Parent company quietly drops Cambridge Homes name

The name Cambridge Homes Inc. was quietly dropped by its parent company, ending a decades-old name that was attached to major housing developments throughout the suburbs.

And more growth is planned, the company said Friday.

Fort Worth, Texas-based D.R. Horton, which acquired Libertyville-based Cambridge Homes in 1999, dropped the legendary name on Sept. 1 to further brand its own nationally recognized name.

“We will continue to actively promote our Carillon brand in our active adult communities, said company spokeswoman Jessica Hansen, which are aimed at people 55 and older looking for residences that offer security and a maintenance free lifestyle.

The parent company decided to end the name on Sept. 1 to coincide with its national fall sales event, “America's Home Team Sale. The D.R. Horton logo was added to the Cambridge logo in 2002, had an increased prominence in 2004, and transitioned from the Cambridge brand colors of burgundy and gold to the Horton red, white and blue in 2006.

“This is the completion of that progression, said Hansen.

The website also was changed from MyCambridgeHomes.com to DRHorton.com/Chicago.

Cambridge Homes had a legendary name throughout the suburbs after it was founded by CEO Richard John “Dick Brown. He had little as a youngster growing up, so he made sure thousands of suburban families had a roof over their heads. Brown died in 2005 after a fall sent him to the hospital, where a blood disorder contributed to swelling in the brain. He was 81.

Paul Ivers later became division president and led the homebuilder through one of the roughest periods for the industry in history. Ivers did not immediately return a call.

Cambridge has about 20 communities in the suburbs, including those from Pingree Grove and Cortland in the northwest, to Aurora, Naperville and Montgomery in the west, and Volo, Libertyville and Beach Park in the north.

It entered the Kenosha, Wis., market in 2005, where it is continuing to sell homes in its Kilbourn Woods community, and it just entered Northwest Indiana by opening Stonegate Commons for sales.