In the 1960s, they spread like dandelions across the Midwest and into the Northeast. Clusters of them sprouted in the Northwest.
Builders called them tri-levels because they offered three levels of living — a departure from the other big models of the era — the ranch and two-story.
Simply put, the tri-level was and is a one-story home on one side, which usually includes a kitchen and living room/dining room, and a two-story home on the other side, with bedrooms a half-flight up and garage and family room a half-flight down.
In Chicago’s cornfield communities of the ’60s, such as Mt. Prospect, where lots were wide, builders built them sideways, with both the one-story and the two-story sides facing the street.
In towns with narrower lots, such as Alsip, builders built them front-to-back, with the one-story side facing the street and the two-story side extending to the back of the lot.
Tri-levels peaked in popularity in the late 1960s and 1970s, when, according to U.S. Census figures, they accounted for 10 to 12 percent of new homes nationally.
Now, many Chicago-area builders are bringing back the tri-level, but with 21st Century amenities.
Out is the pretend foyer, where a wrought-iron railing penned in guests. In is a true foyer, dressed in ceramic.
Out is the wall between the kitchen and lower-level rec room. In is a spindled railing that allows Mom to work in the kitchen while the kids play in the family room.
Out is the Plain-Jane facade, punctuated by a huge picture window. In is curb appeal created by multiple rooflines and brick/siding combinations.
In addition to bigger bedrooms and more bathrooms, the new tri-level has an eat-in kitchen, laundry room, two-car garage and a home office/guest room option. Some of its walk-in closets are as large as the children’s bedrooms in the ’60s version.
“Other than the three levels, there isn’t much similarity between the new and old tri-level,” says Roger Mankedick, executive vice president of Palatine-based Concord Homes, which added a tri-level to its new-home line-up after a 10-year absence.
Because it doesn’t require pouring a full basement, say the builders, a tri-level home is less expensive than a two-story with comparable square footage.
The tri-level’s lower base prices, which usually fall somewhere between a builder’s ranch and two-story prices, reflect this savings. A fireplace, bay windows, kitchen island, skylight and six-panel doors are a few of the typical upgrades.
Michael Turner and his wife, Trina, added to the tri-level they bought in March in Deer Creek Estates in Sauk Village.
“We added extra square footage at the front and back of the house, built-in shelves and a basement and sub-basement,” he said.
After he finishes it, the basement will be his “playroom,” says Turner, complete with a bar, pool table and large-screened television.
Like many of today’s tri-level buyers, Turner grew up in one. (Trina’s parents had a bungalow.) So choosing the tri-level instead of Deer Creek’s ranch or two-story was a no-brainer.
“It has more space than the ranch or two-story,” he says. “Nothing’s wasted.”
The first eight homes sold at Deer Creek were tri-levels, says sales associate Diane Goers, adding that they continue to outsell two-story and ranch homes.
Like the Turners, who have a 9-month-old son, most of the buyers are 20- or 30-something couples with young children, she says. Deer Creek is being developed by West Development Group in Country Club Hills.
Goers says buyers tell her the tri-level feels “homey.”
“It is comfortable without being pretentious,” she says of the Scottsdale model. “It’s not the kind of house where you feel like you’d better take off your shoes right away.”
The Scottsdale has 2,305 square feet and a base price is $177,990. The lower-level finished family room and unfinished half-basement under the kitchen/living room are standard.
A notch down the price ladder, with a $159,999 base price, is the tri-level offered by the Dallas-base Centex Homes, called the Butternut. At 1,524 square feet, it has been a top seller for young families at Centex’s Valley Lakes in Round Lake, Chesterfield in North Aurora and Old Renwick Trail in Joliet. Centex also will include it in its new Hampton Glen in Joliet.
The Butternut has a standard, finished family room that’s a half-flight down from the kitchen and an optional basement that’s a half-flight down from the family room. Popular options include volume ceilings and oak railings to separate the kitchen from the family room (instead of the standard knee wall).
The Butternut’s two-car garage juts out in front of the house, allowing room on the lower level for another bedroom and bathroom, in addition to the family room.
The tri-level is holding its own at Chestnut Homes’ Chestnut Ridge in Minooka, too, where buyers can choose between this Carlyle model, ranch and two-story homes.
The Carlyle starts at $169,900 and has 1,699 square feet. Although Chestnut has offered some sort of tri-level for about 10 years, the Carlyle includes some new bells and whistles, says Cindy Cook, director of marketing and public relations.
“We’ve added vaulted ceilings and more bathrooms,” she says. A basement under the kitchen/living room level is optional, she says, but most buyers choose it.
In the same price range is the Fairview tri-level in the Trails of Boone Creek in McHenry, built by Gerstad Builders in McHenry. It has 1,346 to 1,598 square feet. With a basement, it starts at $179,990. Sans basement, it’s $165,490.
Unlike the traditional tri-level, though, the Fairview’s great room and kitchen/breakfast room are in front, the upstairs bedrooms and lower level are in the back, and the garage is on the side.
Cambridge Homes recently resurrected the tri-level after eliminating its from its new-home line-up.
“We built them in the 1970s, then brought it back in 1999,” reports Dave Smith, Cambridge’s vice president of marketing and product development. Now, its Easton tri-level is a hot product in its Meadow Series, designed for first-time buyers, he says. Its base price is $208,990 and square footage is 1,580 without a finished lower level and 2,000 with it.
Cambridge offers the Easton model in Cambridge at Foxmoor in Montgomery, Prairie Pointe near Ingleside and Cambridge at Heatherstone in Beach Park. In April, it will include the Easton in its new Cambridge Crest in Crest Hill.
“The Easton gets people into a single-family house who couldn’t afford it otherwise,” says Smith. “Some of the buyers have us finish the lower level and some save money by doing it themselves.”
Despite its new frills, the tri-level still hasn’t achieved much respect in the architectural community. The minivan of housing types, the tri-level is long on function and economy, but short on style.
In fact, says Ned Cramer, curator at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the tri-level isn’t even an architectural style.
“Style refers to type of ornamentation,” Cramer explains. “The tri-level is a building type, which refers to the way a building is configured.”
Cramer traces the tri-level’s roots to the openness of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home plans.
“Wright defined rooms in ways other than four walls,” says Cramer. “He used, for example, a change in flooring or a step up or down, to separate rooms. That started the `open floor plan’ idea that has come and gone ever since.”
Indeed, few architectural books and field guides even mention the tri-level. One exception: John Milnes Baker’s “American House Styles: A Concise Guide” (W.W. Norton & Co., $13.95).
“I couldn’t omit the tri-levels because there are too many of them,” says Baker. “A lot of architects dismiss it because it isn’t a style and it brings to mind production housing of the 1960s. There’s nothing glitzy about it. But it’s hard to knock its efficiency.”
The term “tri-level” seems to be a Midwest thing. Or, maybe the term never left the Chicago area.
“We called them `mid-levels,’ in Indiana,” reports Mankedick, who grew up in Indianapolis.
Even locally, the tri-level suffers from an identity problem. Pasquinelli Homes and Gerstad Builders call it a “tri-level.” West Development calls it a “multi-level.” Centex Homes, Chestnut Homes, Concord Homes and Cambridge Homes go with the U.S. Census’ term, the “split-level.”
At least one Chicago homeowner calls it a tear-down candidate. After years of lugging groceries and kids up and down those stairs, says Tricia Eckland of Lake Bluff, she demolished her 1959 tri-level and is building a two-story traditional on the same lot.
Other buyers of the original tri-level call it a good investment. One 1963 tri-level in Rolling Meadows, built for $30,000, sold in December for $275,000, according to Mary Zentz, real estate agent at Remax in Arlington Heights.
Now, the second wave of tri-level buyers hope their homes will increase in value, too. While it may not be the jazziest house in town, the tri-level suits young families’ lifestyles without breaking their budgets.
Bottom line, says Turner, it’s “more house for less money.”
