Builder plans future Wheeling projects

Exciting things are happening at Wheeling-based Smith Family Development.

The company is hard at work on the fifth, five-story building at its Prairie Park condominium development, located just south of the intersection of Wolf Road and Milwaukee Avenue. In addition, it is actively working on plans for vacant property it owns along Lake-Cook Road and intends to make an announcement about that project soon, said Mark Smith, founder and chief executive officer.

"The development of the Lake-Cook parcel is critical to the future financial well-being of Wheeling," Smith said. "As was recently reported in the news, Wheeling's property taxes are going up, so that makes it even more important for projects to be built that will bring in new tax dollars."

Smith says this new Lake-Cook project will be a key component in the future of Wheeling.

"I was involved in bringing the Westin (Hotel) to Wheeling several years ago because I controlled the property when it had the old riding stables on it. I see this new Lake-Cook project as the next progression from the Westin," Smith said.

He says the development will be a good fit for the community.

"I am very practical about what can and can't succeed in a certain location," he said. "I refuse to shoehorn in an operation that can't succeed long-term because I am vested in the Wheeling community. I don't want to do anything to harm my kids, my friends, and now, my new grandson."

Meanwhile, Prairie Park continues to grow and that bodes well for the company's next project.

"I believe in building off your strengths and I discovered, when marketing Prairie Park, that Wheeling is located in a phenomenal place along Lake-Cook Road, between (Route) 53 and (I-)294.

"In the case of Prairie Park, our location attracted many empty-nesters from the North Shore, and even from Barrington and Inverness, who wanted to stay near areas they know and where they are comfortable," Smith said.

"The way they have flocked to Prairie Park tells me that there is nothing of our caliber within a large radius and that our location is ideal."

Smith works with his wife, Vivian, his brother, Greg, and son, Jamie. Smith Family Development has 240 units already built in four buildings at Prairie Park, and is now selling units in a new, 70-unit building to be called The Residences. The majority of buyers have been young professionals working for corporations in the area and empty-nesters to want to downsize but remain near friends and family, he said.

The average unit at Prairie Park is selling for $420,000.

"We also have additional property behind Prairie Park but we haven't yet made decisions and what we will do there. We may build more condominiums in a different style or we might just build additional buildings to add to Prairie Park, or we might do something totally different," Smith said. "We have been looking at all of our options."

Company background

Smith 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 27 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 company's president.

Greg Smith is vice president of construction. Jamie Smith is a 2009 graduate of Northwestern University. He is director of sales and marketing and is also handling the financing side of the business.

Smith Family Construction built its first project in Chicago - a high-end row-house community called Smith Park. Its next project was in the Smiths' home base of Wheeling. It was a condo community called Park Point on McHenry Road. Prairie Park is its third large undertaking.

What's it like working in a family business?

"It has been phenomenal to have our son, Jamie, taking a more active role in the future of the company. In addition to handling sales and marketing, he is doing our financing now.

"He sat in the sales office for four or five years so he understands the needs of our buyers and he has really grown and developed so that now he is taking a big load off me. He is part of all of our strategy meetings and it has been great.

"Honestly, if it weren't for Vivian and Jamie, we wouldn't be in business. I am more of a visionary. I can look at a piece of property and see what could possibly be built there and how nearby infrastructure would affect it. Vivian and Jamie are more the nuts-and-bolts types. They can be objective about a project. I get more passionate. So we complement each other and make a great team."

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

"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."

When Smith purchased the Prairie Park property, it was flat and had been used as a storage area for a fence company. The company built up the land to provide a buffer between Wolf Road and the residential buildings and made that buffer beautiful and useful by adding a waterfall to it.

Reducing the environmental impact

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

They also ground up the old concrete that had covered the land when they purchased it and used that material to help construct the project's roads, he added.

What are the company's future plans?

"I plan to continue to work exclusively in Wheeling because there is plenty for me to do here. I do not need to leave, even though other towns have tried to get me to do for them what I have done with Prairie Park.

"There is no finer city in American to live and raise a family than Wheeling. My kids have been educated phenomenally here and we have a good life. So I am committed to raising Wheeling to its highest possible level.

"And since I love what I do, I have no intention of retiring anytime soon."

To learn more about Smith Family Construction and Prairie Park, visit www.prairieparkatwheeling.com or call (847) 229-0100.