South suburban Orland Park some years ago dubbed itself “Golf Capital of the World” in light of the many golf courses in and near the community.
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Residents still don’t have to travel far to play a round or two, but intense competition is pushing formerly lush green fairways into new uses.
Southmoor, once a private club in Orland Park and now the name and site for a development by Pulte Homes, is one of those alternatives.
Located near the busy intersection of LaGrange Road (U.S. Highway 45) and 131st Street, the subdivision began sales last spring. When completed, it will have 187 houses and 78 duplexes.
Ironically, one of Southmoor’s key attractions is the fact that some of the lots overlook the redesigned Palos Golf Course, a public facility, next door.
Sales representatives say LaGrange Road, a busy commercial thoroughfare, is a draw because buyers like to be close to shopping. And the shoppers I encountered on the day I visited said they were looking for the convenience of all-on-one-floor living and the chance to escape lawn chores as reasons to check out the homes.
This is a classic “in-fill” development. A prime piece of open land in an established neighborhood with pent-up demand for new construction homes and smaller lawns.
Despite the subdivision’s location across the street from Carl Sandburg High School, this is a subdivision clearly aimed at the empty-nester or those who want to reduce or eliminate yard work, judging from the models and the buyer profile.
There is much to like in the four model homes–especially as they are shown. Pulte is the nation’s largest home builder and the company clearly has done its homework.
The closets and laundry rooms are generous and there are center islands and 42-inch cabinets in the kitchens. Basements are standard and, when there is a lot suitable for an optional lookout or walk-out basement, a light-filled lower level considerably increases the potential living space.
Pulte has outfitted two models with mostly standard options while two, as they are designed, show upgrades to good effect.
Perhaps to put buyers at ease and help close the deal, brand names such as Merillat cabinets and Moen faucets are stressed by salespeople and the sales literature.
The biggest and the showiest of the models are the Hansbury, at 2,160 square feet the largest house shown, and the Bayport, at 1,718 square feet the largest duplex shown.
They are similar in layout, a comparison that may help those deciding between a free-standing or attached dwelling.
In both plans, visitors step through the front door into a generous foyer with crown molding and wainscoting. It is especially impressive in the Hansbury, where the size of the foyer and extra high ceiling suggests the big central hall frequently found in Southern homes.
The den at the front of the house, the second bedroom and bath are to the right off the hall. The three rooms are almost a self-contained guest suite. The den alternatively might be used as a third or guest bedroom, although it has no closet.
Opening off the foyer to the left is a sizable coat closet that in turn leads into a generous laundry room and opens to the garage.
The foyer leads to a dining room, the kitchen and a 16-by-20-foot great room. The master suite is adjacent to the great room and takes almost one side of the house.
The 14-by-16 1/2 foot bedroom is roomy, not huge, and the bath is spacious, but they happily avoid the Roman bath complex so common in many new homes. Both a shower and good-sized soaking tub are standard, as are two sinks.
A large walk-in closet –really a small room– is inconveniently place behind the bath, far from natural light and a considerable walk from any chest of drawers in the bedroom.
The Bayport duplex plan is similar, although the second bedroom and bath only are accessed from the smaller scaled-down foyer. The 10-by-11 1/2 foot den is pushed to the end of the foyer adjacent to the great room-dining area.
Shoppers are forewarned to keep tabs on the upgrades while browsing the models. While a stripped down house is no more fun than a stripped down car, a number of builders have honed the art of merchandising upgrades to a fine art and Pulte is no exception.
The Hansbury is priced from $370,990 but costs about $450,000 as shown. The similar, smaller Bayport duplex plan, with a slightly more fluid if less dramatic traffic pattern, is priced from $320,990 but costs about $360,000 as shown.
If the floor plans of these houses mostly work–even though it felt as if they had been designed as the result of a focus group or customer preference survey–the exteriors do not. The duplex garages are way too prominent, for example, overwhelming the front facade of the buildings. Even brick on all sides does not seem to help.
One could only wish that with all the apparent thinking that went into the inside of the homes, the exteriors were more memorable.
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Southmoor
Addresses: 9411 Banbridge Ct., Orland Park, for houses and 13243 Strandhill Dr., Orland Park, for duplexes.
Developer: Pulte Homes
Phone: 708-923-9500 or www.pulte.com
Description: A development of 187 houses and 78 ranch duplexes. Four ranch house plans with two bedrooms, two baths; one two-story plan with four-bedrooms including first-floor master suite, 2 1/2 baths. Houses from 1,791 to 2,342 square feet. Two-bedroom, two-bath ranch duplexes are 1,300 to 1,718 square feet.Base prices: Single-family houses are base-priced $352,990 to $382,990. Monthly assessments, $120. Duplexes are base-priced from $299,990 to $320,990 (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). Monthly assessments, $185. Prices as of Feb. 3.
Amenities: Gated subdivision, attached two-car garages, 9-foot first-floor ceilings, full basements.
Neighborhood: Near shopping, Metra train service; near golf courses.
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Past House Hunter columns: CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/HOMES