For years, I have been impressed by the bucolic pictures of Prairie Crossing in north suburban Grayslake. A decade-old new home development that made preserving open land a priority, the development usually is viewed through a pastoral lens.
But it has other important assets as well. The access to two commuter rail lines–the “crossing” in its name–across busy Illinois Highway 137 means residents can get to Chicago or O’Hare International Airport without a car, a “conservation” feature as important as open space and enlightened energy savings.
The trains will be close at hand to residents in the newest and last of the Prairie Crossing homes, the 36 condominiums under construction at Station Square.
Designed like a small town center, Station Square will have a modest park flanked by three buildings with retail shops and offices, plus the condos.
The all-residential Burnham Building is at the head of the square and faces the highway. Nearly complete, it will have 20 condominiums.
The Bennett and Wacker Buildings are on opposite sides of the square. Each will have eight units on the two floors above first-floor shops and offices. Building sites adjacent to these two buildings are reserved for retail stores.
The 15 floor plans are named after birds, in keeping with the development’s nature theme. They range from 1,600 to 2,700 square feet (including outdoor porches) and are priced from about $330,000.
Six units have been sold, and the first buyers are a mix of empty-nesters and young professionals, said Alison Ranney, who handles marketing and sales.
Ranney is the daughter of Prairie Crossing founders Victoria and George Ranney Jr., the husband-and-wife team who championed open space, energy and resource conservation–priorities that are increasingly mainstream.
Like the owners of the 359 houses in the development, condo owners will be able to participate in community events, use the lake and enjoy the protected open land, which comprises 60 percent of the development’s 677 acres.
“We don’t call it downsizing, we call it simplifying,” said Ranney, describing what she tells those who are unsure about leaving a house for a condo.
It’s a smart description. Not because the condominiums are small–some are larger than most houses–but because for many people downsizing has a negative connotation.
The sparsely furnished models may come as a surprise to browsers looking for decorating ideas. Still, it’s easy to gauge the space without having to sort out what the builder provides and what has been added by an interior decorator.
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Designed by Chicago’s Worn Jerabek Architects, a firm with a strong background in environmental design, the buildings have a number of “green” features, including low-E windows, high efficiency furnaces and Energy Star appliances.
These and other standard features, along with such thoughtful elements as oversize windows, add up to base prices well above those of a starter home.
I liked the large balconies, recessed with a roof overhang. They recall sitting on a porch or an outdoor room, rather than being precariously perched on the side of a building.
The in-unit laundry rooms with space enough for a clothes basket, a vacuum cleaner, even some storage, are welcome.
Another good idea is placing the furnace, air-conditioner and water heater in a separate room with a door in the public hallway. This placement cuts out some of the noise inside the residence and means the equipment is available to maintenance workers, who never have to enter the condo.
In general, the combined living and dining spaces are generous, so those with a family heirloom dining-room table and sideboard will have room for them in the mid-size to larger units.
Open kitchen design
Kitchens are smallish, but usually are open to the combined living/dining area. Secondary bedrooms are single-bed size, perhaps better used as a den or home office.
Problematic for some buyers, however, will be rooms with irregular shapes and walls set on an angle.
“Buyers either say `I love the angles’ or `I can’t stand this room,'” said Ranney, of one such bedroom.
To get a taste of how these units look and feel, buyers need go no further than the sales office in the 1,192-square-foot Killdeer plan on the first floor of the Burnham Building. The two-bedroom, two-bath residence with upgrades including wood flooring and upgraded bathroom fixtures is $418,000, as shown.
The traffic pattern is straightforward. A coat closet is to the right of the small foyer just inside the front door. A short hall to the right leads past a large closet to the 18-by-6-foot laundry room with a sizable closet as well.
The foyer opens to the heart of the home, the 35-by-22 1/2-foot open living and dining room, where large windows overlook the future central square and the highway and train tracks beyond.
A peninsula breakfast bar divides the 13-by-9-foot kitchen at the back of this space from the rest of room. To the left of the kitchen, a hallway leads to the guest bath with the 12 1/2-by-9-foot den or second bedroom across the hall.
The master suite is at the end of the hall with the bath to the left and the bedroom to the right.
The master closet, just inside the bedroom door, is large but has one angled wall, creating a corner that is a deep triangle. Similarly, the 16 1/2-by-13 1/2-foot bedroom has only one 90-degree angle corner.
The room feels light and airy, and it has a door to the 20-by-7-foot covered balcony along the front of the building. A door into the living/dining room is at the other end of the balcony.
In contrast, the three-bedroom Meadowlark, 2,226 square feet including two balconies, has a more conventional design. Priced from about $443,700, as shown, this is one of several units that meets the Illinois accessibility code. It has a kitchen with cabinetry that allows for a cook in a wheelchair.
My favorite of the three models was the most angular of all. The Goldfinch is an end unit with two bedrooms and two baths and 1,696 square feet, including a 32-by-7-foot wraparound corner balcony.
The L-shaped living and dining room has windows on three walls. The bedrooms and baths are at opposite ends of the unit with the laundry and an oddly shaped 11-by-12-foot kitchen in between. There is barely a wall large enough for a big-screen TV, but there is plenty of room on the balcony for lounging and dining.
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The Condominiums at Prairie Crossing, Grayslake
Base price range: $329,900 to $499,900
FACTS AND FIGURES
Two- and three-bedroom condominiums with 2 baths and one underground garage parking space
Square feet: 1,600 to 2,700
Monthly assessment: $292 to $438
Developer: Prairie Holdings Corp.
Web site: www.prairiecrossing.com
AMENITIES
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Nine-foot ceilings, one or two balconies, energy-efficient double-glazed low-E windows, maple 42-inch upper kitchen cabinets. GE Energy Star-qualified appliances including washer and dryer in each unit, Corian counters in kitchen and bath. Some units meet Illinois Accessibility code.
Community: 36 Energy Star-rated condos in three buildings, the last of nearly 400 homes at 676-acre conservation development. There are 20 condos in one building and eight each above retail stores in two buildings in new Station Square.
GETTING THERE
Address: 977 Harris Road
Phone: 847-548-5400
Off Illinois Highway 137, just west of U.S. Highway 45
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