Old style popular for new homes in Libertyville

A new neighborhood in Libertyville has the backing of a nationally known expert whose sense of home is about the character of the space, not its size.

Sarah Susanka, an architect, speaker and author of nine books with the “Not So Big” theme for homes and lifestyle, will design one of the offerings at SchoolStreet Homes, a “front porch” community just east of downtown Libertyville.

She and the developers will host a public meet and greet from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Libertyville Civic Center, 135 W. Church St.

Susanka's book series has sold more than 1.2 million copies. Her mantra of building better not bigger has made her a popular speaker at conferences and corporate events and her opinion is regularly sought by national media. Visit www.notsobighouse.com.

Because of her varied and busy schedule, it took Libertyville developer John McLinden dozens of e-mails and phone calls to get her attention.

“As soon as I set foot in Libertyville, I knew this was the spot,” she said. “It's not always obvious in terms of architecture but it's something else as well that there's a flavor of how people interact.”

That's the same feeling McLinden and his partners are trying to evoke with SchoolStreet Homes, a throwback neighborhood of narrow lots, alleys and front porches intended as more than an architectural feature.

Originally scheduled as a four-year project, 16 of the 26 single-family homes have been purchased, without the benefit of having a model built.

Two homes are under construction and four more are expected to begin by the end of the year. The plan also calls for conversion of the historic Central School into 15 lofts.

“The beloved bungalows of the 1920s are back,” McLinden said. “It's a great style. Everybody embraces it and gets it.”

He also lauded Libertyville's atmosphere as a factor. Another is cost of the homes, which range from $489,000 to $695,000.

“We have a $250,000 price advantage because we purchased this out of foreclosure,” McLinden said.

The Hummel Group Ltd., received village approval in 2006 to build a community of row houses in the $850,000 range. Five were built before the property went into foreclosure in 2008.

Susanka said the reason for the success of SchoolStreet is straightforward and expects it to become a model for other developments.

“It's because they're doing these homes with high quality detail and with the understanding it's not square footage but quality and character they're (buyers) looking for.”

She added her Libertyville design will have a bungalow flavor. The kitchen and eating areas will be in the front to accentuate the connection with the porch. Ceilings will vary in height.

“When we change ceiling heights, we end up with a much more complex ceiling plane that makes less square footage seem like more,” she said.