Piece of historic Wilmette land sells; new owner plans apartment building

A long-untouched piece of Wilmette land could soon become home to a couple dozen new residents.

B3 Companies, a Skokie-based developer, has purchased a 40,000-square-foot portion of the historic Hoffmann-Higgins property in the 200 block of Ridge Road for approximately $1.4 million.

The land — 201-203 Ridge, sold by the Hoffman Higgins Homestead Farm Foundation — is located on the west side of the street and essentially at the Wilmette-Evanston border. Primarily filled with trees and overgrowth, 201 Ridge is designated the Howard Higgins Memorial Nature Preserve, while 203 Ridge features an an abandoned building.

According to the Village of Wilmette, B3 is looking to build a four-story, 24-unit apartment building with two- and three-bedroom units; however, formal plans have not been submitted. Village Manager Mike Braiman said the land is zoned residential (R-3), but some type of zoning relief would be needed to develop.

Other multi-unit buildings are off Avondale Lane just north of the purchased land, and just south of the land is Lovelace Park in Evanston.

Braiman said the Village has not heard from a B3 on a timeline for any submission, but he anticipates the Village will receive plans within two months.

B3 Companies is also behind the 29-home development, called Glencoe Estates, on the former Hoover Estates in Glencoe.

Neither B3 nor foundation representatives returned messages from The Record by press time (Thursday, Jan. 29). But on the platform LinkenIn, B3 posted about its purchase:

“This transaction represents another step in our long-term commitment to thoughtful, community-focused investment in the North Shore market.”

The 200 block of Ridge Road

Bartholomew and Veronica Hoffmann, who emigrated from Germany, came to Chicago and in 1844 purchased land for a home and farm at 204 Ridge Road in what is now Wilmette, according to information provided by the Wilmette History Museum.

The Hoffmanns, who had eight children, first built a log cabin and then in 1847 a more modern home that, though remodeled many times, still stands today.

The Hoffmann brothers, led by John and Phillip, owned several businesses in town, including a feed store and a general store near Ridge and Wilmette Avenue and a coal and lumber operation in the 1200 block of Central Avenue.

Back at 204 Ridge, Bartholomew and Vernonica’s grandson Hubert Hoffmann built a greenhouse business, eventually Hubert Hoffmann & Sons, on the property in 1908. It was one of at least five greenhouse businesses on Ridge in the early 1900s, as the farmers took produce into the city.

Hubert Hoffmann’s daughter, Margaret Hoffmann Higgins, who married Howard Edmund Higgins, operated the greenhouse until she died in 1985. According to an article from the Chicago Tribune, Margaret convinced her family to dedicate a portion of their property to preservation with the Hubert Hoffmann Memorial Prairie Gardens and across the street, at 201 Ridge, the Howard Higgins Nature Preserve. A sign featuring that title still stands at the land’s southeast corner.

It is unclear how or when the Hoffmanns acquired and treated that parcel (201-203 Ridge); however, a Village of Wilmette architectural survey from 1991 estimated the building on the property was constructed between 1900-1920.

According to phonebook listings and newspaper advertisements, Boslough Heating Corp. operated out of 201 Ridge from at least 1945-1975. A 1946 phonebook also lists Holmes Co. Plumbing at the same address.

If you have any information on the historical activity at 201-203 Ridge Road, please reach out to newsroom@therecordns.org.

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