Neighborhood profile: Country Club, Mount Prospect
Gary Schumacher purchased a home in the Country Club subdivision in Mount Prospect while he was single. Five years ago when he married, he and his new wife, Amy, looked for a larger home in Mount Prospect and in other towns, but they found no neighborhood with the hometown feel of Country Club.
So the couple decided to remodel their 1950s house, which included bumping the house out in back and adding a second floor. The house already had a two-car garage and basement, which many homes in the subdivision did not have.
"It's fantastic," said Gary Schumacher of their renovated home. "We're super happy here.
"This is such a nice area with lots of trees, and it's very pretty in the summer. People are always out with their kids and walking their dogs. It's very friendly, and we have several friends who have moved into the area. The neighborhood is seeing some turnover as people who have lived here for 30 or 40 years are moving on, and now we see small children and parents pushing strollers.
"We also like the neighborhood parks and being able to walk to the Mount Prospect Golf Club. I grew up playing there as a kid," Schumacher said. "We could buy a season pass for $100 to play all day Monday through Friday. I'm sure it costs more now."
Situated at Lincoln Street west of Elmhurst Road, the Country Club subdivision features a variety of home styles, mostly small- to medium-sized ranches, with one- and two-car garages, said Roseann Schumacher, managing broker with Century 21 Langos & Christian.
"Country Club is a nice, older, established area with tree-lined streets where some of the homes back up to the golf course and have scenic golf-course views. This is one of the reasons people are purchasing homes, tearing them down or taking them down to the bones, and putting up larger homes and adapting them to what today's buyer wants. This is a beautiful, serene area even though it's pretty close to (down)town."
The subdivision offers a lot of open areas for bike riding and has some wide boulevard streets and a lot of smaller parks with lush areas where kids can play. Sunset Park offers a playground, baseball diamond and soccer field. There is a lot for kids to do right in the neighborhood.
The Mount Prospect Golf Course, originally built in the 1920s, is undergoing a major renovation with new tees, greens and bunkers. When it's completed, it promises to be a premier golf course.
"People think it's wonderful that they're renovating the course, and while the work is in process, residents of Mount Prospect are permitted to use the grounds as a walking path," Schumacher said.
For shopping, residents of the subdivision like being close to the community's Randhurst Village, an open-air shopping center with an inviting streetscape that features national and regional retailers, several restaurants, offices and a state-of-the-art AMC movie theater with 18 screens. Residents can go out on the town in their own hometown.
Residents also enjoy all the amenities along Golf Road, including Woodfield Mall in nearby Schaumburg and the redeveloped Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights downtowns.
Arlington Heights offers a thriving downtown with an eclectic mix of restaurants and pubs, live theater performances, outdoor concerts and shopping at boutiques, specialty shops and galleries.
Listing sheet
<span class="fact box text bold">Price range:</span> $325,000 to $1 million
<span class="fact box text bold">Age of homes:</span> Built in 1950s
<span class="fact box text bold">Schools:</span> Lions Park Elementary and Lincoln Junior High schools in Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 and Prospect High School in Northwest Suburban High School District 214
<span class="fact box text bold">Parks:</span> Mount Prospect Park District