence, Rhode Island.

The commission denied Brodersen's second permit application in August 2019, saying the property was not professionally staged or photographed. Commissionersalso wanted comparable properties' sale data, to determine if a $1.55 million asking price was reasonable.

The following month, Brodersen hiredreal estate agent Suzanne Powers, who listed the property for $1.49 million. She later lowered the price to $1.39 million.

Powers said the house was professionally cleaned, and all the furniture was donated to Habitat for Humanity ReStores. Brodersen also paid to have the electrical and plumbing systems fixed.

Powers said she showed the house to 100 people during 12 open houses and 219 days on the market.

Powers said she didn't receive any new offers just Herzog's$800,000 offer from August. Powers said she requested a writtenoffer from Herzog three times, but she said she never received one.

Herzog sentan email to PowersFeb. 6 that explained why he thought the property was worth $800,000. In thatemail, he said hisclient would increase his offer to $1 million.

Two days before the commission was set to consider Brodersen's third demolition permit request, Herzog sent Powers a term sheet referencing a $1 million offer transmitted Feb. 6.

Herzog was not allowed to speak during the commission's video conference meeting April 9. In a later interview, Herzog said he would have prepared a written offer earlier if Powers had agreed to theinformal $1 million offer mentioned in his Feb. 6 email.

Herzog also said the more formal $1 million offer he sent two days before the meeting should have still been considered, as there was no offer deadline stipulated by the commission or the historic preservation ordinance.

Josh Levy, an attorney representing Brodersen, said Herzog's offer included a clause similar to a "solar easement" that would limit what Brodersen could do with his property next door at 4646 N. Lake Drive.

Its not a real, bonafide good faith offer," Levy said.

The commissionunanimously voted to award the demolition permit, but allowed a 15-day window for Brodersen to entertain any potential offers that might arise. The ruling did not require Brodersen to accept any of those offers.

Brodersen did not return an email asking when he planned to demolish the property.

ContactJeff Rumage at (262) 446-6616or jeff.rumage@jrn.com. Followhim on Twitter at @JeffRumage orFacebook atwww.facebook.com/northshorenow.

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This historic Whitefish Bay mansion will likely be demolished - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel