5/08/03 - Breaking the Pattern: The Affordable Townhome

Thursday, May 8, 2003
Breaking the Pattern: The Affordable Townhome
Traditional townhomes debut in less expensive city neighborhoods

Not all homes – or home types – are alike, but pre-conceived notions can be difficult to change. For example, ask 10 people to think of a Chicago bungalow or a city loft, and most will have the same idea in mind.

The same goes for an urban townhome, said David Dubin, president of Chicago-based Dubin Residential and current builder of more than 400 townhomes and condominiums in Chicago and Evanston.

“Tell someone you’re looking for a new townhome, and most people envision a home located near downtown and costing a half million dollars or more,” Dubin said. “But during the last few years, a new breed of Chicago townhomes has begun to challenge this stereotype in terms of cost, location and strength of community.”

Dubin said these new townhome developments are characterized first and foremost by an affordability that makes them a realistic option for the average first- and second-time homebuyer. Base prices for a 1,600- to 2,400-square-foot townhome can range from the mid-$200,000s to the low $300,000s.

And like their costlier cousins, these townhomes offer two to three bedrooms, three floors of living space, balconies, decks, attached two-car garages, and open kitchen/dining/living rooms designed for entertaining large and small groups.

“Townhomes in this price range offer an attractive intermediary step for middle-income homebuyers looking for something larger than a condominium but who are not ready for the added expense and responsibility of a single-family home,” Dubin said. “A townhome also provides private space for every member of the household and the convenience of a maintenance-free community.”

He noted that the homes’ lower prices are largely a product of their location outside the typical “townhome belt” surrounding downtown Chicago and stretching north along the lakefront. “While these neighborhoods might lack the cachet of a Lincoln Park or South Loop, they often make up for it by offering less congestion and excellent transportation connections,” he said.

For example, buyers of townhomes in the Northwest Side neighborhood of Albany Park benefit from being near the junction of the Edens and Kennedy expressways, which put downtown Chicago, O’Hare Airport and the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie all within a 20-minute drive. The CTA Blue Line offers additional commuter options.

Likewise, townhome buyers in the North Side neighborhood of Rogers Park can live as close to the lake as almost any Lincoln Park resident, but their guests can enjoy a greater abundance of street parking than available in communities located closer to downtown. Rogers Park residents are a 20-minute drive from downtown via Sheridan Road and Lake Shore Drive and are served by several stops on the CTA Red Line, Dubin said.

“By choosing homes outside the densest and trendiest parts of town, buyers also benefit from living in a neighborhood where your neighbor isn’t just another face in the crowd. These are usually communities composed of conscientious owners of single-family homes and three-flats who have a long-term investment in the community,” he said.

One such example is the Kilbourn Park neighborhood, which is located on the Northwest Side along Belmont Avenue between Cicero and Pulaski and anchored by a three-block park of the same name. The park helps keep the community tightly knit by serving as a kind of village green where residents can meet and interact, and includes ball fields, tennis courts, a running track, inline hockey court, greenhouse, field house and playgrounds.

“Kilbourn Park is one of those great, unassuming Chicago neighborhoods,” Dubin said. “If you didn’t know which side street to turn down, you’d probably never know much about it. It’s just a real community where people establish roots, raise their children, and care about the quality of their surroundings.”

For buyers, he said, discovering communities like Kilbourn Park will be as welcome a surprise as learning about the availability of affordable townhomes in the city.

“Five years ago, the idea of an affordable townhome springing up within a neighborhood like Rogers Park or Kilbourn Park would have been unheard of – almost as unheard of as mortgage interest rates below 6 percent,” Dubin said. “Who said change isn’t a good thing?”

Building condominiums and townhomes in Chicago since the early 1990s, Dubin Residential has earned a reputation for quality and value. The company is currently developing the townhome communities of Arcadia Place in the West Loop, Ainslie Row in West Albany Park, Emerson Point in Rogers Park, Kilbourn Court in the Kilbourn Park neighborhood, and The Courts of Evanston.

Prices subject to change.