Houston’s David Weekley Homes has announced plans to expand into the Chicago area in the second quarter of 2014. The move will represent the company’s northernmost presence in home construction, with developments already stretching from Atlanta to Phoenix.
Prior to the Chicago move, Salt Lake City was Weekley’s most recent initiative. The advance into Illinois, which the company feels is ripe for a rebound from the housing slump, maintains David Weekley’s position as the largest privately-held home construction company in the United States.
A company spokesman says the strategy to enter the Chicago market is based mainly on urban infill projects. This work will necessitate municipal rezoning, as well as tear-downs of existing single-family homes. Planned unit developments are on the drawing board for several of the Chicago-area communities. The hallmarks of this category include two-story homes on downsized lots, along with extensive shared community perks like gazebos, strolling paths, playground and ponds. Though the price range hasn’t yet been made public, the average square footage will top out around 4,000 feet, company officials said. The first homes are anticipated to be ready for occupancy sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.
David Weekley founded the company in 1976 at age 23, beginning with “a lonely construction trailer in the middle of a field,” according to the home builder’s website. Today, 70,000 houses later, David Weekley Homes is a national leader in home construction and the has made Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies To Work For” list eight times.
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