The 128-year-old house at 232 S. Clay St. was marketed as a teardown candidate. Rene and Gus Wonais bought it anyway.
The couple paid $615,000 in 2021 and have been restoring the home room by room. On Tuesday, July 21, they'll ask the Village Board for a $9,000 subsidy to replace inoperable windows in the enclosed front porch. A second family, Denise and John Noell, will request $10,000 for a rear addition at their 1926 Tudor Revival home at 633 S. Washington St. Together, the two requests total $19,000 in village funds under Hinsdale's Historic Overlay District program, which the board created in September 2022.
The board meets at 7 p.m. at the Memorial Building, 19 E. Chicago Ave. Public comment is on the agenda.
What the families want
The Wonais home sits on the corner of Clay and Fourth Street, directly across from St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church. In a letter to the village, the couple wrote: "We have spent the past several years going room by room, making improvements to the house so that we can enjoy our senior years near our children and grandchildren. Although it is a smaller home compared to many in the area, it proudly sits on the corner of Clay and 4th Street … and has been an original cornerstone to the area since 1898."
If approved, the village will rebate its portion of the Wonaises' property tax bill.
The Noells' project is different in scope. They want to tear down a rear addition built in the 1990s and replace it with roughly 400 square feet of new construction that matches the home's Tudor Revival character, according to Historic Preservation Commission meeting minutes. Their architect, Richard Olsen, is himself a preservation commissioner. Olsen recused himself from the HPC's discussion and vote on the application.
What it costs taxpayers
The money comes from two village mechanisms: matching grants of up to $10,000 per project (requiring a minimum $20,000 homeowner investment) and property tax rebates on the village portion of the tax bill for up to five years (requiring a minimum $50,000 investment), according to village program documents. Building permit fee waivers and expedited processing are also part of the package.
The Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously to recommend both applications to the board. Commissioners Barkley, Weinberger, Elder, and Chairman Bonnen recorded aye votes on both cases. Olsen voted on the Clay Street case but recused himself on the Washington Street application.
The bigger picture
The Village Board established the Historic Overlay District on September 20, 2022, after more than 18 months of development involving eight Committee of the Whole meetings, preservation commissioners, trustees, and local architects. The program was created because existing zoning codes were found to be too restrictive for homeowners trying to modernize a historic house without demolishing it, according to Plan Commission minutes from August 2022.
The program has grown faster than Village Planner Bethany Salmon expected. The Historically Significant Structures Property List hit 100 homes in October 2025, up from 46 when the first batch was approved in February 2023. Salmon said in November 2025, when the 100th home was added, "I don't think I ever expected we'd have this many properties added to our list within 2 1/2 years. It's definitely much more successful than I thought it would be."
Hinsdale government week ahead
Tuesday, July 21 | 7 p.m. | Memorial Building, 19 E. Chicago Ave. | Village Board of Trustees | Key items: Historic preservation subsidy votes for 232 S. Clay St. and 633 S. Washington St. Public comment is on the agenda; residents may sign up to speak at the meeting.
