Harmony Grove & Bartlett Reserve

Bartlett, known for its excellent quality of life and bounty of recreation, offers a suburban lifestyle with a hometown feel.

The quiet, quaint town was attractive to Vanessa and Andrew Bucaro, who built a new home in the Harmony Grove subdivision 13 years ago. A few years later, another builder constructed homes adjacent to Harmony Grove and called that area Bartlett Reserve.

The Bucaros love to sing praises about the neighborhood they call home.

"We love our house. It's perfect. It's everything we wanted and big enough for our family," said Vanessa Bucaro. "It's almost 3,000 square feet with a finished basement. We selected every upgrade we could when it was built and have made improvements to the house since.

"It's beautifully landscaped, and we have a nice big screen house in the back with windows on three sides. It's very nice.

Bucaro said Harmony Grove and Bartlett Reserve is a very nice place to raise kids.

"Kids have a park right down the street, and they love to go fishing in the nearby pond," she said.

The schools also get thumbs-up from the family, and Bucaro likes to walk her kids to school when the weather is nice. With the neighborhood in the vicinity of nature paths and forest preserves, the family also likes to walk and ride bikes together.

Situated north of Schick Road and east of Bartlett Road, both subdivisions sit close to shopping at Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale. Homes are close to Lake Street businesses with access to I-90 and close to the train station, which is wonderful for commuters, said Kathleen Jansen, managing broker with RE/MAX Central in Roselle.

Residents are also within easy reach of regional tollways and highways, including the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway for a quick trip to Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.

Homes are generally 2,800 square feet and larger with four bedrooms, two to three baths, brick fronts and all the bells and whistles today's homebuyers desire. Many interiors have a luxury master bedroom and bath, spacious family room, first-floor den, formal living and dining rooms, and some amazing custom finished basements, Jansen said.

Also, houses have good size yards, allowing for more space between homes, with nice open areas in back. A number of houses feature three-car garages.

Schools academically meet the expectations of parents and educators in the community. Elgin U-46 offers advanced placement classes and an academy system, Jansen said.

For recreation, youth sports are big in Bartlett with leagues and organizations for athletics. The Bartlett Little League is the largest in the nation.

One of the finest golf courses in the area, the village-owned Bartlett Hills Golf Course, is a popular destination for golfers from miles around, while the Villa Olivia Country Club features golf, skiing and banquet facilities.

Forest preserves and parks provide a variety of recreation for those who love the outdoors. The Bartlett Trail welcomes hikers, joggers and cyclists to its trails that wind in and out of the forest preserves and through town.

Also, the 120.5-acre Apple Orchard Community Park in the heart of the village features an aquatic center, skate park, tennis courts, sports fields, ice skating and a nature area.

Bartlett features a charming downtown with period streetlights and paved walkways along with many newer restaurants and retail establishments that are bringing new life to the village and drawing more people to the downtown area.

Listing sheet

<span class="fact box text bold">Price range:</span> $420,000 to $600,000

<span class="fact box text bold">Age of homes:</span> 7 to 13 years

<span class="fact box text bold">Schools: </span>Hawk Hollow Elementary, Eastview Middle and Bartlett High schools in Elgin U-46.

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