My first impression of The Village in Burns Harbor about 30 miles east of Chicago’s Loop was that this development looks like a welcoming, even fun, place to live. The houses have simple and uncluttered lines with tasteful, happy colors.
Built around a central parkway, the styles are variations of cottage, Cape Cod and American farmhouse designs. Each home is different but most have a front porch and garage at the back.
The lots are narrower than those usually found in other Indiana suburbs. Each dwelling is new yet it looks vaguely familiar–like the place where your grandmother or favorite great-aunt used to live.
That perception has been cultivated by careful design, said T. Cliff Fleming, head of Tara Development, which has planned the subdivision for more than 200 homes.
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Fleming, who grew up in nearby Gary, said he wanted to emulate the safe and cohesive neighborhood he remembers experiencing as a child. And the purpose of the plan for The Village “is to see whether physical design can promote interaction of people,” he said.
He is a fan of Miami architect Andres Duany, the best-known proponent of so-called New Urbanism, which proposes that compact, pedestrian-friendly communities can be a catalyst for neighborliness in new housing.
Critics of Duany–and there are many among builders–say the architect’s prescription for creating that nostalgic feel-good community ignores what buyers most want: front-loading garages, distance from neighbors, privacy and as big a house as possible.
Fleming, who said his grandfather was one of the founders of Gary and his uncle was instrumental in the development of neighboring Merrillville, hopes to prove those critics wrong.
About 30 homes have been sold in the first year of the Burns Harbor project, most to buyers from Northwest Indiana and a few from Chicago. A lot of them are younger couples, said Joel Carney, Tara vice president.
Constructed by two–soon to be three–Indiana builders whose floor plans meet the developer’s design criteria, the development is aimed at the first-time buyer market.
Most of these houses are modest in size, suitable for singles, couples or smaller families. To keep prices affordable, several plans include only a parking pad in the base price. A detached garage can be built as an upgrade.
The Town Square is a 1,700-square-foot, two-story plan with a wide front porch and fiber-cement siding. Built by Chesterton-based Vic Roberts Development Inc., it has three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a two-car garage. Base priced at $205,000, the home I toured was $219,000 with finished basement and upgrades.
Visitors step from the front porch into the 22-by-15-foot living room dubbed the “great room” on the floor plan. The main floor has 9-foot ceiling. Stairs to the second floor are to the right of the front door; the kitchen and dining room are behind the living room.
The 10-by-12-foot kitchen is between the living room and a back hallway leading to garage. One side of the kitchen has a counter looking out to the 15-by-10-foot dining room.
The dining room opens to the living room at the front of the building and has windows on two walls for plenty of natural light. The windows at the back of the room overlook a patio. The kitchen opens from the dining room to this semi-secluded outdoor space.
The hallway from the rear of the kitchen leads past a small powder room and the laundry room to the garage. Windows overlook the patio and brighten the passage to the garage.
Similarly, a window at the top of the stairs on the second floor adds natural light to the central hall. It has doors to the second bath and the two bedrooms at the front of the house, as well as the master bedroom suite, which takes most of the back of the second floor.
The secondary bedrooms are about 10 by 11 feet and 11-feet-square. The master bedroom, at 13 by 14 feet, is modest in size but has a good-size walk-in closet and a sunny private bath with both tub and separate shower and two sinks.
The bath has a small closet linen and there is a large, really serviceable linen closet at the end of the hallway outside the door to the master bedroom.
But like the vintage homes the Village Square emulates, this house is short on storage space if you don’t count the basement. There is no closet near the front door for guest coats and the closet at the back of the house near the garage entrance is tiny.
One other quibble is the narrow, almost hazardous, width of the treads on the stairs to the basement. Finishing the basement probably is well worth the additional cost for storage, if nothing else. The sharp turn at the bottom of the steps, however, could be a challenge for moving major items such as furniture.
Across the parkway from the Village Square are two two-story stone-trimmed townhouses by JPA Construction Co. of Munster. I toured the larger of the two units, since sold, which is 1,440 square feet and based price about $141,400.
The door from the small covered front entry opens into a living room, about 15 1/2 by 20 feet. The stairway to the second floor is to the right of the door along the wall.
A closet is tucked under the stairway as is a door to a full bathroom. The living room opens to the 13 1/2 -by-14 1/2 -foot eat-in kitchen at the back of the unit.
Appliances and cabinetry are along two walls. so there is plenty of open space for table and chairs, or possibly a small kitchen island. The windows and door on the back of the kitchen overlook the patio, small backyard and garage at the back of the lot.
A laundry/utility room is to the right of the kitchen on the main floor.
Upstairs, the master bedroom, at the front of the unit, is about 12 by 14 feet. It has a walk-in closet, but no private bath.
The second floor bath opens to the small hall with doors to the master bedroom and the secondary bedrooms, roughly 9 by 13 feet and 9 by 12 feet, at the top of the stairs.
Though not fancy, the main floor has space enough for comfortable living and entertaining for a single or young couple. The unit lacks storage space and the one I visited did not have a basement, although a builder’s representative said future units would have a basement option.
One word about shopping in Northwest Indiana for Chicagoans deciding to explore the housing options over the border.
Unlike the national builders, with multiple permanent model homes to visit, most Northwestern Indiana builders are smaller companies with only a one or two models at any given time. Call ahead if interested in a particular floor plan to be certain the builder has a model of that plan to tour.
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THE VILLAGE IN BURNS HARBOR
$138,000 to $225,000*
FACTS AND FIGURES
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One- and two-story homes:
2 to 4 bedrooms, 1 to 3 baths, two-car garages
Square feet: 863 to 1,745
Monthly assessment: $17**
Developer: Tara Development Corp.
Web: www.villageinburnsharbor.com
AMENITIES
Main floor: Nine-foot first floor ceiling, carpeting in living and dining areas.
Kitchen: Oak cabinets laminated countertops.
Master bath: Walk-in shower, separate tub and dual sinks.
Other features: Attached and detached garages, front porches, walk-in closets.
GETTING THERE
I-94 to Exit 22A (Burns Harbor). Follow US 20 to Burns Harbor
329 Village Square, Burns Harbor, Ind.
219-787-9800
*Prices as of Oct. 17
**Base price
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