Neighborhood profile: Terramere

Linda Goland had no desire to live on an acre of land.

"I wanted an over-the-fence community where neighbors are outside visiting and walking their dogs and kids are playing outside with their neighborhood friends," Goland said when asked about moving to her home.

The Terramere subdivision in Arlington Heights is that kind of neighborhood. Goland and her family are original owners and one of the first residents of the community.

As a real estate broker, Goland knows a thing or two about neighborhoods. The family-oriented lifestyle of Terramere was attractive to Michelle and Steven Foreman, too, who had their eye on the area before buying a house there 26 years ago.

"We lived on the other side of Arlington Heights Road and knew a lot of people who lived in Terramere and liked that there were a lot of young kids there," Michelle Foreman said.

The couple purchased their home and are still convinced it's a fabulous place to raise kids. "There were kids, kids and more kids and great people in the neighborhood. We became friendly with all our neighbors, and our neighbors on both sides of us have been here as long as we have.

"Many of my friends live in the neighborhood, and our kids grew up together. They played in our cul-de-sac and hung out at Terramere Park; that was a big thing, and it kept them in the neighborhood.

"It's not the same as when we moved here. A lot of people our age have moved out, downsized or went to Arizona or here and there. Now young families with children are moving in, and we see baby strollers in the neighborhood again," Foreman said.

"This is a great neighborhood in a good school district. My two girls had started school at Longfellow (Elementary School) before we moved here, and we wanted to stay in the same school district."

Built in the early 1980s by Kennedy Homes, Terramere sits west of Arlington Heights Road and north of Dundee Road in Arlington Heights.

Homes generally feature four to five bedrooms, 2½ to 3½ baths, a basement and two-car garage. There are more than 12 different home designs and some beautiful customized homes on the lake with walkout basements, said Goland, a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Many residents have updated their homes and put on additions because they don't want to move out of the subdivision, Goland said.

A great aspect of Terramere is the recreation right in the neighborhood. "There's a beautiful lake and park in the middle of the neighborhood that is a gem with swimming, boating and fishing," Goland said.

"There's also the small Sunset Ridge Park on (North) Walnut (Avenue), so there's always places for kids to play close to home.

"This is a great neighborhood. We have block parties in the summer, and in the winter you can walk across the street to the forest preserve and go snowmobiling."

For more recreation, residents have a great park district; Lake Arlington is just a five-minute drive away, and there are several pools in the area.

Shoppers have access to any kind of shopping they could possibly want with several malls within easy reach. And the village's thriving downtown features an eclectic mix of restaurants and pubs, live theater performances, outdoor concerts and shopping at boutiques, specialty shops and galleries.

The subdivision sits close to Route 53, and commuters can board a train for the 40-minute ride downtown.

Listing sheet

<span class="fact box text bold">Price range:</span> $400,000 to $800,000

<span class="fact box text bold">Age of homes: </span>20 to 35 years old

<span class="fact box text bold">Schools:</span> Longfellow Elementary and Cooper Middle schools in Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 and Buffalo Grove High School in Northwest Suburban High School District 214

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