dining

The Glen hosts scores of health care professionals

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When non-residents think of The Glen (the upscale residential & retail development in Glenview, Illinois) they think of our many restaurants, shops, theater, and children’s venues (Kohl Children’s Museum, Make-a-Messterpiece, and Color Me Mine) in Glen Town Center.  These are top of mind for residents, too, along with our lovely neighborhoods and homes.  There is another important characteristic of The Glen, however, that gets less attention but is an important part of our community…health care.

The Glen is home to the offices of scores of medical professionals including general practitioners, specialists, clinics, physical therapy centers and dentists.  When my family and I moved to The Glen ten years ago we were delighted to find a major pediatric health care practice for our son within walking distance of our Tower Crossing home (Glenbrook Pediatrics) on Compass Road.  A wonderful general practitioner practice (Covenant Medical Group) is also on Compass.  In fact, Compass Road is host to four buildings filled with doctors including several specialists.

The Glen also has numerous dental practices.  Dr. Suh, a popular local dentist, is located on Patriot Blvd (the main north south street through The Glen.)  His office is in the retail development with Dominicks grocery store and the ever-popular, upscale restaurant Wildfire.  Our Park Center, which includes a swimming pool and health/fitness club, has a physical therapy center.  There are other physical therapists in The Glen as well.

I should also point out that there is a Fire Station with ambulance service located in The Glen within a couple of minutes of every home in the development; and the highly rated Glenbrook Hospital, while not in The Glen, is only 5 minutes away by car or ambulance.

There is so much to love about living in The Glen.  Available health care is one of them.

Margaret Ludemann, resident of The Glen and @properties Realtor

 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: The Glen is a convenient place to live.

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One of the great advantages to living in The Glen (an upscale development in north shore community Glenview, Illinois) is its proximity to rail, automobile and air transportation.  When my family and I moved here 10 years ago, our primary considerations were the quality of schools, the Glen Town Center lifestyle, and the stunning townhome we were purchasing at Tower Crossing.  Only after we moved here did we learn how easy and fast it is to get around.

Having previously lived in the city we hoped to make regular trips downtown.  We were happy to learn that the new Glen Metra station would deliver us to Union Station in 30 – 45 minutes depending on time of day.  The station is especially close to the Cambridge neighborhood with its many townhomes, duplexes, two-flats and single family homes.

Speaking of trains, Amtrak stops at the Glenview station, about 5 minutes away by car; and it is very helpful to people needing to get to Milwaukee (67 minutes) or to Milwaukee’s Mitchell Airport (52 minutes).  Using Mitchell gives air travelers an additional option.

A huge surprise was the speedy trip to O’Hare.  At that time my husband was travelling extensively.  How pleasant to discover that the morning trip to O’Hare took 23 minutes, and an evening return trip took about the same time.  Reverse commute traffic is to thank for that.

The best news of all is that if you don’t want to go anywhere there is much to do right here in The Glen.  We have 15 restaurants, a movie theater, spa, art gallery, and scores of shops in Glen Town Center which is walking distance or very short drive from any home in The Glen.  It is particularly close to the Chapel Crossing, Patriot Commons, Cambridge and Tower Crossing developments.

If you would like to learn about homes in The Glen, please give me a call at 847-401-1802 or by email at margaretludemann@gmail.com.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen Resident and @properties Realtor

Rising Home Sales & Prices in The Glen

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Recently I was asked to give a presentation about the real estate market to a group of business men and women.  While preparing my presentation I was struck by the words I saw on my laptop’s screen, words that I had written, but startling none-the-less:  sales are up, prices are up, time on market down, far fewer distressed properties.  Seeing these words on the screen put a smile on my face.  I decided to create another slide that I would have prepared not very long ago:  sales stagnant, prices flat & still falling in some areas, time on market still way too long, too many distressed properties dragging down prices.

Bob Dylan was right, The Times…they are a-changin’

Real estate in The Glen is doing quite well.  Most north shore communities saw increases in prices in 2012 of between 2% – 3%, most of those gains being won late in the year.  But prices in zip code 60026 (dominated by The Glen) rose 4.5% last year, in contrast with greater Glenview (zip code 60025) at 2.9%.  While there are many reasons for The Glen’s superior price performance, I believe the attractiveness of our community’s lifestyle is at the top of the list.  Glen Town Center’s many shops and restaurants (as well as its theater, spa, book store and art gallery), along with Lake Glenview, Gallery Park and golf courses, make this a particularly wonderful place to live.  Our variety of homes, from stately single family homes in Southgate, Chapel Crossing, and Landings to stunning townhomes and villas Tower Crossing, Cambridge, and Regency also attract buyers.

Improving prices are welcome news to Glen homeowners, but buyers have reasons to smile as well.  Prices are still well below their peaks of 5 years ago.  North shore communities are still between 20.5% and 26.1% below those highs.  So this is a great time to buy a Glen home while prices are still below their peaks and before they get any higher.

Margaret Ludemann, resident of The Glen, @properties Realtor

Glen Home Types: Something for Everyone

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I’ve heard some residents suggest that there are far too few townhomes, condos, and villas in The Glen.  I’ve heard others say that the development is over populated with attached housing.  The truth?  Well, they’re both…wrong.

The Glen is a development within Glenview, Illinois on land that was once Naval Air Station Glenview.  But calling it a development doesn’t do it justice.  It’s really a village within a village as evidenced by Glen Town Center (the shopping and dining “main street”), multiple neighborhoods, parks, two golf courses, commercial offices, and a lake, school, and movie theater.  And just like any other town or village, it has a variety of housing types.  One of the brilliant strategies of the Glen’s master plan is the balance of single family homes and multi-family, attached home types.

My research shows that approximately 52% of Glen properties are single family homes.  Currently there are 670 such homes ranging in size from about 2500 sq ft to nearly 7,000 sq ft.  The largest SFH neighborhood is Southgate with 237 properties, followed by Chapel Crossing with 167 homes, Landings with 143 homes, and Cambridge with 123 homes.

This leaves approximately 48% of the Glen’s properties as multi-family.  Within this broad category are 5 different home types.  There are 409 townhomes, 99 condos, 64 villas, 35 duplexes, and 13 two-flats.  These 620 homes range in size from under 2,000 sq ft to over 4100 sq ft.  Multi-family housing is found in the Tower Crossing, Southgate, Cambridge, Glen Shore, Patriot Commons, and Regency neighborhoods.

So there is something for everyone in The Glen, whether you are looking for a comfortable condo or a majestic mansion…or anything in between.

Margaret Ludemann, resident of The Glen, @properties Realtor, email margaretLudemannl@gmail.com

Update on Patriot Commons in The Glen

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Patriot Commons is a beautiful housing development in The Glen, Glenview, Illinois.  The developer is highly respected Toll Brothers.  This development of condos and townhomes (near Glen Town Center’s many restaurants and shops) really took off a few years ago, but like many new construction projects it hit the wall during the recession.  After completing and selling out phase one, construction stopped, and I haven’t seen activity at the sales center in some time.  Since I occasionally receive emails and calls about Patriot Commons, I decided to do some investigating.

I learned that Toll Brothers does indeed plan to complete this development; however no schedule has been established at this time.  Construction may begin again sometime in 2014.  At that time, the company plans to build 51 more homes, 35 condos and 16 townhomes.  Assuming the configurations remain the same, there will be 6 different condo models ranging in size between 1141 – 1388 sq ft and 3 different townhome models.

I toured the models a few years ago.  They are close to my Tower Crossing home in The Glen.  The homes were stunning, and some had breathtaking views of the championship golf course at The Glen Club.  The materials and workmanship were of very high quality.  I’m sure existing owners love their homes and the Glen lifestyle.  When Toll Brothers begins building in Patriot Commons again, the homes will compete with row homes, condos and villas in several existing Glen neighborhoods including Regency (Pulte’s new development), Cambridge, Southgate, and Glen Shores.  The townhome/villa development recently announced by Edward R. James Partners for the Glen will be coming online next year, too.

Margaret Ludemann, Resident of The Glen, @properties Realtor