The mere mention of the name “Naperville” has been shorthand for fast-growth suburbia, revolving-door corporate relocation and the cornfield edge of the Chicago metropolitan area during the last few decades.
And while it is true that the one-time prairie village in DuPage County has been a thoroughly modern boomtown welcoming more than a few newcomers to the region, today the edges of Naperville are bumping up against the town limits of hotter, more affordable neighbors like Bolingbrook, Plainfield and Aurora.
So with relatively little open space left, Naperville, like many established suburbs, is seeing the emergence of “in-fill” housing, those smaller new home developments that squeeze between existing subdivisions or recycle land once used for other purposes.
Among those is La Toscana, 24 townhouses by Naperville-based Steve Carr Builders, a firm that does historical renovation and remodeling as well as new-construction custom and semi-custom homes. Tucked onto an L-shaped property adjacent to busy Naper Boulevard, La Toscana is perfect for those who need an expressway fix because it is equidistant from Interstate Highways 88, 55 and 355.
Builder Carr says he envisioned the development as a transition for homeowners who are accustomed to a single-family house but who now want a lower-maintenance lifestyle. And he has clearly struck a nerve as 19 of the units, with base prices from $414,900 to $474,400, are already sold.
For this project, Carr chose an eye-catching faux Southern European style, a sort of Tuscan village plunked down next to an established Midwestern subdivision of green lawns with vinyl-clad houses.
In keeping with the Mediteranean theme, the townhouse exteriors are stucco (real, not synthetic) and stone and each has substantial-looking wood plank garage doors with glass panels. Each unit comes with a concrete driveway and a good-sized cedar deck.
There are four floor plans, one with a first-floor master bedroom, but only two models, one furnished. The furnished model at 2,116 square feet is the smallest of the floor plans while the unfurnished model, at 2,482 square feet, is the largest. Depending upon the floor plan, buyers have the option of two to four bedrooms with 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 bathrooms and up to more than 2,500 square feet if they opt for an extra bedroom. Add in the space of the sizable basements (not part of the square footage figures) and these can be large homes.
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Do yourself a favor and tour both models if you decide to visit. The Lucca, the larger of the two, is an end unit with windows on three sides and plenty of natural light. But it is the smaller Cortona model that has a bigger, more spacious feeling, mostly because of its better sightlines and traffic flow. One caveat, the Cortona has a number of upgrades, so shoppers should know that as shown the model would sell for about $485,000, including a finished basement. That’s substantially more than the base price of $414,900.
Visitors stepping through the Cortona’s front door find themselves in the combination living room/dining room and facing stairs to the second floor. In general, I prefer a foyer when entering a house, but in this case the living/dining room almost act as an entry area because the eye is drawn immediately through arches in the back of the dining wall into the high-ceiling family room at the back of the first floor. It’s clear where the real family living will be and that the perfectly pleasant living/dining space is for more occasional activities. The room is big enough for a sizable dining table and breakfront and for a sofa and side chair for intimate conversation. They are clearly apart from the informal great room at the back of the house, where the family room merges into the sizable kitchen and casual dining area.
This is an open kitchen to love, except for one quibble, the height of the wall cabinets. If you are on the shorter side, you may find yourself in need of a good step stool to make use of the upper shelves for storage. At 5 feet 2 inches tall, , I found I had to stand on tiptoe to reach the lower shelf of the cabinet over the range.
Two other notable first-floor features: The powder room, tucked down a short hall off the dining room, is a blessedly comfortable size for adults of all sizes. And the small rotunda at the intersection of the dining room, family room and the powder room hall is the kind of architectural element that makes a house memorable.
This is a floor plan that knows how to use an overlook loft to good effect. Walk to the top of the stairs and you overlook the family room from a small railing. There is plenty of drama without any wasted space. Turn right to the master bedroom suite, turn left to a guest bedroom and bathroom.
For my taste, the builder makes the right choice in keeping bedrooms comfortable, but not huge, and putting the space into sizable closets. The bathrooms in this model are comfortable but not palatial, again a good choice. Kudos for installing separate sinks on separate walls in the master bath.
What worked in the Cortona is what didn’t work in the Lucca. Despite a small foyer, the adjacent rooms — a dining room to the left and a den to the right — felt small and constricted. Instead of being a plus, the high ceiling in the den makes it seem as if you’re standing at the bottom of a tall tower. On the second floor, the generous loft has windows overlooking the street and surrounding neighborhood, but the space seems wasted.
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La Toscana
Address: Corner of Naper Boulevard and Ursuline Avenue, Naperville
Developer: Steve Carr Builders
Phone: (630) 922-3890 or www.stevecarrbuilders.com
Description: Development of 24 new construction two-level townhouses in seven buidings
Prices: Base-priced from $414,900 to $474,400 for two-story units from 2,116 to more than 2,500 square feet for two- to four bedrooms, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 baths, full basements with 9-foot ceilings, and attached two-car garage. Monthly homeowner assessments, $100 a month. Prices as of Oct. 13.
Amenities: Private garage and private entry for each unit; private cedar deck; granite kitchen countertops; stainless steel appliances; whirlpool tub with separate shower in master bath; fully insulated garage, drywalled and painted.
Neighborhood: Minutes from downtown Naperville’s Riverwalk and Westfield Shoppingtown Fox Valley. Short drive to Naperville Metra station and easy access to Interstate Highways 88, 355 and 55.