East Is Best: Fieldstone Place on Right Side of Montgomery

ELGIN, IL, August 23 - It's almost a tale of two cities. The west side of Montgomery is wide open and under development, a vast expanse of former farmland experiencing the growing pains of becoming an outer-ring suburb. On the other hand, the east side is older and fully developed, a "town" more closely integrated with the rest of the Fox Valley and Chicago metro areas.

The story of Fieldstone Place takes place on the east side, and that's this community's great advantage. A development of 43 semi-custom single family homes and 110 courtyard townhouses being built by Grand Pointe Homes, Fieldstone Place is located on the side of Montgomery that's more convenient and more economic while still maintaining an idyllic, tree-lined, semi-rural character that many homebuyers are looking for.

"Fieldstone Place is an in-fill development, and that fact puts it in the middle of a lot of infrastructure, including schools, transportation, and other development," said Scott Ballard, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for West Dundee-based Grand Pointe. "The bottom line is that new residents don't have to struggle with the challenges that come with the more pioneering, outer-edge living characterizing the west side of town. Another advantage: taxes are lower here (a tax rate of 2.1% vs. 2.5% in the west) because we don't have to build new schools or other infrastructure. Fieldstone is a great place to buy a home."

The Fieldstone location boasts quick and easy access to schools, beginning with Nicholson Elementary, Washington Junior High, and West Aurora High School in West Aurora School District #129. Five minutes away, in Sugar Grove, Fieldstone residents will also find Waubonsee Community College with its choice of 24 different majors. Several four-year schools lie less than a half-hour away.

Other conveniences abound. The huge Fox Valley Shopping Center-with its nearby restaurants and movie theatres-sits along Illinois Highway 59, the transportation lifeline of the area. Even more shopping (including grocery stores) unfolds minutes away on Route 34 in Oswego. A Metra commuter rail station exists just 10 minutes away in Aurora.

Fieldstone residents will also appreciate such near-at-hand amenities as the Rush Copley Medical Center, the Philips Park Aquatic Center, the Eola Community Center, and the Eola Branch of the Aurora Library. For those looking for big city diversions, they won't need to trek 40 miles east to Chicago. That's because, just north of Fieldstone, residents can venture to Hollywood Casino, the Paramount Theatre, several museums, and countless major restaurants in downtown Aurora.

Meanwhile, the growing development of the larger Montgomery area apparently has done little to compromise the east side of town's pastoral character. "It still maintains a warm, close-knit community," said Ballard. Nestled along both banks of the Fox River, Montgomery provides one of the highest park-land-to-residents ratios in the Fox Valley, with more than 13 acres of parks per thousand population. Residents can take advantage of two park districts that offer a wide variety of facilities and activities, and a growing network of bike trails-including one on the northern edge of Fieldstone Place-that connects east Montgomery to such communities as Oswego and Aurora.

Regarding the inside of the single-family homes themselves, Fieldstone buyers can choose from among seven different designs ranging in size from 1,911 to 2,805 square feet with three or four bedrooms and 1 ½ to three baths. All homes feature elegant living and dining rooms, modernly equipped kitchens, and sprawling family rooms with lots of natural light. Prices start in the $230's.

To enable families to individualize their homes, Grand Pointe offers countless Fieldstone options, including central air conditioning; fireplaces and entertainment centers for the family rooms; super baths with soaker tubs and separate showers; cathedral, vaulted and volume ceilings; dens and lofts; center islands for the kitchens; and three-car garages.

Fieldstone also allows townhome buyers to shape their living spaces. With prices that start in the $190's, townhomes come in three standard plans, with upper-level "mix-and-match" options that can create up to 14 different layouts.

Ranging in size from 1,566 to 1,907 square feet, the townhomes feature open layouts with two or three bedrooms, one to three baths, two-car garages, roomy kitchens with modern appliances, and finished lower-level family rooms.

For increased value, buyers of Fieldstone's inventory homes (single-family or townhouse) can earn up to $25,000 in incentives. "We let buyers use the incentive however they want. They can put it toward the purchase price, pay closing costs, buy down the interest rate. It makes buying into the community an incredible value," said Ballard.

"That's why I tell people to 'go east,'" said Ballard. "If they like the Fox River Valley or Montgomery in general, they need to see Fieldstone Place in east Montgomery. It's a special community, in the right location, at the right price."

Visitors to Fieldstone Place should take I-88 to Illinois Highway 59, south to Ogden Avenue (U.S. Hwy. 34), west to Montgomery Road, west to Briarcliff Road, and then south to the models and sales center.

People seeking information on Fieldstone Place can call (630) 906-7500 (for single-family homes) or (630) 859-2800 (for courtyard-style townhomes).

Submitted 8/23/2007

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