Neighborhood profile: Interlaken Meadows

Fourteen years ago when Brian and Linda Snader sought a traditional neighborhood with good schools for their growing family, they bought a home in Interlaken Meadows in Libertyville.

“I have a backyard to die for,” Brian Snader said. “It backs up to the soccer fields, and I like that open feeling.”

In fact, when the couple purchased the home, they agreed to keep the path through their yard as a cut-through to the soccer fields. “It's fun because it gives the neighborhood a nice sense of community,” Snader said. “I think every kid who lives here has run around the soccer fields at one time or another.”

The soccer fields comprise the Libertyville Township Soccer Complex, one of the Midwest's premier soccer facilities with 20 fields on more than 110 acre of rolling countryside. The fields are home to many soccer clubs and a popular attraction for those who live next door in Interlaken Meadows.

The highly desirable Interlaken Meadows neighborhood features 150 traditional two-story homes mostly built by Cambridge Homes, with some by a few other builders. Typically homes feature 2,000 to 3,000 square feet, four bedrooms, 2½ baths, 9-foot basement ceilings, deluxe bath suites, walk-in closets and two-car garages. Many have updated kitchens with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

The kitchen is Snader's favorite room in the house because “that's where we live and breathe,” he said. “We gutted the room and finished it the way we wanted it.”

He also likes the traditional layout with four bedrooms and 2½ baths. “When we looked at the house, it just felt like home,” he said.

The home features an open foyer with a step-down family room, which gives it the light and airy feel of a great room. “And having the den or home office near the kitchen is nice because we could oversee the kids' use of the computer and help them with homework,” Snader said.

“We have wonderful neighbors; a lot of our kids ran around together. Great neighbors is what makes it so nice living here.”

Kathy Regel, a Realtor with Century 21 Kreuser & Seiler, also lives in Interlaken Meadows.

“The neighborhood is a nice mix of older and newer residents with young children, high school age kids and college students,” she said. “It's very diverse in that regard.”

Regel moved to the neighborhood at about the same time as the Snaders, and for many of the same reasons.

“We liked the layout of the neighborhood with lots of cul-de-sacs; the lots are nice sizes; and the price range was affordable at that time (13 years ago),” she said.

Good schools are another draw to the subdivision. Although all the schools in Libertyville are good, a lot of people really like Butterfield School, the subdivision's elementary school, Regel said. Snader also likes the smaller neighborhood schools and the size of the high school, which is smaller than many area schools.

Libertyville's quaint downtown area with shops, restaurants, boutiques and coffee shops offers the charm and warmth of yesterday that a lot of people like. The ongoing work to restore and preserve historic Libertyville adds to its traditional hometown feel.

In the summer, lunch in the park and dinner in the park are popular activities where local restaurants set up shop around the downtown square. The square also hosts concerts in the park, Libertyville Days and other events throughout the year.

A trip to the Loop via Metra at the northern edge of downtown Milwaukee Avenue takes about 45 minutes.

Listing sheet

<b>Price range: </b>$425,000 to $500,000

<b>Age of homes: </b>24 years old

<b>Schools: </b>Butterfield Elementary and Highland Middle schools in Libertyville Elementary District 70 and Libertyville High School in Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128

<b>Parks:</b> Libertyville Park District