In the land of Big Macs, big cars and big-box stores, why not big-box houses?
Rich people for years have been building pretentious McMansions, houses on steroids that overwhelm yards; so why shouldn’t buyers with more modest budgets yearn for big too?
One solution to this buyer demand is to build simple, two-story box-like designs with bedrooms over the large garages.
The symmetry of the design speeds construction and maximizes interior volume. And by building on a crawl space or a slab instead of a basement, money can be added to above-ground square footage.
One purveyer of this style is South Barrington-based Kennedy Homes which advertises “Big Homes! Less Money!” and promises “more square feet for less money” in sales information.
Because inexpensive land is part of the formula for achieving affordable prices, most of the company’s subdivisions are on the outer rim of Chicago-area development.
To give some idea of the distance we are talking, the trip-o-meter on the Buick dashboard read 126 miles for an excursion from downtown Chicago and back to the company’s four models in southwest suburban Manhattan.
Kennedy Fields of Leighlinbridge is one part of a development planned for 645 residences, including townhouses, on 266 acres not far from the Chicagoland Speedway.
One of several builders at Leighlinbridge, Kennedy opened sales for 183 home sites in Spring 2003. The company had sold more than 140 by the end of last week.
Sales have “outperformed” plan, says operating partner Bill Gronow, who credits population growth in the “southwest corridor” and the company’s “compelling value in price per square foot” for the sales pace.
Certainly the four models at Leighlinbridge illustrate the commitment to size–though whether big automatically means better can be debated.
Floor plans and models are identified by square footage–as in the “2320” series or the “3530” series–and are part of a menu of floor plans, all with several variations, available in the builder’s subdivisions from Manhattan to Elkhorn, Wis.
I was pleased the builder shows a model — the three-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath Model 2320–with mostly standard features. It seems only fair to display a baseline, no-frills model especially for a product likely to attract first-time buyers.
The model has the same general floor plan as its larger, more expensive neighbors–a sizable L-shaped living area wraps around the garage on the ground level of the house.
The front door in the center of the front facade opens into the large, undifferentiated space extending to the back wall of the house. The room is identified, depending upon the floor plan, as living and family or living, dining and family room.
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To my mind, some architectural element is needed to divide or break up the expanse–such as a couple of pillars–to keep the space from looking like a furniture showroom.
More appealing is Model 2600, where a wall separates the living and dining area from the kitchen, breakfast and sunroom at the back of the house.
In three models, the combined living and dining area opens onto an open breakfast area and kitchen across the back of the house. Kitchens are usually at the back of the house behind the garage and next to a sizable laundry/utility room.
Visitors to Model 2320 will find a coat closet to the left of the front door. A tiny powder room to the left of the living room is just beyond the coat closet. And behind the powder room are the stairs to the second floor in roughly the middle of the building.
At the top of the stairs to the left is a 12- by 19-foot open room, dubbed a loft although it does not overlook a lower level, which could be used as a second family room, computer room or, with the addition of a wall, a fourth bedroom.
A secondary bedroom and bath is to the right of the stairs. A second bedroom and the master suite is to the left of the stairs and past the loft.
The bedrooms, like most of the living spaces in these models, are adequate to huge. In Model 2320, the secondary bedrooms are 12 by 11 feet and the master bedroom is 14 by 18 feet.
The master bedroom in Model 3530, the model with the largest square footage, was 17 by 18 feet with an additional 11-by-13-foot sitting area. And that does not include a generous master bath and a walk-in closet measuring 8 by 10 feet.
In addition to comfortable bedrooms, the closet space is ample to generous. One good idea here is that each bedroom has a walk-in closet, some bigger than others.
Kennedy Fields sales manager Mike Henry points out that a single door into a large walk-in closet has the advantage of adding wall space. This makes for easier furniture arrangement because the wide sliding or bi-fold doors of a traditional closet are eliminated.
Those closets will be well used, however, because the standard house is built on a crawl space so there is no basement storage. As I drove around the neighborhood I couldn’t help noticing several homes, with open garage doors, where the garage apparently was the chief storage room. It was a view I’m not sure I’d want as a neighbor.
Basements, in several configurations, can be had but are extra. And be sure to understand the terms. What others might call a partial basement with a crawl space is a “full” basement here. There is also an option for what the builder calls a Total Area Basement (TAB) for a basement under the entire footprint of the house.
These are homes with sizable laundry/utility rooms. Some have an additional odd pantry space, welcome because the kitchen cabinet space is basic, not generous. And while the master suite bathrooms are large, the secondary bathrooms are adequate but not big.
In two models, the only access into the master bedroom closet is though the bathroom. I, for one, would find it inconvenient to have to walk through a bathroom every time I wanted something out of the closet when getting ready in the morning.
Manhattan, though still bordered by cornfields, is near fast-growing New Lenox and Joliet in northern Will County. With about 3,000 people in 2000, the town is projected to grow to nearly 40,000 by 2030. Will County, with half a million in 2,000, is projected to double in population by 2030 and to have more people than neighboring DuPage County.
Because of the population growth, changes, obviously, will be coming. Commuter rail service is planned in 2005. Residents currently have to drive some distance for recreational shopping, but maybe not for long.
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Kennedy Fields of Leighlinbridge
Address: 25307 Shannon Ct., Manhattan
Developer: Kennedy Homes
Phone: 815-478-7125
Website: www.kennedyhomebuilders.com
Description: 183 houses with three to six bedrooms, 2 1/2 to 5 bathrooms. Two-story houses with attached garages in 2,010 square feet to 3,530 square feet, base priced from $189,900 to $228,900. Assessments, $23 a month. Prices as of July 9.
Amenities: Large loft or second-floor game rooms, walk-in closets; fully sodded front and side yards. Concrete driveways; Maytag appliances. Wire shelving in closets.
Neighborhood: Part of a 266-acre master-planned development with a park, ponds, trails and a dedicated school site; near stores, library, municipal offices, Chicagoland Speedway. Easy access to Interstate Highways 80 and 55. Commuter rail service planned in 2005.