Leaving their single-family house in Buffalo Grove did not make sense to Jeff Marcowitz. He and his wife, Linda, had remodeled most of the first floor a few years ago.
But after seeing the condos at Lincolnshire Place in Lincolnshire, Jeff changed his mind. In January, the couple bought a 2,440-square-foot unit with double bedroom and bath suites.
Jeff said he has no regrets.
“This was the right move for us,” he said. “We would have had to spend money remodeling the second floor of the house because it was getting older, and we didn’t want to put that much more into it.”
The main living area of the condo is an open combination of living room, kitchen and dining room, with a balcony. Jeff’s study is adjacent to the living room, but with an open doorway, so he can be at his desk while talking to Linda in the kitchen.
When their sons visit, they share a room on the other side of the condo’s living area.
“There’s plenty of room for both of them,” Linda said.
The master bedroom includes a reading corner, his-and-her walk-in closets and a double-sink vanity in the bathroom.
“Having your own vanity is heaven,” Linda said.
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She said her new kitchen is as nice as the remodeled one she left behind.
“I have everything I want — hickory cabinets, granite countertops, so it’s like I took the other one with me,” Linda said.
Their unit also includes a laundry/utility room, a powder room and a walk-in coat closet in the foyer.
Weiss Development customized the condo to suit the couple’s needs.
For example, a wall was removed between the kitchen and breakfast room to extend the kitchen cabinetry. The master bedroom closets were enlarged, and upgrades include lighting fixtures, flooring and countertops.
The couple’s unit has a storage area where they keep such things as a card table, chairs and luggage. They added a storage cage in the garage for Jeff’s bicycles.
Although the condo is no smaller than their former house, the Marcowitzes did forfeit a basement.
Clearing the basement of 25 years of family mementos was the hardest part about the move.
“That took us a few months, but it was cathartic,” Jeff said. “We got rid of a lot of stuff we don’t really need.”
Linda, a retired special education teacher and part-time consultant, does not miss the maintenance a single-family house demands.
“Chores like cleaning the garage got old,” she said.
The couple ruled out a town house because most of them on the market had stairs, Linda said.
“We’re in our early 60s, so at some point we know we’ll have to worry about not being able to do stairs,” she said.
Although the couple grew up on the South Side, they did not want to leave the northwest suburbs, where they raised their family and had made lifelong friends. Linda’s mahjong group meets weekly in her condo building.
Within walking distance of their condo are several restaurants and a grocery store.
Jeff, who bikes 75 to 100 miles a week, can pick up the Des Plaines River Trail across the street.
Jeff, the owner of a project management firm, commutes to his Chicago office by rail via the Prairie View Metra train station.
He can reach O’Hare International Airport in 20 minutes.
Seven condos, ranging from 1,784 to 3,272 square feet, remain at the 62-unit Lincolnshire Place: five two-bedroom units, one two-bedroom-with-den unit and one two-story unit with three bedrooms and a rooftop deck. Prices start at $379,900.
Amenities at the pet-friendly building include a fitness room, party room with a hospitality kitchen, reflecting pool, and outdoor grill and fireplace.
“Now we can leave on vacation and not worry about who is taking care of our house,” Linda said. “When we’re here, it’s nice and quiet. We love, love, love it.”
The sales office at 400 Village Green is open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. For information, call 847-276-2670 or go to lincolnshireplace.com.
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