McLean County Real Estate Options Range from Historic to Affordable
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Greg Koos can speak with authority about historic homes – not only as the executive director for the McLean County Museum of History‚ but also as someone who has “lived in ‘vintage homes’ all my life.”
His current residence in Bloomington’s Founders Grove neighborhood was built in 1912.
“For me‚ it’s the maturity of the neighborhood and the plantings” that make living there such a pleasure‚ Koos says. “They’re very pretty neighborhoods.
In addition‚ he says‚ “The homes have such a quality in the construction. You can literally see it – in the hardwoods‚ for instance.”
Whether a historic neighborhood‚ a new subdivision or a downtown condominium‚ McLean County has an attractive variety of housing to offer residents and newcomers.
Homes of all kinds are selling at a brisk pace‚ says Beverly Edgerton of Brady Weaver GMAC. “It’s a great market‚” says Edgerton‚ a Realtor for the past 10 years. “There has been a lot of growth‚ a lot of relocations.”
McLean County is expected to increase in population from around 160‚000 currently to more than 212‚000 by 2025‚ according to statistics from the Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area.
To accommodate some of the growth‚ several new subdivisions are being built. “New construction has just ballooned in our area‚” Edgerton says. “That has caused quite the competition for the homes that are‚ say‚ 10 years old.”
Janet Jurich‚ a Realtor with Prudential Snyder Real Estate since 2004‚ works with many first-time buyers. She says they can expect to pay about $120‚000 for a small‚ modest home‚ but homes in the new subdivisions start in the high $200‚000s.
“We have a range of people who come to the city‚” Jurich says‚ “so we have a good mixture (of housing).”
She adds‚ “We basically don’t see the highs and lows of the markets that have seen the (property) values go up real high.”
For those who want to be at the heart of the ongoing downtown revitalization‚ condominium living is an option. For example‚ the Ensenberger Lofts development features 28 condominiums in the renovated Ensenberger Building on the courthouse square in Bloomington.
For those who prefer the charm and maturity of the county’s oldest single-family homes‚ Bloomington and Normal have several historic neighborhoods from which to choose. Besides Founders Grove‚ they include Cedar Crest‚ East Grove and White Place. Owning a home in one of these historic residential districts can instill a sense of community pride‚ Koos says.
“Many of these historic homes are known to be designed by very successful local architects‚” he says. “People associate a great deal of pride knowing a certain architect designed their home. It helps develop an understanding of how [the homes] came to be.”
Story by Michael W. Bunch
Photo by John McBryde
