“We wanted to move to Mayberry,” said Therese Emling, explaining why she and her husband Eric are buying a house in a quiet, rural setting.
“But we wanted a Mayberry that was right next to everything,” she added. So they bought at Timber Trails in Gilberts, a small farming community on the northwest edge of the Chicago metropolitan area.
Though Timber Trails has an away-from-it-all, country flavor, it has the advantage of being just a 5-minute drive from the Northwest Tollway (Interstate Highway 90) and two miles from Randall Road. Driving time to O’Hare International Airport is about 35 minutes.
The Emlings were among the first five buyers at Timber Trails. The Ryland Homes project is planned for 1,065 housing units to be constructed on a 381-acre tract in the next five or six years, according to Peter Skelly, president of Ryland’s Illinois division.
The mix will include 576 single-family homes and 489 townhouses.
The three lines of single-family homes offer 17 floor plans that range in size from 1,390 to 3,660 square feet and in price from $172,990 to $283,990.
The Emlings chose the 2,300-square-foot Durham plan with four bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It is currently being built on a 200-foot-deep lot.
“We wanted to move to the outer ring of suburbs away from the crowds and also get the most house for the money,” said Eric Emling.
Currently living in Mt. Prospect with their 5-month-old daughter Erica, they hope to move into their new home in October or November.
They are happy that they bought early.
“I understand that the price already has gone up $26,000,” said Therese Emling.
Her husband’s commuting time to his job at the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington will be reduced, but her driving time to her part-time job at Motorola Inc. in Schaumburg will be about the same.
“It will be fun to be pioneers out there,” said his wife. “It’s the newest area. But I’ve been told there are a lot of critters there, including coyotes.”
She added that the downtown of Gilberts “is really cute, but if you blink, you’re through it.”
The village is on the verge of becoming the next boom town. With a current population of about 1,000, Gilberts will explode to 6,000 residents when the Ryland project and two other housing developments in the same area are completed.
“It will be a cultural shock. We’re going to have our hands full,” said Michael Isitoro, Gilberts village president. “We’ll have to hire more people at the village. It will put a load on our budget.”
Isitoro said that he was elected to control growth in the Gilberts, but previous officials had signed an annexation agreement in 1995 that allows for the construction of 1,476 homes on Big Timber Road in the southern part of the village. Besides Ryland, the other builders are Residential Development Group and Grand Pointe Homes (formerly Brittany Homes).
“I don’t anticipate any more annexations or the approval of any more residential projects,” said Isitoro. However, he would like to bolster the village’s tax base with commercial development along Illinois Highway 72.
In the meantime, Timber Trails is well on its way.
Five single-family models are scheduled to open Sept. 1, according to Ryland’s Skelly.
Construction continues at a rapid pace. Already, more than 180 homes have been sold. Playground equipment has been installed at a park near the entrance to the subdivision.
Skelly said 153 acres of Timber Trails will remain as open space, with 131 acres set aside for parkland. Storm water retention areas will account for 22 acres.
Recreation facilities will include six tot lots, three gazebos and a bike and walking path around the perimeter. The recreation areas will be owned by the village.
“In our land plan, we tried to capture the rural character of Gilberts,” said Skelly.
The single-family homes at Timber Trails are all two stories with two-car garages and basements. They have three to four bedrooms, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 baths, 9-foot first-floor ceilings, and vinyl siding.
Options include fireplaces, built-in entertainment centers, central air conditioning, whirlpool tubs and oak railings.
The three product lines are the Hallmark series with residences in the $172,990 to $194,990 range; the Landmark series, $212,990 to $230,990; and the Estate series, $230,990 to $283,990.
Two lines of townhouses will be offered. Now available is the first line of 203 units. They range in size from 1,181 to 1,722 square feet and in price from $136,990 to $164,990.
Four townhouse models are scheduled to open next February, and the first units will be available for occupancy in the third quarter of next year, according to Skelly.
The construction of Timber Trails and the other two subdivisions will provide the village with new deep-water wells and a new sewage treatment plant.
The old town center of Gilberts, which currently has some 50 homes, is served by shallow wells and a septic system. The new facilities, scheduled to open in October or November, will provide an improvement for those residents as well as for the new homes, said Skelly.
The cost of the project has been financed by bonds issued by the village, which will be paid off by property taxes from the new residents. The philosophy of new residents paying for needed new services is likely to continue.
Gilberts currently is studying a new master plan that will spell out the rules for growth in the future.
“An envisioning committee has been formed that is working on ideas that will foster enlightened growth,” said Allen Kracower, the Buffalo Grove-based land planner who is the village’s planning consultant.
Kracower expects public hearings to be held on the proposals within 90 days.
“The idea is to provide for smarter growth. We want environmentally sensitive developments. That means that existing recreation areas, including wetlands and flood plains, will not be built on. Also, 100-year-old oaks will not be cut down to provide land for homes.”
In addition, Kracower said that an economic analysis will be performed for each new project to insure that the builder is a partner with the village in providing police and other services for the new residents.
“This may involve additional impact fees on new houses and an increase in the tax rates. It is growth that will pay its own way,” he added.
Timber Trails is located on the north side of Big Timber Road just west of Tyrrell Road. A sales center is open on the site.
