Buyers could beat a path to the door of Bob and Michele Bochnak last Sunday; their Lisle home, like the others in Green Trails subdivision, has a walking and biking path winding through its back yard.
”It`s a unique planned development,” said listing agent Barbara Moskerc of Re/Max of Naperville. ”It covers so much land that it will probably never happen again. The lots are smaller, there are no sidewalks, but there are 27 miles of paths, a lot of parks and common areas, and a great homeowners`
association.” Mandatory membership in the association, which maintains the public areas, costs $107 a year.
The community concept-less area for private lots in return for more area for public activities-began about 12 years ago, when the home at 6560 Fernwood Dr. was one of the first constructed in the area. There are 1,585 single-family homes, in addition to condos and apartments, in the subdivision.
Moskerc herself lives just two doors away from her $229,900 listing and has wisely decided that the angle for selling this home is not the outer space-a 65-by-105-by-105-by-105 lot-but the inner space-all 3,600 square feet of it.
Three-story entryway
”The entryway alone is larger than some living rooms,” said owner Michele Bochnak. At 20-by-10 feet, with a 3-story cathedral ceiling, that`s no overstatement.
The formal living room is 18 by 14 feet and leads into a 15-by-11 dining room. ”We have a large extended family,” Bochnak said, ”and I can serve 35 to 40 people for dinner. The floor plan is terrific-everything just flows, and you`re comfortable and not separated from anyplace.”
The main-floor family room-19 by 17 feet-has an arched fireplace and a pass-through and door to the kitchen. Both the family room and kitchen have a southwest flavor-adobe-tones with turquoise accents.
The 17-by-11 kitchen is open and lined with counters and cabinets. The new countertop has earth-toned tiles that match the ceramic floor. Patio doors lead to a two-level deck.
On the second floor, the three children`s rooms are all about 12 by 12 feet and have double closets.
The 18-by-15 master bedroom has a beamed ceiling with a ceiling fan attached to a central beam, and an art deco wallpaper border. A decorative canopy matches the window treatments in this gray and pink room, which has an entry leading to a sink at the end of a short hallway. A half bath is on the right, and a walk-in closet is on the left. Walk through that closet and a door leads into a huge walk-in cedar closet with shelves and clothes poles.
Space at every turn
The basement houses a utility room and a large area that can serve as an office or a second family room. It has entries to the lower-level deck, to the outside and to the garage.
Sound like more than enough space? This house isn`t through yet; there`s still a room with a view and a room at the top.
Five steps off the second level, a 10-by-11 loft looks down on the entryway. Pass through that and another loft-with fifth bedroom potential at 17 by 15 feet-opens to overlook the family room.
”If you need room, this is the house,” Moskerc concluded.
