Elmhurst Lot Still Vacant 2 Years After Historic Home Teardown

ELMHURST, IL – Nothing has happened on the property in Elmhurst where a historic house was torn down two years ago.

The demolition sparked the local preservation movement.

Last year, owners Richard "RJ" and Alyssa Parrilli presented the city with the plan for a new house at 292 S. Arlington Ave. They got a building permit.

Asked about the project Wednesday, city spokesman Michael Queroz said in an email, "The permit was voided due to inactivity."

RJ Parrilli did not return a message for comment on Wednesday. He is the president of a Hillside-based staffing firm.

In 2024, many residents objected to the City Council's decision to approve a zoning change to combine the two lots at the Arlington address.

Richard "RJ" Parrilli (middle) and his wife, Alyssa Parrilli, are with their lawyer, Francis Bongiovanni, at an Elmhurst public hearing in May 2024. (David Giuliani/Patch)

That allowed the couple to move forward with their plan to demolish the nearly century-old house for which they just paid $2 million and build a larger one.

At the time, Mayor Scott Levin, who lives a block away from the property in question, acknowledged that not a "whole lot was going on" with the local Historic Preservation Commission. He said he would change that.

Because of the issue, residents formed the Preserve Elmhurst group, calling for historic preservation. Signs dot Elmhurst promoting the cause.

The house at 292 S. Arlington Ave. was nearly a century old before it was torn down in 2024. (David Giuliani/Patch)