Fox Run community in the hunt

BY KERRY LESTER

Fox Run manor homes in Elk Grove Village offer the busy person a bit of practical luxury.  Bounded by PlumGrove Road to the west, University Lane to the south and the Fox Run Golf Links to the north and east, the 224 townhouses were built between 1985 and 1987 by Centex Homes.  Composed of 29 buildings, the Fox Run complex has eight different floor plans, three of which feature either coffered or cathedral ceilings.

“The builders wanted to give

a new contemporary feel by

adding cathedral and coffered

ceilings, moon-shaped entrance

windows, (and) unique doors

and windows,” said Laurie

Mercer, a Realtor at RE/MAX

Suburban in Elk GroveVillage.

Homes range from 916 and

1,519 square feet, and have two

to three bedrooms and one to

two baths.

“Models are very contemporary,”

Mercer said. “They have

oak railings, beautiful lighting

and entrance ways.”

While many coach and

manor home developments

“tend to feel more boxy, Fox Run

appeals to buyers looking for a

upscale starter home at very

attractive prices,” she said.

Fox Run’s residents are a mixture

of young and middle-aged

couples and a handful of families.

“The buildings are very

friendly places,” she said.

“People are respectful of each

other’s territory, but always

happy to chat and lend a hand.”

Association fees are $170 to

$208 per month, and “they do

an exceptional job in the

upkeep of the complex with

continual maintenance,”

Mercer said.

Location is another big draw.

Minutes away from Woodfield

Shopping Center and Busse

Woods, the neighborhood is

also close to I-290, I-90 and

O’Hare International Airport.

As part of the Schaumburg

Park District, Fox Run residents

have a choice of two fitness centers

and golf courses, and

Waterworks, an indoor, yearround

water park.

The adjacent 18-hole Fox Run

Golf Course is part of the Elk

Grove Park District.

A groundbreaking ceremony

was held last November for a

$493,000 renovation project on

the Fox Run clubhouse.

“It’s a beautiful place to be,”

Mercer said.

element.

A huge television sits in an

entertainment wall that makes

the sitting area behind it seem

cozier.

And no one could miss the

two vintage motorcycles flanking

the television.

Yes, this is the only time the

Riekes have had enough space

to display Todd’s passion in

their home.

“These were one of the first

things we planned for because

they’re always a good conversation

piece,” Libby Rieke said.

“They show Todd’s creativity,

and people compare his attention

to detail rebuilding these

bikes to designing and building

office furniture.”

The couple had planned to

put a fireplace and waterfall in

the entertainment wall, but that

proved incompatible with the

entertainment system.

Instead, glass amber vases

threaded with flickering lights

provide a fireplace-like ambience

under the television.

The real gas fireplace inside a

glass tube is part of the curvy,

almost free-form creation that

Todd Rieke calls a modern partners’

desk.

In the kitchen, the cabinets

are a high-gloss laminate that

resembles natural wood grain.

The countertops are a new

extra-textured laminate that

simulates granite, as is the oval

dining room table where 12

people can dine in mid-century

Bertoia wire chairs.

These laminates are used in

ROI’s projects, and the firm’s

designers helped the Riekes

with their home.

A slightly curving opaque

glass wall shields the master

bedroom.

The bed — with a television

set in the footboard—is custom

built of laminates, of course.

“I wanted to create warmth in

a large industrial building,”

Libby Rieke said.

“The darker ceiling helped

bring down the height. And the

carpet, and the fireplace. We

love the fireplace.”

The home is reached by going

through a bar area that is used

both for personal entertaining

and business meetings.

“It’s a wonderful tool for sales

people,” she said. “Customers

come up here and relax and

they’re not in a stark conference

room.”

Living above the shop and on

the tollway brings all kinds of

stories.

The soundproofing is better

than you might think, Todd

Rieke said.

However, the couple was concerned

when the toll collection

system was being rebuilt and

rumble strips were installed

right in front of the building.

“We really wondered what we

had gotten into,” Libby Rieke

said.

Fortunately, the strips were

temporary, or the Riekes might

have rethought their residential

plans.

Libby’s late mother, Anne

Ziegler, called the Riekes’ nest

the tollhouse because the toll

booth is visible out the windows.

“This is a double meaning for

me because I am known for my

chocolate chip cookies,” Libby

Rieke said.

The Riekes are semi-retired

and only live in their home

about 50 percent of the time.

Todd is still chief executive

officer of ROI, and Libby, who

obviously loves to cook and

entertain, calls herself director

of first impressions.

And she enjoys sharing her

unusual home with friends,

family, business clients and

groups like the Rotary.

Friends who originally

thought living on the tollway

sounded a little strange,

changed their minds as soon as

they walked into the home.

The first night the Riekes lived

there they couldn’t sleep

because they were so excited, so

Todd got up and took architectural

photographs.

“It leaves you mesmerized,”

Libby Rieke said. “It turns from

traffic into a live play.”

Her husband added: “It’s

magical when it’s snowing.”

Price range: $170,000 to

$220,000

Age of homes: 20 years old

Schools: Enders-Salk

Elementary and Margaret Mead

Junior High schools in

Schaumburg Township

Elementary District 54 and

Conant High School in Palatine-

Schaumburg High School District

211.

Parks: Schaumburg Park District