Tower Crossing

Only 1 Tower Crossing home for sale, and it’s a great one

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Only one Tower Crossing townhome is currently for sale, at 1840 Admiral Court. Tower Crossing is a 154 luxury townhome development in The Glen, the north shore’s finest lifestyle community in Glenview, Illinois. Tower Crossing is an ultra-popular Glen development, owing its popularity to the homes’ stunning architecture inside and out, quality construction, and location.

These 4 story brick homes are huge, ranging in size from 3031 sq ft to 4105 sq ft. They border Glen Town Center (the Glen’s retail and shopping “main street”) making them particularly handy for shopping and dining.

1840 Admiral Court is a “Blackstone”, one of the most sought after models in the development. Blackstones offer 3840 sq ft, and they open to a large, professionally landscaped courtyard. In fact, each Blackstone model has both a deck and a covered patio facing this beautiful area.

It’s hard to find townhomes with 4 bedrooms, but that’s what you’ll find at 1840 Admiral Court, along with 2.2 bathrooms. You’ll also find a walk-thru butler’s pantry connecting the gourmet kitchen to the dining room. The kitchen offers granite counters, custom maple cabinets, and a large island. The spacious owner’s suite has a large bedroom, a lovely seating area, a private bath with a whirlpool tub and double sinks, and his/her walk-in closets.

1840 Admiral Court is offered at $785,000 which is a great price for this model. So if you may be interested in Tower Crossing, you should move quickly. There is only one for sale, and it’s a great home at a great price.

Margaret Ludemann

Tower Crossing homeowner and @properties Realtor  margaretludemann@gmail.com   847-401-1802

Mid-Year analysis of Tower Crossing home prices

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Since I haven’t written about the Tower Crossing neighborhood in The Glen since February, I thought I would provide an update on pricing. Tower Crossing has 154 luxury townhomes ranging in size from 3031 sq ft to 4015 sq ft depending on model. Yes indeed, these are large homes! They reside in The Glen, the North Shore’s premier lifestyle community in Glenview Illinois. All homes are of brick construction, and they are 4 stories high. A particularly attractive benefit of living in Tower Crossing is that it borders Glen Town Center on 3 sides. GTC is The Glen’s main shopping and dining “main street”.

Like every housing development in the country, home prices rose rapidly between 2003 and 2006; then they dropped from 2007 until late 2012. Since then, they have recovered nicely.

2014 PRICES:

The price p/sq ft of the 3 non-distressed Tower Crossing homes that have sold in the first half of 2014 is $215.21. This was heavily influenced by an $850,000 sale, the highest price paid for a TC home in at least 6 years.

2013 PRICES:

The prices of the 8 homes that sold in the first half of 2013 averaged $195.78. Thus, Tower Crossing prices increased by 9.9% comparing the first halves of the two years.

PRICES 5 YEARS AGO:

In 2009 (during the heart of the real estate market collapse) Tower Crossing homes sold for an average of $179.43 p/sq ft. Thus prices have increased by 19.9% from 2009 to the first half of 2014.

Price appreciation in 2012 through 2014 has brought original homeowners back roughly to where they began in 2013. Most homeowners who bought in the 2005/06 timeframe still have some catching up to do on prices. Most who bought in 2009 through 2013 have realized a gain in the value of their homes.

If you would like to learn more about living in The Glen please call me at 847-401-1802 or send an email to MargaretLudemann@gmail.com. I am a long time Glen homeowner and an award winning realtor affiliated with @properties.

Margaret Ludemann

Chapel Crossing at The Glen… a great place for families

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Chapel Crossing is an upscale housing development in The Glen, in Glenview Illinois. It consists of 168 luxury homes, all single family detached.

It was constructed 13 years ago when The Glen was just getting under way. The developer was Kimball Hill Homes which also developed nearby Tower Crossing. Homes in Chapel Crossing range in size from 2300 sq ft to 4200 sq ft with most being toward the high end of this range. The architecture is traditional, and the interior designs are elegant yet comfortable. All have large beautifully landscaped yards and detached garages.

The development is named after the lovely chapel at the corner of Patriot Boulevard and Chestnut Avenue which had served as the place of worship for the Naval Air Station Glenview which is the former occupant of the land upon which The Glen now resides. The Chapel still stands, though now it is used mainly for weddings, community events and a pre-school.

The main entrance into Chapel Crossing is from Patriot on Independence Avenue. Kimball Hill Homes wished to create a grand boulevard of large, stately homes; and the firm succeeded masterfully. The boulevard has a broad, wonderfully landscaped median with many park-like amenities including benches, play areas, and large trees.

The real estate market in Chapel Crossing is stable. As the primary homeowner demographic is defined by families with children, the annual turnover of homes is relatively small. In 2013, only 9 homes were sold (5.3% of the development.) Home prices range from about $900,000 to roughly $1.25 million. Prices last year averaged $1,031,527.

Chapel Crossing resides across Chestnut Avenue to Attea Middle School, the Glenview Park Center, Little Bear Garden,  and Gallery Park. It is but a short walk to Glen Town Center, The Glen’s main shopping and restaurant area, and to two impressive golf courses.

If you would like to learn about living in Chapel Crossing please email me at margaret.ludemann@gmail.com or call at 847-401-1802. I am a Glen homeowner and an award-winning realtor affiliated with @properties.

Margaret Ludemann

Home rental market in The Glen

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Applied Research Counselors, a Chicago consulting firm, recently analyzed the Chicago area suburban rental market. They discovered that rents in suburbia averaged $1.24 p/sq ft in the 1st quarter. I decided to look at 2013 rentals in The Glen. Since it would be difficult to analyze the entire Glen, I chose the Tower Crossing neighborhood where I already have a great deal of data.

The Glen (in Glenview Illinois) is the North Shore’s premier lifestyle community with many unique neighborhoods, a large variety of housing types, and a vibrant “main street” in Glen Town Center. Tower Crossing’s 154 luxury townhomes surround Glen Town Center on three sides. These homes range in size from 3,031 sq ft to 4,105 sq ft; and their sales prices are in a range of mid-$600,000 to mid-$800,000. While the development sold out years ago, several homes are rented by homeowners each year.

There were 10 MLS listed Tower Crossing rentals in 2013; and they averaged $1.23 p/sq ft. Actually, the math came out to be $1.236, so rounded up our 2013 rentals matched the Q1, 2014 suburban number as reported by Allied Research. Looks like a draw to me! However, I did find some variance in the rental amounts in the various models in Tower Crossing.

The dollar rental values of Omnis (and occasionally Biltmores) tend to be higher than other models while Valencias are lower.

Taking into consideration the size of the models, Drakes (3075 sq ft) and Astorias (3210 sq ft) have somewhat higher monthly rental prices p/sq ft while Omnis and Valencias are a bit lower. Biltmore rents are all over the place. Over the last couple of years they have ranged from $3800 ($1.06 p/sq ft) to $4700 ($1.31 p/sq ft) per month.

So, what I discovered is that Tower Crossing rents overall equal the suburban average, but the rental prices p/sq ft have a rather significant range. Knowing the Glen real estate market as I do, I suspect that rental prices in other Glen neighborhoods (on a p/sq ft basis) are similar to Tower Crossing.

If you may be interested in living in The Glen as a homeowner or renter, please contact me at margaretludemann@gmail.com.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen resident and @properties Realtor

“It’s a Wonderful Life”…at Tower Crossing in the Glen

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Every now and then as I walk from my Tower Crossing townhome to Glen Town Center (all of one short block away) I half expect to see Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart, the director and star respectively of the Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. Why? Well, it’s obvious. Living here is indeed wonderful. In fact, it’s as good as it gets.

The Glen, as most of my readers know, is an upscale residential and retail community on Chicagoland’s North Shore in Glenview Illinois. It is composed of several distinct neighborhoods with single family homes, condos, apartments, townhomes, two-flats, villas, and duplexes. At the center of it all is Tower Drive, Glen Town Center’s main street with scores of shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. It’s also home to an annual art festival, antique auto show, and weekly outdoor concerts in summertime.

Surrounding Glen Town Center – literally SURROUNDING these lovely boutiques and eateries – is the Tower Crossing development, 154 striking townhomes, every home within steps of all the fun. These breathtaking 4 story brick homes, depending on model, offer between 3031 sq ft and 4105 sq ft of luxury living. The Georgian architecture, professional landscaping, superb floor plans, hardwood floors, and top-of-the-line everything make these among the finest townhomes to be found anywhere in the country…yet they are right here in lovely Glenview…convenient to downtown Chicago’s cultural and sports venues, Ravinia, the Botanic Garden, and O’Hare Airport.

But there’s even more. Within a very short walk of every Tower Crossing home you’ll find Battery Park, Lake Glenview, Little Bear Garden, Glenview Park District’s pools and health club, walking trails, and two stunning golf courses.

Life in Tower Crossing is indeed wonderful, I think even better than Capra’s fictional Bedford Falls. If you are interested in living Tower Crossing’s “wonderful life” please contact me. Not only do I live here, but I am an award winning Realtor who sells many of its homes. Tower Crossing townhomes sell for between $650,000 and $850,000.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

847-401-1802, margaret.ludemann@gmail.com