Liberty Lakes in north suburban Wauconda is “master planned” for 800 residences and 144 acres of open space. In fast-growing western Lake County, the development, which opened sales in May 2003, is more open land and construction sites than finished housing at this time.
Perhaps to give prospective buyers a sense of the future, Lombard-based builder Town & Country Homes has built eight two-story model houses, which, when recently decked out in holiday lights, shimmered like a street of dreams in the dark afternoon hours of winter.
Another model home, slightly apart from the Town & Country lineup and the first visitors will see when driving into the development, is the 3,761-square-foot Amerigo by Lombard-based True North Communities, a semi-custom builder new to the Chicago area. It will sell 46 houses at Liberty Lakes.
For those coming from long distances and those who enjoy touring models, the large number of houses makes a drive to the development worth contemplating. At the same time, expect some serious house hunting overload trying to keep straight the differences between the choices. More maddening, however, is the fact that with so many features to compare, you may come away slightly dissatisfied that no single house can contain all the ones you want.
The models, from the modest 2,188-square-foot Heyward at the far end of the street to the 3,204-square-foot Hancock, share some Midwestern design elements such as pitched rooflines, dormers and front porches reminiscent of American farmhouse and American foursquare designs.
Though buyers have a choice of front elevations–forget the porch, say, or the dormers shown on a model–these are tasteful, traditional houses that will remind most people of the big, square houses of grandmother’s day or the residences in those leafy well-established neighborhoods of older suburbs. The houses fit well into the rolling setting and conjure images of up solidness and stability, which model names such as Jefferson, Franklin, Hancock and Adams underscore.
These are not grandmother’s house, however, because they are filled with plenty of 21st Century touches including two- or three-car front-facing attached garages. While some jut toward the street, those are less obvious when balanced visually with the addition of a front porch.
Like the exteriors, the interior floor plans are traditional and straight forward. Most have a front door and foyer in the center front of the first floor. The rest of the main floor is a variation of living room, dining room, kitchen and family room, and, sometimes, den. Bedrooms — at least three, sometimes a fourth or a loft area — are on the second level. In some plans, a fifth bedroom and additional bath can be had.
The builder should be complimented on some nice touches such as double sinks in master bathrooms and sizable closets. At the same time, some of the kitchen planning puzzled me. One model had a double oven so far from the range that keeping an eye on both at the same time would be difficult.
While serious buyers will consider room size and number in their buying choices, the placement of stairs and the resulting traffic pattern struck me as another critical element to which buyers should give some thought.
These models use many stairway configurations to the builder’s credit.
Surprisingly, the one that worked least well was the central staircase inside the front door of the 2,967-square-foot Adams model. This is a common configuration and dramatic element in many new homes today. But in this model, I felt as if the front door swinging open would almost hit the first step. That impression, while not true, nevertheless, made for a claustrophobic entry into the house. And would make for a tight traffic pattern if someone was coming in the door while another person was descending the stairs.
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In contrast, the Heyward, one of the smallest floorplans at 2,188 square feet, tucked the stairway, in a traditional 90-degree turn configuration, along the wall and to the side of a nice, but not overly big, foyer. A visitor has room and space to be greeted and to shrug off a coat just in the front door even when there is traffic up and down the stairs.
I similarly was struck by how smaller secondary rooms can figure into added comfort or be dangerously close to a money waster. First-floor powder rooms and laundry rooms are prime examples.
Though small in square footage, the Heyward’s powder room has the commode slipped into a separate nook from the sink for a modicum of privacy. It also leaves the center of this small room open for a roomier feel than the cramped powder room in the larger 2,439-square-foot Taylor model.
One of the best of the laundry rooms at Liberty Lakes was in the 3,056-square-foot Jefferson and the slightly smaller Harrison, 2,912 square feet. Both models have similar floor plans and the laundry is a generous, not huge, walk-through room between the garage and the family room/kitchen area. It is next to the discreetly placed powder room and only a few steps from the stairway to the second level.
And while I am no fan of loft rooms, the Jefferson had one that seems to work well as a second-level sitting area.
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Liberty Lakes
Address: 2576 Savanna Drive, Wauconda
Developer: Pinnacle Corp.
Phone: 847-526-4805 or www.townandcountryhomes.com
Description: A development planned for 598 single-family houses and 156 townhouses built by Town & Country Homes and 46 semi-custom houses by True North Communities. The Town & Country houses are available in 10 floor plans ranging from 1,818 to 3,204 square feet. They have three- or 4-bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. Base prices: Town & Country Homes based priced from $237,995 to $310,995. Annual homeowner assessments are $400. Prices as of Jan. 2.
Amenities: Attached two- and three-car garages, partial basements, 144 acres of open space and wetlands.
Neighborhood: On Gilmer Road off Fairfield Road, near several golf courses and forest preserves, Deer Park Town Center and several Metra stations.
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