SchoolStreet a Finalist for Urban Land Institute Vision Award

When Denise Gibson and her husband were looking to downsize from their home in Long Grove, there was one town on their radar: Libertyville.

"We knew that we wanted to live in Libertyville," said Gibson. She and her husband liked the idea of living in a close-knit community with a high walkability factor.

She admits that at first, she didn't know if the SchoolStreet development would be the perfect fit. She didn't think there would be that sense of family and closeness that she and her husband desired.

"Nothing could be farther from the truth," said Gibson. Within 48 hours, the couple had decided that the SchoolStreet development was going to be their new home. They are slated to move in sometime in November.

Gibson said she was struck by the uniqueness of the homes and the fact that they are designed around the way people live rather than fitting into an architect's specific program.

"There's a lot of variety, but also a like-mindedness for the desire for that neighborhood bond," said Gibson.

The SchoolStreet development has been named a finalist in the Urban Land Institute's 2013 Vision Awards. Of the 13 nominees in the project category, SchoolStreet is the only suburban project. All of the others are located in Chicago.

"It's a huge deal for us," said John McLinden, SchoolStreet developer. "I was pleased. If we won, that would be a very big deal."

The SchoolStreet development started as what's called a "redfield site," meaning it was a "deal that's gone bad," said McLinden. The original plan by another developer called for 31 townhomes, along with 12 condos in the historic Central School. That previous developer built the first building with five townhomes, but then the bank foreclosed on the development.

"We bought it out of foreclosure," said McLinden.

The cornerstone of the SchoolStreet development, he said, was the idea of a "really close-knit, compact community." The site plan ultimately included lofts in Central School along with 26 bungalow-style single-family homes. Though SchoolStreet started with eight different plans for the homes, clients can customize the homes based on their needs.

"We really wanted to have the customer drive what the design would be," McLinden said. Clients, he said, are asked questions about how they live so the spaces in the homes can be designed specifically for the clients.

A week later, the client receives a hand-drawn outline of what his or her home could look like, including sketched-in furniture.

"Every single home has something unique," said McLinden. "We have 26 homes here and they're all different."

The development itself is also home to a couple of unique features. The first is the a 2,450-square-foot house that attracted thousands of visitors over a six-month period. The second unique feature is U.S. Department of Energy Challenge Home.

SchoolStreet is set to be prominently featured in a new book—"The End of the Suburbs"—by Leigh Gallagher, an assistant managing editor at FORTUNE.

"It's 26 homes, but I think it's kind of representative of what Leigh is talking about," said McLinden. "Her whole thesis is, 'Where is the American Dream Moving?' They want to be close to the downtown area and be able to walk to places."

The winners of the Urban Land Institute Vision Awards will be announced June 5.