Bridgeport Village

City development of the year

Bridgeport Village by Snitzer Homes: Giving new vigor to an old neighborhood

Chicago Sun-Times
February 14, 2003
By Larry Finley

When the new residents start moving into Bridgeport Village, they will find a brand-new community that just might remind them of the old neighborhood. That is just how it was meant to be. The Chicago Sun-Times City Development of the Year for 2002 is proving to be a very successful move to capture the architecture and feel of old Chicago.

The first phase of the project will include 116 single-family homes in a heavily landscaped 32 acres along the South Branch of the Chicago River, between 32nd and 34th streets. The developer, Thomas A. Snitzer, president of Snitzer Homes of Arlington Heights, said he was striving for a variety of "classic Chicago-style architecture" for the 2- and 3-story single-family homes.

"I envisioned the neighborhoods that were built 60 or 70 years ago," Snitzer said. "I wanted a neighborhood with character and variety, not the look of soldiers in a row." When someone walks through, it should look like it belongs to Chicago," he added.

The houses are designed at different heights, with different roof lines and a variety of facades, he said. There are about 10 different home designs so far, and features--or even whole floors--can be added to change their looks even further. About 56 of the first 116 homes have been sold, many of them to young families looking to move up to more room.

The homes have 3 to 5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 baths, with 2,400 to 4,461 square feet. Starting prices range from about $415,000 to $485,000. Homes on larger corner lots are available at a premium.

The houses come with 2-car garages. Some include finished basements.

"The first residents will be moving in a month or two," Snitzer said. "That will be very exciting. The landscaped boulevards are in. So is the decorative lighting, the plants and the sprinklers. All the parks will be open in a month or so."

Many of the first new Bridgeport Villagers are young couples with children, who will have parks and grassy expanses in which to play, Snitzer said. The neighborhood promises to grow with the families, he said.

"We own a similar amount of property across the river," Snitzer said. "We are working with the city on a second phase. And, we will connect both with a bridge over the river." The twin developments, combined, will have more than a mile of landscaped paths along the river, which will be tied into Chicago's proposed river walk system.

Bridgeport Village has already received considerable recognition. The Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago named it "Best Overall Urban Community," and New Homes magazine named it Chicago's "Best New Single-Family-Home Development" for 2002.

Bridgeport Village includes walking paths along the streets and the Chicago River.