By COLlive reporter
The owner of an English-style residence north of downtown Chicago has been inundated with interest since COLlive.com has reposted about its sale.
The home, priced at $2,200,000, is built with a striking resemblance to the iconic red-brick building of Lubavitch World Headquarters with its 3 column steeply pitched roof.
The fact that the 5,000 square-foot home was built not far from the Chabad center in Wilmette, led some to hope that it would be purchased by a Lubavitcher or a Chabad institution.
Such replicas of 770 Eastern Parkway have been built from scratch in Kfar Chabad, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, Milan, Melbourne, S. Paolo and other cities around the world.
Following the news of the sale, local Shlucha Esther Leah Teldon of Chabad of Wilmette, took an 8 minute drive to the home in Kenilworth and learned that the broker is, in fact, the home’s owner.
The owner is Annette Plocienniczak and she told Teldon that she is not Jewish and had no idea about the significance of the home’s design.
“She was very confused at first as to the commotion surrounding the home, as she has been flooded with calls and inquiries about it ever since people saw the listing,” Teldon told COLlive.com.
“I explained the background and significance to her, and that many people spend a lot of money to specifically design their Chabad centers in this exact style.”
Plocienniczak said she has never heard of Chabad or 770 before. She said her husband, who also isn’t Jewish, built the home in 2007 inspired by English architectural style.
Teldon noted that the small town of Kenilworth had a policy, up until not many years ago, that people of the Jewish faith were not allowed to become residents.
Now there are a small number of Jewish residents there, Teldon says, many of whom attend programs at Chabad.
While the Plocienniczaks may not have understood what all the commotion is about regarding the home, she said she hopes “the popularity will at least lead to a sale.”
Teldon commented that while the home is certainly large enough to house a Chabad center, it’s unlikely they would purchase it, since they recently completed building a brand-new, state-of-the-art Chabad center nearby.
“Even if we would want to purchase it as a center, it would probably be too difficult to get the zoning permits in the neighborhood,” she said. “There are many rules and regulations here.”
That leaves the door open for a Lubavitch family to move in…
Massive misconception! There are more than plenty R’L less privelaged lubavitch families who are in financial crisis R’L May Hashem protect us! Moshiach NOW!
“And here I am working hard to put food on the table..”
Umm, no? Here you are, as are I, commenting on a comment on a non-story.
JK. I know what you meant, just couldn’t resist the barb. May you be blessed with great wealth.
“That leaves the door open for a Lubavitch family to move in…”
Well that shouldn’t be too difficult, I’m sure the average Lubavitch family has $2.2 million lying around waiting to be used…..
And here I am working hard to put food on the table… Clearly I’m in the wrong club.
correction to the first comment ; lets not forget that hashem plans the world
There was no bylaw or act. That would have been unconstitutional. Instead it was a private covenant — a contract between the homeowners in the area that they will sell only to white Christians. Until the 1950s such contracts were legally enforceable, since they did not involve the government. In the 1950s the courts stopped enforcing such contracts, so if you broke it by selling to a Jew nobody could sue you, but it was still legal to keep the contract voluntarily, i.e. if the owner didn’t want to sell to a Jew he didn’t have to. In the late… Read more »
There are many places in the us where the residents have an official agreement amongst themselves not to sell their homes to Jews.
There are MANY places in the United States where the bylaws stated that Jews could not own property in the area. Some have been retracted officially, but many still have that in their official laws, it just may not be enforced.
Every place has the sparks that need to be brought to kedusha by all of us.
Even if its not walking distance to Chabad, one can surely open a new Chabad center and it will thrive with 770 nearby.
in a very fancy upper class neighborhood at the time. How corrupt and sheker the secular upper class was and possibly is, no??
Before the chasidim purchased it for the Freidiker Rebbe,ZY”A it was an illegal abortion clinic.
You do realize that the 770 style was built much before the frierdiker rebbe came to America!
I checked on Google maps 🙂
How was it possible to put in an act that no jews be allowed to live in this neighbourhood?
I believe it is called Queen Anne style architecture
The design originated based on the drawing discovered in ancient texts purported to be hand drawn by the Baal Shem Tov himself. Source: Myths and Truths of Chabad, by Faivish Quenty, 2016.
there is no way it was not designed as a replica. the first person must have copied or something because it cant be a ‘coincidence’
Where did the design of 770 originate?
The Rebbe plans many things in advance for a reason.