Talk about a buddy system. When Eamon Malone and John Moloney met after coming to the United States from Ireland more than 30 years ago, they became fast friends.
The duo pooled their dollars, bought a lot, built a house and sold it. They’ve been business partners as well as friends ever since.
After a few years of building houses, they met Frank Bradley of Crana Homes and, with handshakes all around, the trio bought property and embarked on building a subdivision. They have been working together ever since.
Now Malone and Moloney are opening the final phase of the trio’s Brookside Glen venture, a 2,000-unit master-planned development in Tinley Park.
Opened in the mid-1990s, Brookside Glen has a creek running through it and has several neighborhoods of houses and townhouses. A major condominium development by another builder is adjacent to the property and a small shopping center is being developed nearby.
The final 127 houses, in a new neighborhood called Brookside Glen South on 88th Avenue south of 191st Street, are currently being sold.
Why visit an established development, one that has been around so long that there are lawns, landscaping, streets and schools already in place? Maybe just for those reasons.
Buyers may be fascinated by the latest and new but, considering the years of dust and noise it takes to build communities, schools and services around some big new housing developments–or in a redeveloping urban neighborhood–investigating one that is near completion could be an option.
Remember that the builders probably were able to get the land dirt cheap compared to what builders are paying today–and that could translate to value for buyers.
In addition, Tinley Park, while not a close-in suburb, is accessible from several expressways as well as Metra rail service.
Four Malone and Moloney homes are among the models (the others are by Crana) around a cul-de-sac just off 80th Avenue.
The most affordable, but least appealing, is the Shannon Marquis, from $344,900 for 2,667 square feet of living space. Billed as a tri-level, the living room and dining room are two or three steps up from the entry level where the foyer, kitchen and family room are located.
Some may see this as a design element, but I think it looks like a gimmick. More concerning, it could be an accident waiting to happen if you are carrying hot food up to the dining room or dirty dishes down to the dishwasher.
The 2,840-square-foot Innishmore Manor model, from $348,900, is a variation on the current suburban favorite–the two-story front entry with a stairway to the second floor on the right and a formal living room and dining room to the left.
The two most popular plans in this development are the Fane Deluxe, a two-story, four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath residence–the largest and most expensive plan–and the Boyne Majestic, a home that gives real meaning to the phrase “open concept.”
Looking something like a prow of a ship on the outside, the front door of the three-bedroom Boyne ranch model opens into a soaring open space, 27 1/2 by 33 1/2 feet, and is shown with a stunning central fireplace, a $6,900 upgrade.
At the back of the space and to the right, the room opens to a 10-by-15 1/2-foot dining room and a 10 1/2-by-15 1/2-foot kitchen. The sense of openness continues with sight lines that go into the 16-by-17-foot sunroom behind the kitchen.
The three bedrooms–about 14 by 16 feet in the master bedroom and 12 by 12 feet plus in the secondary rooms–and two baths–are comfortable but seem a tad less generous when compared with the expansive public spaces. They are up three steps and down a hall at the back of the great room.
The model is shown with a partial wall extending from the fireplace to an exterior wall. It does not really enclose the space or cut any noise; so I would advise serious shoppers looking at this model to go for the total openness and revel in it.
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I suspect this is not an easy house for the sound-sensitive. But the sheer exuberance of space is appealing.
The Fane Deluxe doubles as the sales office. With 3,265 square feet of living area and another 1,000 square feet in the basement, this is a big, but not hulking, house thanks in part to the placement of the garage.
Regular readers of this column know I am no fan of so-called “snout” houses, where the front facade of the house recedes from view because the garage juts toward the street.
A front porch on the model somewhat balances the garage’s forward thrust for a better curbside appearance. And to be fair, there are reasons for the jutting garage. Several rooms are tucked behind it, which keeps the home from being wider and more unwieldy.
Visitors enter the front door from the porch. They step into the 16 1/2-by-18-foot living room with a cathedral ceiling. The stairway to the second floor is just steps inside the door and on the right wall of the living room.
A wide central hall is directly behind the living room. A coat closet, powder room and the laundry, which doubles as a mudroom and provides access to the garage, can be reached from this crossroads, also open to the kitchen/family room across the back the of house.
Behind the living area is the dining room, about 13 1/2 by 11 feet, which in turn has a door to the kitchen, 14 by 10 feet.
The kitchen opens to the dinette, 12 by 11 1/2 feet, which is divided by a half-wall from the 22-by-15-foot living room. A study or den, about 11 by 11 1/2 feet, faces the garage.
The second floor is just as expansive as the first floor. A loft overlooks the living room at the top of the stairs. The three secondary bedrooms are 13 by 13 feet or larger and each has one wall of closets.
There is one hall bath with a skylight, standard, and a nice touch for an interior room. The big master suite with a 21-by-16-foot bedroom, a wall of closets and a large private bath is at the front of the home over the garage.
While these houses work from the inside and I am thrilled to see a builder that doesn’t cheat on space for the kids in the secondary bedrooms, the exterior of several models are dated. Ditto some of the interior designs.
No hardwood floors were shown, though they are an upgrade option.
The oak banisters and balusters looked spindly. And not including central air conditioning as a standard option strikes me as very stripped down these days.
Still it is hard to fault these plans; they offer a good value.
The Fane Deluxe is about $113 a square foot, if a buyer can do without any frills. As shown, it has about $40,000 in options.
The Boyne Majestic is about $137 a square foot. But the model has about $35,000 in upgrades, including that dramatic fireplace.
Most of the development’s roads are in. The schools are built. It’s something to think about.
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Brookside Glen South
Address: 19406 Brookside Glen Ct., Tinley Park
Developer: Malone and Moloney Construction Co.
Phone: 815-464-1010
Web: www.brooksideglen.com
Description: Three- and four-bedroom houses with 2 1/2 baths, two-car attached garages and basements. Houses are from 2,667 square feet to 3,265 square feet with base prices from $344,900 to $369,900. Prices as of Aug. 1.
Amenities: Carpeting in living, dining and bedrooms; ceramic tile floors in foyer, kitchen, dinette, powder room, laundry and bathrooms. Oak kitchen cabinets, laminate kitchen countertops, oak doors and trim, brick and wood siding, concrete drive and patio, curbs, streets, sidewalks and street lighting, Chicago water.
Neighborhood: Part of established 800-acre master-planned development with five miles of walking trails, seven-acre lake. Near forest preserves and schools; short drive to stores, restaurants. Easy access to Interstate Highways 80, 57.
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