New subdivision in Glen Ellyn - Amber Ridge (Park Ridge, Marion: best neighborhood, sale)

[ToriaT]

It seems easy enough for the poster to look at and consider both. Whether I would pick Glen Ellyn vs Winfield in this case....I dunno. They both have their ploints. What I like about Winfield is its kind of an extension of Wheaton and you can get to all the amenities of Wheaton in about a five minute drive. Also the town feels like a very small town and kind of a throwback. I would not discard it just yet. Of course Glen Ellyn is wonderful.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

Regardless, if it was me and I had $550k-$610k to spend right now, I'd opt for a rehabbed or tear-down 4 bed near the center of Wheaton or Glen Ellyn.

Well, me too (and that's what we did last Spring). I also like the central parts of Downers, Western Springs, and La Grange in that price range. Elmhurst and Oak Park too.

The extra six miles from the Loop does matter for some people. We initially ruled out Glen Ellyn in our home search as "too far from the Loop", and concentrated on suburbs closer to Chicago. We changed our mind after looking at a lot of houses and eventually warmed to Glen Ellyn, but everyone has a limit... And we jumped over ours a bit to be in Glen Ellyn. Even though Wheaton and Winfield are just next door, there's a psychological barrier for some to add even another 10-15 minutes to their Metra ride--especially if they already feel like they have moved too far out. I myself now work in DuPage County (I only did the Metra commute for a few months), so we could have saved the cash and lived in Winfield without affecting my current commute, but we are happy where we are near downtown G.E.

I don't think you can lump all of south G.E. in to one bag (and note that the area within the village limits south of Roosevelt Rd is actually very small). Subdivisions like Maryknoll Estates are holding their value as upscale enclaves, as are a few other spots. Raintree? Feels a bit dated and run down, but over all not a bad place--and plenty of rehabbed houses there. And unincorporated Glen Ellyn is a real mixed bag--everything from huge McMansions to dated 1,000 sf ranch houses. But a location within the Village of Glen Ellyn IS worth more than something in Winfield, even if the amenities seem similar from the outside. Some of that may be B.S. "cache", but that does matter to some people. And you are also joining a community. Glen Ellyn has a strong community identity revolving around village institutions like the pool, the library, churhces, sports leagues, etc. So you are still a part of that in South G.E. Our kids have friends down there.

And on the other hand, you have people who think it's insane to pay Village of Glen Ellyn property taxes for a house you could get for a lower cost in Winfield. There's a valid argument there too.

[holl1ngsworth]

I totally agree. The commuting "line in the sand" needs to be drawn somewhere. If that's the case then there is definitely no argument for Winfield.

But if the OP is rather indifferent to the extra 10-15 commuting time, I just can't believe there is more appeal in SGE than Winfield. Like I said both have the same development mix with McMansions next to 1000 sqft ranches, the same demographics, same desirability of schools, the same sense of community, and the same amenities. It's hard to warrant paying so much more ($150k / 2500 sqft) for a house by the same builder. The Winfield dev seems to be priced below market value (under $400k for an older, non-updated 4-bed in D200 would be a deal, let alone for a brand spanking new house) while the dev in SGE seems to be priced perhaps a little above market, making for quite a spread. Something to consider. It's the same builder for goodness sake.

Again, unless it's the extra 10-15 min commute.

Also, you may know better than to lump all of SGE into one bag, but I have spoken to and know NGE residents who feel like "Glen Ellyn" exists north of Roosevelt and see anything south as seperate and not equal. I think we can certainly agree it is the "less desirable" part of town. And the prices/time on market generally reflect that. Still a beautiful place to live, definitely, but I think the market over the past few years has shown the north side to be far and away more desirable. Just something the OP should be aware of if coming from the outside.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

Also, you may know better than to lump all of SGE into one bag, but I have spoken to and know NGE residents who feel like "Glen Ellyn" exists north of Roosevelt and see anything south as seperate and not equal.

If you look at a map of the village limits, about 2/3 of the village is indeed north of Roosevelt Road, including the downtown area, Lake Ellyn, the library, Ackerman fitness, etc--so those snobby NGE residents are not totally bonkers in thinking the "true Glen Ellyn" is the north side. And the fact that elementary, junior high, and high school attendance areas split along Roosevelt Rd. doesn't really help to unify the village across that aterial road chasm.

And then there is the weird designation "unincorporated Glen Ellyn" (why not just "unicorporated Milton Township"?) which includes most of the subdivisions going south to the Morton Arboretum, certain areas going north to North Avenue, and some stuff east of 355. The village has annexation agreements with some of these areas going decades in to the future, but they are truly a mixed bag--and some don't feed in to Glen Ellyn schools or have village services. So even though these areas tend to identify with Glen Ellyn, they are not part of the village in any official capacity--and they make up more area south of Roosevelt than the actual incorporated subdivisions.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

If you look at a map of the village limits, about 2/3 of the village is indeed north of Roosevelt Road, including the downtown area, Lake Ellyn, the library, Ackerman fitness, etc--so those snobby NGE residents are not totally bonkers in thinking the "true Glen Ellyn" is the north side. And the fact that elementary, junior high, and high school attendance areas split along Roosevelt Rd. doesn't really help to unify the village across that aterial road chasm.

And then there is the weird designation "unincorporated Glen Ellyn" (why not just "unicorporated Milton Township"?) which includes most of the subdivisions going south to the Morton Arboretum, certain areas going north to North Avenue, and some stuff east of 355. The village has annexation agreements with some of these areas going decades in to the future, but they are truly a mixed bag--and some don't feed in to Glen Ellyn schools or have village services. So even though these areas tend to identify with Glen Ellyn, they are not part of the village in any official capacity--and they make up more area south of Roosevelt than the actual incorporated subdivisions.

I know what you're saying, but I don't buy the unincorporated versus incorporated argument. And it doesn't play out in home values either. Most of SGE's expensive homes, the "estate" types down around Ahlstrand and Arboretum are unincorporated. Roosevelt tends to be the dividing line, following the school district boundaries.

I attached a $700k+ for sale (red) and recently sold (yellow) map for Wheaton, Winfield (D200 portion) and Glen Ellyn. Hopefully it demonstrates my point.

[Lookout Kid]

Looking at your map, note that a lot of the area within the "South Glen Ellyn" that is actually village is College of DuPage, Glenbard South, Willowbrook Forest Preserve, Parks, etc. Maryknoll Estates has a nice cluster of expensive homes, as does the area that the OP is thinking of building in. Raintree is what it is, and has seen quality of life declines due to the ever-expanding COD monster next door.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Looking at your map, note that a lot of the area within the "South Glen Ellyn" that is actually village is College of DuPage, Glenbard South, Willowbrook Forest Preserve, Parks, etc. Maryknoll Estates has a nice cluster of expensive homes, as does the area that the OP is thinking of building in. Raintree is what it is, and has seen quality of life declines due to the ever-expanding COD monster next door.

Understood, but ditto for all the other areas (Wheaton College, numerous golf courses, large expanses of forest preserve in Danada, etc.)

There are large homes in SGE, but to command a high price they have to be significant. Even then, they end up being far less on a $/sqft basis when compared to NGE, or even southwest/northeast Wheaton. It probably has much to do with the fact that the nice homes are sparsely scattered between less-attractive older developments, closer to the (relative) eye sore of COD and further away from the amenities of the north. Whatever the reason, the categorization of south < north exists.

Similar typecasts exist in Wheaton: northwest and southeast Wheaton (except for a few pockets of McMansions, like SGE) are generally considered the "less desirable" parts of town. Which the map demonstrates.

[Lookout Kid]

Yes, northern Glen Ellyn in general is more costly for sure. No arguing that. And if the OP wants a new construction house in Glen Ellyn for the price of homes in Amber Ridge, they will most likely have to stay south of Roosevelt. Everything brand new to the North is probably out of range, though the area isn't as uniformly nice as some may think, and there are certainly pockets north Roosevelt that are less desirable than others (but no real "bad areas" either). But building activity is once again picking up after the Great Recession brought it to a halt a few years ago. It's worth at least talking to a realtor.

Before development jumped south across Roosevelt Rd, the dividing line between north and south in Glen Ellyn used to be the Chicago and Northwestern Tracks (now the Union Pacific West). While there are some huge older homes south of downtown Glen Ellyn including some notable historic mansions, most of the historic housing stock is modest in size (or was modest, since massive additions are common). While the Lake Ellyn area will always be the premier neighborhood in town, the next most desirable parts of Glen Ellyn are shifting to eastern side of town within the Franklin and Forest Glen school attendance areas. The northeast side of Glen Ellyn is once again experiencing teardown mania, and you can't drive around without seeing a construction site. The same thing is happening on the larger lots within the Lincoln School attendance area (greater than 60 foot width).

The worst "older" houses in northern Glen Ellyn are on the northwest side, with some of those streets resembling working class neighborhoods in less-attrractive suburbs. But the area is being transformed by teardowns/new home construction on a spot basis, and there may be a decent option there if the OP is alright with Churchill Elementary for K-5 (which has the lowest test scores, but also highest diversity of the four D41 elementary schools). Churchill also has a program for English language learners, so that makes the test scores look worse since it attracts some students who struggle with English.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

...with some of those streets resembling working class neighborhoods in less-attrractive suburbs...

Really?

Anyway, it might be worth talking to a realtor about options like this in north Glen Ellyn:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Glen-Ellyn/.../home/18136329
The OP could buy way under budget and use the extra $$ to bring in a builder to renovate/put on the finishing touches. Can't beat the walk-to Lake Ellyn, in-town appeal!

Or this incredible value in more-desirable south Wheaton:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Wheaton/8-.../home/17984205
$127/sqft for a new(er) Keim construction??

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

Really?

Yeah, like Marion Ave or Western Ave. Very working class appearance to the OLDER homes. Western is a really strange mix of nice and crappy, in my opinion--but it's also has a ton of traffic for the width of the street.

581 Oak is a half million dollar teardown on that half-acre lot. I highly doubt it will be rehabbed in that condition.