advertisement

Houston-based builder at work in the suburbs

The largest privately held homebuilder in the country, David Weekley Homes of Houston, quietly moved into the Chicago market last fall and is now gearing up to strongly compete with well-established Chicago-area and national builders.

In fact, DWH's first local community, The Reserve in Barrington, is now open and selling single-family homes from the low-$600,000s to the mid-$700,000s. Located along Dundee Road, east of Barrington Road, The Reserve will feature 43 homes in a gated community.

In addition, Timber Grove, its townhouse community in Naperville, is opening very soon with homes priced in the $300,000s. Enclave at The Grove in Glenview is set to open in late May with single-family homes selling from the mid-$700,000s to the $900,000s. Finally, presales at Easton Station, a community of luxury townhouses in Buffalo Grove, is also due to begin in late May.

In addition, the builder is looking at single lots in established communities like Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Northbrook and Hinsdale, where is intends to tear down the existing homes and replace them with very customized houses in the $600,000 to $1.2 million price range, said Richard Bridges, sales manager for DWH's Chicago division.

Bridges is a lifelong Chicago-area resident who spent many years with Lakewood Homes.

"Working for David Weekley Homes is a dream," Bridges said. "I have watched them and studied them ever since Disney reached out to them to build in its very exclusive, master-planned community in Celebration, Florida. So when I heard they were expanding into Chicago, I jumped at the chance to talk to them. Their slogan is 'Building Dreams and Enhancing Lives,' and they really mean it. Everyone in the company works to enhance the home-ownership experience for our clients."

Now celebrating its 40th year, DWH is a $1.6 billion company that operates in 22 cities and 12 states across the U.S. Since 1976, it has closed more than 80,000 homes and was the first builder in the country to be awarded the Triple Crown of American Home Building: "America's Best Builder," the National Housing Quality Award and National Builder of the Year honors.

"David Weekley Homes is more nimble than publicly traded firms and is able to take advantage of opportunities when others cannot," Bridges said. "So, during the recession, they chose to diversify into Denver, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, the Carolinas and, four years ago, Indianapolis, bringing our excellent homebuilding experience to those cities."

Chicago, Bridges said, was the next logical expansion into the Midwest, followed by Minneapolis, which is next.

"We forecasted that the Chicago market was beginning to recover and the Chicagoland area has a lot of opportunities that align well with what we do as a company," Bridges said.

"Wherever we go, we build great homes for a wide spectrum of buyers who have custom tastes and want to live in premium neighborhoods with a high degree of prestige and popularity. We also typically try to (build) as close to a village or city center because we know that our customers want walk-ability and they want to be close to public transportation," he said. "We also look for communities with solid school districts and that are close to the interstates."

When it comes to DWH homes themselves, Bridges said: "Today's buyers want a home that features energy-efficiency, adaptability to new technology and homes designed around how they live in them. I think that quality is far more important than quantity for new-home buyers today. Buyers want a great home-buying experience and they want a home to be designed to suit their own personal needs, rather than something designed for a broad group of people."

DWH's "EnergySaver" homes are backed by the Environments For Living Program - a heating and cooling energy use guarantee. Bridges estimates that in the Chicago area, these homes are 38 percent more energy-efficient than the average home built in 2006.

By the end of 2016, Bridges projects that DWH will have closed on 85 houses in the Chicago market. In 2017, he expects that sales number to climb to 120 and then in 2018 and beyond, he expects annual sales of 150 or more.

"In order to meet these sales goals, we will be looking for building opportunities from Northbrook to Orland Park and as far west as Geneva. Chicago is also a possible building location since some neighborhoods would lend themselves well to the urbane and sophisticated zero-lot-line models we have built in other cities," he said.

"There is no limit for what we can do. We have our own architectural staff that stays on top of emerging trends and we are adept at matching what we do to the markets we are in. In Chicago, we will build single-family homes and townhouses. I don't see us building condominium buildings," Bridges said.

"Building a new home for a person or a family is such a rewarding endeavor because you are helping them realize a dream," he added. "You are not only helping to enhance their life but you are also enhancing the lives of the many people who are part of the process of building that home."

He said employees of DWH are also passionate about making a difference in the communities where they live and build. So they engage in volunteer and philanthropic efforts through the firm's CARE program. In the short time it has been in Illinois, employees have already worked with local nonprofit organizations such as the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, Lake County Haven, Northern Illinois Food Bank and others.

For more information about DWH, visit www.davidweekleyhomes.com.

The Reserve in Barrington, a gated community of 43 houses, is the first development by David Weekley Homes since it moved into the Chicago market, said Richard Bridges, sales manager for its Chicago division. Courtesy of David Weekley Homes
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.