Ask a young child to draw a picture of a house and very likely you will get a square box with a triangle for a roof. If the child wants to picture a bigger house, the boxy house is drawn taller, something like an apartment building to the eyes of an adult.
I couldn’t help but think of the child’s eye view of houses when visiting Concord at Jefferson Park, 4933 W. Lawrence, in Chicago.
The development, near Lawrence and Lamon Avenues, is planned for 29 houses and 57 townhouses. The site formerly was home to an exhibit manufacturer and, while part of that complex has yet to be demolished, construction of the new housing is going full tilt.
The property abuts the Kennedy Expressway on the south and extends to Lawrence on the north. To the east is a distribution center and, on the west, an established neighborhood of neat brick homes resembling the little houses in a Monopoly game.
While small by today’s standards, the older homes, which appear to be a development from the 1950s, generally are well tended and have plenty of trees, grass and flowers.
They are the living embodiment of those “cute” child-like drawings while the growing row of new 21st Century-style houses–yep, you are way ahead of me–look a lot like a child’s sketch of big houses, sort of tall and ungainly.
The new houses, in fact, are large. They have almost 3,300 square feet, a feature appealing to some prospective buyers. There is one model and one floor plan (some room variations are possible). The space is spread over four floors counting the finished lower level that has considerable natural light in two major rooms.
Visitors to the model walk up about 10 steps to the covered entry that opens into a smaller foyer with a coat closet that is part of the open living and dining room. Behind the coat closet, along the wall of the building, is a stairway to the other floors.
At the back of the dining room is a door and serving counter that opens into the kitchen and a small powder room.
The space in the wood-floored living and dining room is largely undifferentiated; a three-sided fireplace jutting from one wall does little to help — neither dividing the room nor giving it a focal point.
In comparison, the appealing kitchen is nicely planned with an island, shown with an eat-at counter and a couple of chairs. It has an open breakfast area large enough for a table and chairs for a family of four. The counter and cabinets along one wall (dubbed a butler pantry by the builder) provide a useful extra.
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Although the kitchen lacks a pantry for broom and vacuum cleaner as well as additional food storage, a large closet at the bottom of the stairs in the lower level could serve that purpose.
The lower level has an 11-by-13-foot room that is shown as a home office, but could be a guest bedroom. This level also has a full bath, a good-sized utility room and a 10-by–16-foot room at the back of the house that makes a dandy family room or playroom.
While the space on the lower level is appealing, I would quibble with the space allocation on the two floors with bedrooms.
In an apparent effort to show this as a five-bedroom house (counting the office/guest room on the lower level), the builder chose to carve the second floor into three bedrooms. Two of those rooms are about 9 1/2 by 11 feet. They might work for infants or small children, but they would be a tight squeeze for youngsters any older. Lucky is the kid who gets the third bedroom, about 12 by 15 feet.
Part of that bedroom squeeze might be eased if Mom and Dad are willing to give up some space on the third and top floor. As shown, the entire top floor is a master suite with private sitting room, exercise area, bedroom, bathroom and walk-in closet, but the space can be re-configured for another bedroom.
There are features that work in this plan, certainly the decent closet space, three comfortable bathrooms and enough bedroom space, in total.
This is vertical urban living so there are plenty of steps, but there also are features like a fire sprinkler system.
That sprinkler system is probably a good call here because these houses are close together. So close, in fact, one wonders why the builder did not opt to make these attached homes to shave costs. Although the base cost per square foot is less than $200, the sizable square footage pushes starting prices to a hefty $589,000.
For those who need less room and want a lower price, there are two floor plans for the townhouses, called row houses by the builder.
The 740 plan has 2,543 square feet, including the two-car garage, and begins at $426,990. The 742 has 2,464 square feet, also including the garage, and begins at $396,990.
Both plans will be familiar to buyers who have been shopping for townhouses. The ground level has a foyer opening to an 11-by-14-foot family room/home office or bedroom. There is a small powder room, coat closet and two-car garage.
Upstairs, the second floor is the public living space with living room and dining room in one large space separated from the kitchen by an eat-at counter. A double sink is on the kitchen side of the counter, looking into the dining and living room.
In both plans, a powder room and a laundry-utility room with washer and dryer hook-up are adjacent to the kitchen, a convenient design decision. There is a small balcony off the kitchen at the back of the unit overhanging the garage door below.
The third floor is the bedroom level with a master bedroom and bath with walk-in closet and a secondary bedroom or bedrooms and bath.
The units do have “visitability,” according to sales person Antoinette McAllister. In Plan 740, the coat closet next to the stairs lines up with closets on another level and can be used as an elevator shaft.
Noise tolerances should be given serious consideration, even though it may be less of a problem for units away from the expressway.
Although I detected little expressway noise as I stood in the model in a late-afternoon visit, it was summer and the air conditioning was on. Windows were closed.
Those who like fresh air for sleeping at night might want to make an appointment for an evening test. It seems unlikely windows in a residence, especially on the expressway end of the development, could be opened without significant levels of noise.
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Concord at Jefferson Park
Address: 4933 W. Lawrence Ave.
Phone: 773-736-0011
Web site: www.concordhomes.com
Description: 29 three-story houses with finished lower level with 3,253 square feet, four bedrooms, 3 baths and detached two-car garages from $588,490. Also 57 three-story townhouses with three bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 powder rooms and attached two-car garages from $396,990. Monthly homeowners fee, $40; monthly condo assessment, $154. Prices as of Aug. 10.
Amenities: 9-foot ceilings on three levels, fireplaces, wood flooring in living, dining and kitchen, sprinkler systems. Oak railings, air conditioning, rear deck, sodded lawns.
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Neighborhood: Close to tot lot; park and dog run planned; shopping and restaurants. On CTA bus line and within blocks of CTA Blue Line, Metra and Interstate Highways 90 and 94.