4/29/03 - Breaking the Pattern: The Affordable Townhome

Breaking the Pattern: The Affordable Townhome
By David Dubin

Pre-conceived notions can be difficult to change. For example, names of certain housing types evoke very specific images. Ask 10 people to think of a Chicago bungalow or a city loft, and almost all will have the same idea in mind.

The same goes for an urban townhome. Tell someone you’re looking for a new townhome, and most likely they’ll picture a home located near downtown and costing a half million dollars or more apiece. 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.

First and foremost, these new townhomes are more affordable for the average first- and second-time homebuyer than ever before. Base prices for a city townhome with 1,600 to 2,400 square feet of space can now range from the mid-$200,000s to the low $300,000s. And just like their costlier cousins, these homes offer two to three bedrooms, three floors of living space, balconies, decks, two-car attached garages, and open kitchen/dining/living rooms perfect for entertaining.

Townhomes in this price range provide an attractive intermediary step for middle-income homebuyers looking for something larger than a condominium but not ready for the added expense and responsibility of a single-family home. The homes also offer private space for every member of the household and the convenience of a maintenance-free community.

The affordability of this new breed of townhomes is largely a product of their locations outside the typical “townhome belt” surrounding downtown Chicago and stretching north along the lake. While these neighborhoods lack the cachet of a Lincoln Park or South Loop, they often make up for it by offering less congestion and excellent transportation connections.

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 15-minute drive. The CTA Blue Line offers additional commuter options.

Likewise, a townhome buyer in Rogers Park on the North Side can live as close to the lake as many Lincoln Park residents do, but their visitors won’t have to endlessly hunt for street parking as they would in Lincoln Park. Rogers Park residents are also a 20-minute drive from downtown via Sheridan Road and Lake Shore Drive and are served by several stops on the CTA Red Line.

By living outside the densest and trendiest parts of town, buyers also can enjoy communities in which a neighbor isn’t just another face in the crowd. These communities usually consist of numerous conscientious owners of single-family homes and three-flats, as well as a public park that offers green space and recreational facilities.

One such example is the Kilbourn Park neighborhood, located along Belmont Avenue between Cicero and Pulaski and anchored by a three-block park of the same name. The park is maintained as neatly as the lawns of the surrounding bungalows and helps keep the community tightly knit by serving as a kind of village green where residents can meet and interact.

What’s most surprising is that just five years ago the idea of an affordable townhome springing up within such a neighborhood would have been unheard of – almost as unheard of as today’s 5.75 percent mortgage interest rates. But who said change is a bad thing?

David Dubin is president of Chicago-based Dubin Residential, which is currently building more than 400 townhomes and condominiums in Chicago and Evanston. For more information, contact 773-427-2400 or visit www.dubinresidential.com.