The “villas” at the Lakes of Boulder Ridge are what used to be called “duplexes” though these are not like many duplexes you have seen before.
There are five floor plans and the two attached units are not necessarily identical twins. As the four furnished models illustrate, a ranch-style plan can be teamed with a two-story plan.
The attached houses are the final phase in the 600-acre Boulder Ridge golf course development in Lake in the Hills opened by Par Development Inc. in 1989.
When it first opened, the development, situated along Algonquin Road, was considered something of a pioneer because it ventured a mile west of Randall Road, then considered far out in the country. Today, Randall Road is a busy commercial thoroughfare and the beginning point for a host of new developments spreading far west of the Fox River.
When complete, Boulder Ridge will have 850 custom, semi-custom and multi-family homes. Today there are about 625 homes around the development’s centerpiece — a private country club with an 18-hole golf course with a 57,000-square-foot clubhouse.
The Lakes portion of the complex is planned for 242 duplex units that are being built around and among several small lakes that are part of the golf course.
The duplexes are part of a local surge in attached housing in recent years.
Attached housing once had the stereotype of “affordable” housing and was a way for some buyers to get into home ownership. In recent years, however, the price range and the variety of configurations for such housing has broadened considerably.
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Many old stereotypes no longer apply, especially with a growing number of affluent buyers looking for housing with a minimum of exterior home and yard maintenance.
The duplexes at the Lakes are aimed at this buyer profile. More than 40 of the homes have been sold.
The early buyers have been “mostly empty-nesters downsizing, a couple of young families and young professionals,” said Christine Podraza, director of sales. Most buyers are coming from the northwest suburbs and while golf may be a selling point for some, it is not a necessity for all.
There are four models — two have two floors and two are ranches. Basements are standard but those in the models are finished, an upgrade.
Before going further, I must stress that buyers looking for base-price standard features here will be disappointed. These are much upgraded and dramatic homes, fun to tour — but hang onto your wallet if you are in the mood to buy.
The walkout basement, for example, will add $17,000 to $18,000 to the base price. An English basement is $10,000 to $13,000.
Decks are standard, but “98 percent” of the buyers thus far have opted for a larger that standard deck with a screened-in porch, a $17,000 to $18,000 option, according to Podraza.
The most popular of the four models is the Augusta, a ranch floor plan shown with a walkout basement, which adds a significant amount of space.
One buyer bought the home for her aging parents, who will live on the main floor while she has a lower level bedroom suite and plenty of room for privacy, Podraza said.
The sales director estimates the Augusta model as shown may cost about $580,000, significantly more than the $354,900 base.
The upgrades, no doubt, help sell many of the homes — several buyers have asked specifically to duplicate the soft aqua and vanilla tones in the Ashton model, Podraza said — but I suspect the Augusta, which has 2,324 square feet, has been popular as much for its sensible traffic flow as for the extras.
This is a home with a great room but no formal living room. Visitors walk from the front door through the foyer past a bedroom, wisely shown as a study (we’ll come back to that later), a coat closet and the stairs to the lower level, into the great room, about 16 1/2 by 20 feet, at the back of the house.
At the left of the great room is the door to the laundry/mud room, a separate dining room and the kitchen.
Many of the key rooms radiate from the great room. It is close to the laundry room and a few steps from the garage.
The dining room, which is 14 1/2 by 12 feet, opens onto the great room and is visible and accessible. But there is no need to enter the room except for special occasions. It is big enough to seat eight for dinner, but could accommodate more for holidays simply by adding leaves to the dining table extending it into the great room if necessary.
A wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. The kitchen, at the back of the house, opens to the great room and at nearly 20 by 14 feet is large enough for a center island and a small table and chairs. It has sliding doors to a large deck with a screened-in porch at the back of the home.
To the right of the great room is the master bedroom suite. This self-contained area has a bedroom, about 16 by 15 1/2 square feet, with windows overlooking the backyard. A sizable walk-in closet and linen closet are on either side of a short hall between the bedroom and the generous master bath. Outside the master bedroom suite is a hall to the guest bathroom and the light-filled second bedroom at the front of the house. Between this bedroom and the foyer is the study/third bedroom.
The largest of the models is the three-bedroom Abigail, a two-story plan with a first-floor master bedroom suite. The second floor is shown with two bedrooms and a sizable–15-by-16 1/2-square-foot– loft that could be a fourth bedroom.
There are some interesting ideas in the plan, not least of which is a door from the garage opening into a large laundry/mud room which has two other doors, one opening onto a hallway to the kitchen and the other opening to a room-size, but odd-shaped master closet or storage room.
The closet also has a door to the master bath that in turn opens onto the master bedroom. The plan allows someone to walk from the garage through the laundry, the closet, bath and into the master bedroom without going through any public rooms in the house.
I am not sure if it is a plan I would buy, in part, because a number of the walls on the main floor are at angles because of the octagonal kitchen in the center of the house. But for golfers who want to go directly from the garage to the bedroom after 18 holes or for a tired commuter headed to bed with no detour to the kitchen, I can see some advantages.
As with any multi-family housing, serious shoppers, especially those accustomed to single-family homes, will want to check for sound and noise transmission and take time to learn about the floor plan in the other half of the duplex. In one model, only a wall separates a bedroom in one unit from the garage or laundry room in another.
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The Lakes of Boulder Ridge
Address: 4875 Coyote Lakes Circle, Lake in the Hills
Developer: Par Development Inc.
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Phone: 847-854-3008
Web: www.pardevelopment.com
Description: A development planned for 242 duplexes. Ranch and two-story homes with two or three bedrooms, 2 to 2 1/2 baths with attached two-car garages. Plans from 1,978 square feet to 2,654 square feet. Base prices from $329,900 to $359,900. Monthly assessment, $145. Prices as of Nov. 12.
Amenities: Full basements, air conditioning, fireplaces, decks, Corian kitchen, laundry and bath countertops, landscaping, golf memberships.
Neighborhood: Part of an established golf course development, near shopping and schools, Cary Metra station.