Being a newcomer is seldom easy and being a newcomer in a crowded housing market must be no picnic.
Richmond American Homes, one of the nation’s 10 largest builders, announced last year that it was expanding into Chicago, and the company is working to establish itself here.
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Unlike many big national builders, the Denver-based firm didn’t buy out a local builder to establish a beachhead. Instead, it has chosen initially to buy lots in developments already pioneered by others.
The company has 45 home sites in the Timber Creek development in Naperville, for example, and has lots in Kipling Estates in Shorewood and at The Villas of Ravine Woods in Channahon. They are or soon will be in developments near Huntley and in the Joliet and Yorkville area.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this entry method.
On the one hand, Richmond American can hang its hat, so to speak, in more than one desirable development or town rather than trying to attract buyers who don’t know the company or the name. And by being in several locations, the firm has the opportunity to show different kinds of housing.
In addition, depending upon what buyers think about the houses of the other builder in the development, the newcomer may live initially in the reflected glow of the good work of others.
On the other hand, establishing a separate identity may be tough if the development still has a big presence by the original builder.
I can attest to that dilemma. Despite explicit and easy directions to the Richmond American model in the Timber Creek development in Naperville, I drove right past it at first.
The builder’s first model home in Illinois is eye-catching, plainly visible from 95th Street, and on an interior street of the subdivision. One cannot turn directly from 95th, however, and drive to its front door.
Furthermore, the house was so close to the familiar layout and signage of the Lakewood Homes sales center and parking lot, easily accessed from 95th, that I assumed the model belonged to that builder.
Wrong. After zooming past the development before coming to a dead-end thanks to street construction, I turned in and spied several homes under construction plainly marked with the Colorado company’s signs. I knew I was in the right place. I just didn’t know where to find the sales office.
To reach the newcomer’s office, park the car in a shared parking lot and walk on a path of concrete pavers, bordered by small blue signs, across a stretch of muddy ground from the parking lot to the next street and the model.
The small hurdles may tend to eliminate the casual drop-in house shopper, but to counter that possibility the Colorado company has pulled out the stops for a house with an exterior that hits plenty of the hot buttons of today’s consumers.
There is a wide front porch, plenty of stone (the new brick) and shingled details reminiscent of rambling New England summer houses at the turn of the 20th Century.
The pastiche of architectural styles–vaguely bungalow, a bit of stripped-down Victorian–evokes the nostalgia and solidity many of us equate with our grandmother’s house. In addition, it has the necessary modern amenity–the attached front-load garage– for plenty of street appeal.
The builder is likely to set itself apart at Timber Creek with another small, but important, difference. Each home comes fully equipped with all appliances as a standard feature. That means a refrigerator, washer and dryer as well as the usual kitchen package is included in the price of house.
It’s a sensible way of doing business and I have never understood why local builders don’t include those appliances with all of the others. Unlike another builder offering all appliances as part of a one-price policy, however, Richmond American is offering plenty of upgrades both in appliances and other features, as those who tour the model will discover.
The floor plan is a familiar one. Step through the front door into the foyer and there is a formal dining room which could seat six, maybe eight people, with a small sideboard on the left.
To the right of the foyer is the formal living room, big enough for six to chat comfortably. It also may work as an expansion space for a really extended dining table or, more practically, a good spot for the temporary kids’ table at those family holiday gatherings.
These rooms are useful for a few formal occasions, but they are, as is true in most new homes I visit, merely way stations to the family living area at the back of the house.
In this case, visitors are likely to pass them quickly. They will pass the stairway to the second floor and a discreetly placed powder room (upgraded to a full bath with a shower in the model) to the sunny family room with large windows overlooking the back yard and a dramatic, stand-alone two-story fireplace.
The stone fireplace, opposite the windows, acts as a partial wall between the family room and a hallway and is a sure people-magnet.
It is impressive and a $20,000 upgrade, but, for my money, tends to overwhelm the space and makes the family room feel small. Nevertheless, it is sure to be remembered by anyone who visits this home and it does add a whiff of rustic Colorado to an otherwise conventional floor plan.
More impressive to me, but quietly so, is the adjacent kitchen and breakfast area, which is separated from the family room by a half-wall. Unfortunately, the floor plan provided in the buyer’s kit gives no room dimensions, which any serious buyer must have before even considering a home.
Nevertheless, the kitchen, aided no doubt by the upgraded cabinetry, seems to have enough room and counter space, with the center island, to do real cooking. Add in a real pantry in the corner and an extended adjacent utility room with a long counter and lots of cabinetry (all upgrades) and this is a functional work area for those who stock up periodically at Sam’s Club or Costco.
Upstairs, the roomy master suite is at one end of the home. It has a big (again, how big? You will have to check with a sales rep.) bedroom with a spacious master bath and a walk-in closet the size of a small home office.
There are two decent-sized secondary bedrooms with a Jack `n Jill bathroom between. Both have real walk-in closets. The fourth, presumably guest, bedroom, is smallish, however, though it does have its own private bath. A double bed with night stands on either side might inhibit getting into the closet with sliding doors.
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No doubt trying to put the best foot forward with its first model in the increasingly pricey Naperville market, this model– the Brentwood– is part of the builder’s “executive” series. For those who can afford it, I very much like the house, both inside and out, except for the garage, which in my opinion always should be detached and out back.
The base price and square footage of this model, about $481,000 for about 3,348 square feet, is somewhere in the middle of the base sizes and prices of the seven plans the builder is offering at this development. Add in all the upgrades, both exterior and interior, shown in this model, however, and the price is closer to $650,000.
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Richmond American Homes at Timber Creek
Address: 2959 Forest Creek Ln., Naperville
Developer: Richmond American Homes
Phone: 630-922-3000
Web: www.RichmondAmerican.com
Description: 45 two-story houses with four bedrooms, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 baths and attached two and three-car garages ranging from about 2,880 to 4,300 square feet. Base prices from $448,400 to $543,900. Annual assessment, $120. Prices as of Dec. 6.
Amenities: Full basements, sodded lawns, all appliances including GE double ovens, granite countertops in kitchen, ceramic tile or wood floor in kitchen and foyer, dual-zoned heating and air conditioning.
Neighborhood: On 95th Street two miles east of Illinois Highway 59, easy drive to shopping and restaurants, golf course and Naperville Public Library.