Prairie Park provides lessen in partnerships

The difficult economy wreaking havoc on the residential construction business has been unable to ravage the Prairie Park condominium community in Wheeling, thanks to a public-private partnership between MB Financial Bank, Smith Family Construction and the village of Wheeling.

“This really is a success story,” said Mark Smith, founder and chief executive officer of Smith Family Construction. “In these times when things are terrible, everyone gave a little bit for the greater good — for the surrounding residents, for the residents of Prairie Park and for the residents of Wheeling.”

So instead of becoming an incomplete community standing inactive like so many others, the deal struck this fall, which has the bank advancing money to construct the planned clubhouse and later being paid back with future property taxes collected from the development through tax increment financing by the village, has already convinced one person to buy a unit and many others to start looking at it again, Smith said.

“There is a viable project here again and our traffic is way up. We expect it to really pick up in the spring when our spectacular clubhouse is nearer to completion and the weather is better,” he said.

The clubhouse is slated to include an indoor pool, hot tub, steam room, locker rooms, lounge with fireplace, party room with full kitchen and a 1,500-square-foot deck.

Located just south of the intersection of Wolf Road and Milwaukee Avenue, Prairie Park now consists of four five-story condominium buildings on 18 acres. The well-appointed clubhouse is under construction and a fifth building is on the drawing board for when the economy improves. Construction on the massive project began six years ago.

The first two buildings are sold out. There are 11 units remaining to be sold in the third building and the fourth building is one-quarter sold, asaid Jamie Smith, director of sales and marketing. Units range from 1,289 to 2,300 square feet and cost between $289,000 and $500,000.

What is your dream house?

“We live in our dream house right now with our five children,” Mark Smith said. “It is a Prairie-style home located in Wheeling.”

What is your favorite home amenity?

“I am an outdoor kind of guy so I like oversized windows that bring the natural light in,” he said. “We even put oversized windows into the condominium buildings at Prairie Park.”

Their backgrounds:

Mark has a construction management degree from Western Illinois University and spent many years working for a Northbrook-based construction firm before starting Smith Family Construction 22 years ago.

Vivian Smith is a lifelong Wheeling resident whose grandmother, Doris Ashe, owned Doris' Treetop Inn on Milwaukee Avenue for many years. Vivian didn't take over the family inn. Instead, she worked for Pepper Construction and then Sundance Homes before working with her husband to start Smith Family Construction. She is the firm's president.

Jamie, their son, is a 2009 graduate of Northwestern University. He is director of sales and marketing. Greg Smith, Mark's brother, is vice president of construction.

Company background:

Smith Family Construction built their first project in Chicago — a high-end row house community called Smith Park. Their next project was in their home base of Wheeling. It was a condominium community called Park Point on McHenry Road. Prairie Park is their third large undertaking.

Prairie Park has 240 units. When the fifth building is complete the community will top out at 305 condominiums.

Their philosophy:

“We are very attuned to the small details, like first-class interiors featuring slate and cherry, and creating a warm and comfortable environment through our land planning and use of natural materials like stone,” Mark Smith said.

“We have also tried to create a respite here with our lovely waterfall, gazebo, walking trails and now the clubhouse.”

When Smith purchased this property it was totally flat and had been used as a storage area for a fence company. They built up the land to act as a buffer between Wolf Road and their residential buildings and made that buffer beautiful and useful by adding a waterfall to it.

“You can't just put up a building and expect people to buy into it. You have to be attentive to their feelings and mood and give them an experience and an environment,” he said.

Green details:

No city water is used for Prairie Park's waterfall and pond because the land features a natural aquifer that feeds both features. It is a self-supporting ecosystem with a natural filtration system.

The company also ground up the old concrete that covered the site when they purchased it and used that material to help construct the project's roads, Smith said.

Who are your target buyers?

“We serve a very big demographic from empty-nesters to young professionals who work in the many corporations near here,” Jamie Smith said. “School buses do come in here, but we don't have a lot of school-age children. Most of the children we have are very young.”

What are the biggest changes you have seen in the building business?

“You really have to be careful in this economic environment so I am seeing people from the subcontractors to the suppliers to the architects really digging in and working together on ‘value engineering' so that we can present buyers with a good product at a fair price,” Mark Smith said.

Contact information:

Smith Family Construction and Prairie Park can be reached at (847) 229-0100 or at prairieparkatwheeling.com.