Ashbury Woods developer to treat site with great care

The old Merkel farmhouse sits on a lovely, wooded site of nearly nine acres off Hunt Club Road, close to the heart of Gurnee's shopping, restaurants and recreational facilities. It has long stood as a reminder of the area's rural days. So it would be a shame to see the majestic old-grown trees on the site removed.

But fortunately, members of the Gryzik family, local residents who have been in the building trades for years, purchased the property in 2006. The family now has a plan to preserve the trees while developing the land into 14 custom home lots of one-third to one-half acre in size.

The new subdivision, called Ashbury Woods (ashburywoods.info/custom), is currently in the pre-sale stage with one home sold and two others under contract, said Ron Gryzik, president of Conservation Development LLC. The company is a subsidiary of Systems Design Group, a national plumbing and HVAC contracting company owned by his father, Frank.

"This is our first foray into the residential construction market," Gryzik said. "But my dad has been designing and installing plumbing and HVAC systems for the hospitality industry and for commercial jobs under Systems Design Group, primarily, since 1974."

In addition, the father and son both built their own personal homes and have been finishing basements and doing other small construction projects under the Conservation Development name since 2006.

Now they are ready to take the next step.

What is your dream home?

A Frank Lloyd Wright-style home with a tropical, open floor plan on the California coast with the mountains in the background.

What is your favorite amenity?

High-end kitchen appliances, like the Turbo Chef Speedcook Oven that offers extremely efficient hot air cooking in one oven and convection cooking in the other.

His philosophy:

"With our engineering backgrounds - my dad is a mechanical engineer and I am an electrical engineer - we have learned how to put things together economically and give our customers the most bang for their buck.

"So we have chosen to take the pressure off our customers by offering to build them a house for cost, plus 15 percent. If they don't know everything they want at the beginning of the process, we can budget as we go to get the fully customized home they want. Or, if they want, we can work with a fixed budget price. Either option is fine with us.

"We take a truly honest approach. Right now labor costs are down and material costs are down slightly. It is a good time to buy a home and we want to help people take advantage of that."

The details:

"Originally, we planned to make Ashbury Woods an entirely green community with everything from bio-based insulations to solar heating and gray water recycling systems. But the economy has changed things.

"Our talks with real estate agents have convinced us that price makes a difference to people. So we are going to preserve the trees and the natural grade of the land and then include whatever other green items our customers want.

"We understand that people who are willing to spend money on a custom home want us to be versatile and give them exactly what they want."

Green options that Gryzik would like to see included in the homes include tankless hot water heaters, water efficient dual-flush toilets, Energy Star-rated HVAC systems, enhanced electronic furnace filtration, a whole house ventilation and energy recovery system, Energy Star-rated appliances, windows and doors and radon piping.

More advanced green items like rain water collection systems, geothermal heating, engineered, moisture-resistant stucco systems and solar water heating for use with radiant flooring are also available.

Lots at Ashbury Woods start at $205,000 and Gryzik says he expects the homes built there to range in price from $600,000 to $1 million, over and above the lot cost.

Typical buyer profile:

Most of the people looking at Ashbury Woods have been from the local Gurnee area, Gryzik said. All of them like the convenient location between Chicago and Milwaukee and want to build their dream home. One woman was looking for a home with lots of bedrooms for her large family while other shoppers have been empty-nesters and couples with teenage families.

What is the best part about being a builder?

"I put my heart and soul into every project because I enjoy helping people design luxury floor plans."

Gryzik should have been an interior designer, according to his wife, Shari, because he can see the concepts in his head when no one else can and he thoroughly enjoys the challenge involved.

What are your company's future plans?

"We are willing to build on lots owned by prospective homeowners. But beyond that, we will look for other infill sites in Lake County. We like the green, hilly land up here."