A Sprawling Property for You and Your Nine Horses

21900 Illinois Route 59, Barrington

Price: $900,000 SOLD
Square feet: 3,712
Taxes: $10,178
Agent: Martin Vehlow and Erin Dierks, Berkshire Hathaway Starck Real Estate

With its finished walk-out basement and west-facing sunset views, there is plenty to love about this brick ranch home. But what sets the property apart isn’t the living space for humans — it’s the 60-by-100-foot indoor riding arena and heated barn the equine members of the family call home. Here, just 40 miles northwest of the Loop and a five-minute drive from downtown Barrington, you can experience the calm of horse country.

The 4.67-acre lot is not technically, under town ordinance, big enough to allow for horse boarding, but Vehlow says the property qualifies for an exemption and that the owner can keep up to nine horses. That’s enough to equip both sides of a polo match or to pull a Budweiser wagon.

What’s Around: Route 59 is a busy road, which is why the expansive property was priced under seven figures. But it also means easy access by car (or on horseback?) to local favorite eateries like Neoteca and Southern Belle’s Pancake House. And you’re half a mile from Old Barrington Farm, a 60-acre equestrian training center.

A Flemish Revival Estate in Woodlawn

6530 S. University Ave.

Price: $998,000
Square feet: 3,800
Taxes: $6,269
Agent: Don Robinson, Coldwell Banker

This South Side home, on a 12,600-square-foot lot, is an entertainer’s dream. The massive yard offers room to host a summer bash with all your friends — and their friends, too. The property is equally ideal for chillier entertaining, with a wood-burning fire pit under the pergola.

The real magic, however, is inside the five-bedroom, four-bathroom Flemish Revival — a reminder of the neighborhood’s history as a settling spot for Dutch farmers. This isn’t a humble agricultural abode, though. It’s a stately residence, built around 1888, that preserves the spirit of that era with the original staircase, skylights, and stained glass. Yet it functions like a modern home courtesy of a 2006 rehab that brought new plumbing and wiring. On the top floor, the 28-by-13-foot primary bedroom feels like a secluded retreat. And the finished basement, with its seven-foot ceilings, might not be ideal for a Bulls team meeting, but it makes for a great cinema room.

What’s Around: Plenty of rich history. A block south is Oak Woods Cemetery, where Harold Washington, Jesse Owens, Ida B. Wells, and Enrico Fermi are buried. And the Obama Presidential Center, set to open next year, is 10 blocks east.

That New-Home Smell in the Southwest Suburbs

23139 Five Oaks Dr., Frankfort

Price: $995,000 SOLD
Square feet: 4,008
Taxes: $20,000 (estimated)
Agent: Brianne Vandenberg, Keller Williams

You can find new construction all over the metro area, but you’re only going to find one this big — and at this price point — if you head farther south. Even with an unfinished basement, this Frankfort home, decked out with white oak floors, has plenty of space, with four bedrooms upstairs and an office with built-in cabinetry on the first floor.

The big draw is the potential for entertaining. Guests can mingle in the two-story living room, or wander into the butler’s pantry outfitted with a dry bar, while you’re cooking in the open kitchen with a glimmering quartz backsplash. There’s a formal dining room, but for something more relaxed, head to the deck, which overlooks a 200-foot-deep backyard equipped with a sprinkler system.

What’s Around: The home is part of Five Oaks, a subdivision with 128 lots, two-thirds of which are occupied. When you get tired of paddleboating on its 21-acre private lake, hop on your bike to explore the nearby 22-mile Old Plank Road Trail.

NOTE: Unless estimated, the annual tax amounts provided are for 2023.