Neighborhood profile: Park Barrington
Even though you’re not house shopping, if you go through a home for sale in Park Barrington, you might reach for your checkbook.
About seven years ago, Nancy and Norman Rosenfeld’s real estate broker called them about a must-see house in Barrington. Although the description wasn’t even close to what they wanted, they looked at it, then threw their criteria out the door, putting an offer in the next day.
“The home was very warm and inviting,” Norman Rosenfeld said. “The entry has black quartz tile; there’s a modern kitchen, cathedral ceiling in the master. And it has a full basement with a second kitchen for entertaining. The way it was furnished, we could easily picture our things in it.”
Realtors Joan Fulkerson and her husband, George Martinelli, with Baird & Warner’s Barrington office tell a similar story.
“A friend called and said please come and look at this house in Barrington,” Martinelli said. “We didn’t want to go to Barrington, but when we walked into the foyer, we fell in love with it and bought it the next day.”
“I love the loft because we do business from there,” Fulkerson said. “We have three levels with a bedroom on every level. So when family comes, everyone has a place to go where they won’t bug one another.
“Between the two of us, we have seven children and 12 grandchildren. We live close to the soccer fields, and the kids like to go over there and play soccer.
“We love it here,” Fulkerson said.
Park Barrington is a small subdivision of 118 semi-custom ranch and two-story homes on a 30-acre site completed by Pepper Construction Co. in the late 1980s.
The neighborhood has a lot of curb appeal with winding streets and homes with cedar shake roofs, cedar siding and face brick. Interiors feature large living rooms, first-floor masters, two-car garages, full basements and fenced yards.
“It’s a charming area,” Fulkerson said, “and the landscaping is very nice. The property is well maintained by the homeowners association and individual homeowners.”
The community provides homeowners with year-round maintenance, landscaping of front yards and common areas; in the winter they snowplow streets and driveways and clear snow from the front porch and steps, said Norman Rosenfeld, president of the homeowners association.
Although the subdivision is not a 55 or older community, many of the residents are empty nesters. There are a lot of realty agents and retired people who live here, along with a few younger people, Rosenfeld said.
“We know our neighbors. We have a nice community website and newsletter. And we have a lot of nice activities through the homeowners association,” he said.
Community activities include two banquets a year, dinner and a movie nights, bridge and mah-jongg. A lot of people golf. And there’s even a sports car club.
“We do a lot of things that a lot of communities don’t do,” Rosenfeld said. “We have a nice group of people, and it’s really a fun deal.”
Another plus for the Park Barrington subdivision is its ideal location. “The location is dynamite, one mile from the center of Barrington and three miles north of the interstate,” Martinelli said.
Rosenfeld agrees. “We’re close to the new Orchard Church and literally a short jog or a couple hits of the golf ball from the health center run by Good Shepherd. We’re close to things, but not on the main arteries, so the neighborhood is quiet.”
The subdivision sits adjacent to Ron Beese Park near Baker Lake and the Crabtree Nature Center Forest Preserve.
“The area has a country feel with rolling terrain, wooded areas and parks all around us,” Martinelli said. “It’s such a desirable place to live.
“We’re the best kept secret in the area.”
Park Barrington
Price range: $320,000 to $500,000
Age of homes: 25 years old
Schools: Grove Avenue Elementary, Barrington Middle and Barrington High schools in Barrington Unit District 220
Parks: Barrington Park District