A helpful staffer at the Century 21 Excellence office in Northwest Indiana gave a lost House Hunter directions to two homes in Abercrombie Woods in Chesteron.
When she told me the homes are at 2527 and 2551 Hilfiger Drive–I kid you not–I began to suspect a pattern. When I drove down Aeropostiale Drive to get to Hilfiger, my hunch was confirmed. Need I say, the subdivision has a Nautica Drive as well.
There seems little doubt, judging from the names, that the developer is aiming at buyers who want–and can afford–the good life promised by brands sold at the local mall.
But if the names struck me as over-the-top, there is nothing funny about the housing. Abercrombie Woods does illustrate the good life for many buyers–especially those who would like a break from cookie-cutter housing found in so many Chicago-area developments, even posh ones.
Northwest Indiana is a sometimes messy mix of old industrial areas, established lake shore communities and rural small towns evolving into suburbs. National production builders have not yet wandered into this stew of old and new so this is an area where independent local builders are plentiful and competitive. They have bought lots from the subdivision developer and will work with buyers to build a semi-custom or custom home starting from the $250,000s.
The result is a budding neighborhood–this is the second phase of three, I was told–where the houses truly look distinctive and friends and relatives will have no trouble spying the right house when they come to visit.
There are ranch houses and two-story homes, vinyl clad and brick residences, some with stone. There are those with Nantucket-style cottage elements, others with vaguely Georgian details and probably some of those two-story arched front entrances so ubiquitous in fast-growth suburban Chicago.
I came to see two houses by Medallion Custom Homes and Remodeling Inc. of Chesterton. Builder Steve Johnson, who grew up in Western Springs, completes six to eight homes a year, generally in the $259,000 to $339,000 price range, and the two speculative homes are typical of what he builds.
The larger of the homes is finished. It has 3,100 square feet, four bedrooms, three baths, a basement and a three-car tandem garage, for $319,000.
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The smaller, 2,184-square-foot, still-in-progress house several lots down the block is a more compact and more beautiful three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath residence. It has a basement and a two-car garage and is $339,000. As it turned out, this was a good combination for a prospective shopper who is looking to hire a builder. The finished spec house gives a good sense of the builder’s care in finish selection and craftsmanship.
The still-in-progress house provides a chance to talk about and see what the builder is doing behind the walls.
So how come the smaller house is more expensive?
Johnson, who led the tour of the structure, said the price difference to due to such construction upgrades as a dual-zone heating and air conditioning system with 90 percent efficiency rating, windows with low-E glass, a basement with a 9-foot ceiling, heavy-duty roof shingles and a heavier-weight vinyl siding. Do most buyers even know or care there are different weights in vinyl siding?
Most do not, Johnson admitted, which is one of the reasons he is often on the scene when it comes time to show the house and tell prospective buyers what they are looking at.
Adding to the house’s appeal is a more interesting roof line, custom-built and thus more costly than the pre-made truss roof down the street; and a wrap-around front porch that can be accessed from the front and the side of the house. The home has a back porch as well.
Visitors step from the front porch into a center foyer with the dining room to the right and a hall closet to the left. The closet will have doors on both sides (one side opens in the foyer).
The foyer faces the open living-family room with the kitchen to the right, behind and adjacent to the dining room.
To the left is the stairway to the second floor and a small hallway with a door to the basement under the stairs. A powder room and the laundry room are to the left of the stairs at the front and are discreetly hidden from the public rooms, with easy access for anyone.
Not yet totally wired for electricity, the interior of the house is in the studs and subflooring stage and the interior walls do not yet have wall board. Some imagination is needed, but not much, to understand the plan. The tour can prove even more exciting for buyers who now want to feel and eyeball the size of the rooms, yet still have time to provide input for important finishing details.
As I stood in the designated kitchen, a bare room opening to the equally bare living/family room, I asked the builder where he planned to put the kitchen sink. His plan is to put it in the corner of a peninsula counter that would divide the kitchen from the family room. As a buyer I might have ideas about the shape and style of that peninsula and the house is at a construction stage which may allow that discussion.
Upstairs, the master bedroom and bath is at the back of the house while the two secondary bedrooms, including a Jack-n-Jill bath, are at the front.
In the finished spec house down the street, the front door opens to the familiar plan of living room to the right, dining room to the left and the stairway to the second floor straight ahead.
In this case, the stairs crowd the front door too much for my taste, but others touring the house with me strongly disagreed.
Oak floors are standard except for the carpeted, one-step down, sunken living room. It opens to the large kitchen/family room with a big deck at the back of the house. To the right of the kitchen is a powder and the door to the garage. The garage is the popular L-shaped configuration which has the width of a two-car garage but an additional bay at the front which can be used to park a third car but very often is used to park the snowblower or the boat. Upstairs, the master bedroom is at the back of house and the master bath has both a whirlpool and shower. Two of the secondary bedrooms are about 14 by 14 feet. The fourth bedroom is smaller, at 10 by 14 feet. Buyers with a growing family will likely find compelling the 16-by-40-foot finished bonus room over the garage.
The bedroom closets look skimpy, but with so many bedrooms, a basement and the huge bonus room over the garage, the house does not lack storage possibilities.
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Medallion Custom Homes at Abercrombie Woods
Base prices: $319,000 to $339,00
FACTS AND FIGURES
A pair of two-story houses with 3 and 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 to 3 baths, basements, two- and three-car garages
Floor plans: 2,184 and 3,100 square feet
Annual assessments: $195
Developer: DTM Properties Inc.
AMENITIES: Step-down living room, oak hardwood floors, stainless kitchen appliances, maple cabinets and acrylic solid surface countertops. Master bedroom suite with balcony. Shower and whirlpool in master bath. Large deck off kitchen and family room
Community: 50 minutes from downtown Chicago, near golf course, conservation area and park, minutes from lake shore.
GETTING THERE
Address: 2527 and 2551 Hilfiger, Chesterton, Ind.
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Phone: Century 21 Excellence, 219-926-2178
Take Interstate Highway 94 east to Portage exit. Go south to U.S. Hwy 20, then east to Indiana Highway 149. Go south to 1059 North, then east to development.
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