Plumwood Estates is focus of neighborhood profile

Larger homes, an excellent location and great schools draw buyers to Plumwood Estates, a single-family home community on the east side of Schaumburg.

Built by Kennedy Homes, Plumwood Estates features 105 homes with 2,000 to 3,300 square feet, three to five bedrooms and two- or three-car garages.

Most of the homes are two-stories, with Kennedy offered one ranch plan when the neighborhood was built. They're good size homes for growing families with nice-size master bedrooms and baths, said Karen Kusek, real estate broker with RE/MAX Suburban.

"For Schaumburg, these homes are a little newer, which is hard to find in our area," Kusek said. "Twenty-five years old in Schaumburg is not considered that old."

Situated south of Higgins and east of Plum Grove roads, Plumwood Estates is a sought-after subdivision with a nice mixture of younger families and original owners. People like Schaumburg's highly rated schools and park district and living so close to the high school.

A lot of people don't associate Schaumburg with the train and don't realize they can get to the Medinah train station within 10 minutes, Kusek said.

Plumwood Estates' ideal location and Schaumburg's great reputation were big attractions for newly married Stan and Terri Dale when they bought a home in the subdivision 17 years ago.

"It's right off several interstates with easy access to downtown Chicago, which was important to me for business and personal reasons," Stan Dale said. "Also, Schaumburg has always been known as a safe and progressive community."

We're on a cul-de-sac where traffic is kept to a minimum. And we're on a corner with a lot of privacy; with the house situated on a trapezoidal piece of property, there's a good distance between the nearest neighbor and us," Dale said.

"The home is bright and cheerful, and ideal for entertaining. We have two sets of sliding doors that open to a large deck and a large backyard. We also have a finished basement."

The Dales like the highly rated park district and Schaumburg-Palatine High School District 211, which is consistently rated as one of the top districts in the state.

The couple also enjoys all the nearby amenities. They can walk to Target, and Dale says that on a good day residents can walk to the Olde Schaumburg Center and library, although it's a pretty ambitious walk.

Of course, Woodfield Mall is close with great restaurants and movie theaters, and there are 30-some hotels and tons of new restaurants, Dale said.

"There are plenty of places to take out-of-town guests with so many attractions in the community, such as Lego Land, Medieval Times and other places for entertainment."

For recreation, the park district's Olympic Park south of Old Schaumburg Road is a huge park with lighted soccer and softball fields and a skate park. It hosts a lot of organized sports for neighborhood kids.

Other attractions in the area include the Prairie Center for the Arts, which offers quality theater, music and dance performances. At the Spring Valley Nature Center, visitors can see a working farm with live animals and enjoy several special events throughout the year.

A driving range sits nearby along with the Fox Run Golf Course.

Listing sheet

<span class="fact box text bold">Price range:</span> $450,000 to $650,000

<span class="fact box text bold">Age of homes:</span> 25 years old

<span class="fact box text bold">Schools:</span> Fairview Elementary and Margaret Mead Junior High schools in Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 and James B. Conant High School in Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211.

<span class="fact box text bold">Parks:</span> Schaumburg Park District