Is Tower Lakes for us? (Chicago, Mundelein: for sale, rentals, HOA)

[sealdog]

We will be moving back to IL from GA later this year. We previously lived in Gurnee for four years, so I am somewhat familiar with the northern IL suburbs. We are a WASP-y middle of the road, family of 4. One of our main concerns is the school system. I know that Barrington schools service Tower Lakes. Other than that, I don't know much. I never visited that far west when we lived there. Also would the commute to Mundelein be decent? Any insight/knowledge/advice about Tower Lakes would be appreciated.

[nanannie]

Tower Lakes is actually just neighborhoods built around Tower Lakes (duh) Divided by Roberts Rd,its nice,heavily wooded,winding, hilly, alot of families. They do not have any type of 'downtown'(ie walkable village shops other then a nearby strip mall) but you are close to Waucanda and Lake Zurich as well as Barrington Village.Yes they are in Barrington dist for schools. They have some family events on the lake during the year and it is 'usable' but dont expect to see your feet if you venture into the waters. Used more for leisure,non motor devices. Yes, you could commute to Mundelein, just down rt 59 to 176 would take you right there in about 15 minutes(minus traffic).

[GoCUBS1]

Good description Nanannie. I like Tower Lakes and know many nice families who live there. The lake is pretty and I know there are a lot of community events there (chili cook-off, boat races, iceskating, etc.) There is a small beach and I think volleyball and soccer fields. Tower Lakes also has a small police force to ensure its safety (though I think they spend most of their time catching speeders on Roberts Rd. - Beware drivers!). Also, the Barrington schools it feeds into (North Barrington) are good.

These are some things you may want to consider though:

1. This was originally built as a cottage lake community for Chicagoans and I'm not sure how well-built the original houses are (I know of a few that are literally falling apart). I think there is some newer construction in there though and many have done beautiful renovations. I'd also check if there are any flooding issues (I do know a family whose basement flooded).

2. This town will be affected by the recently approved increase in CNN Railroad traffic (do a Google search and you'll find tons of info on this). However, since you work up north in Mundelein it probably won't affect your commute. It will, however, affect the school commute as the Tower Lakes kids will have to travel south over heavily trafficked railroad tracks to get to both Middle Schools and the High School. It will also increase the commute south on Rt. 59 through downtown Barrington. And commuting south on Rt. 59 is already pretty bad during morning rush hour.

Perhaps it won't be as bad as I think as the train traffic is just starting to increase. What do you think Nanannie?

p.s. I, and others, have posted quite a bit about the Barrington 220 Schools so you may want to also do a search on that.

[middle-aged mom]

Tower Lakes is The Village of Tower Lakes, comprised of three homeowner's associations, Tower Lakes (proper) Fenview and Country Club Estates on the East side of Rt. 59.

It has it's own Police force and relies on Wauconda, for fire protection.

Tower Lakes belongs to the Barrington Area Council of Governments ( BACOG) which represents 7 local villages and 2 townships on issues of common concern and service sharing.

As GoCubs mentioned, the original homes were built as summer cottages and were winterized, over the years. These tend to be the most affordable homes within the area and many remain as year around rentals.

There is also a substantial amount of newer construction with newer being a relative term.....ala 1970's and beyond, including brand new construction.

Tower Lakes is quite a distance from the heart of Barrington, middle and high schools, sports, library, shopping and so on and Rt 59 becomes quite conjested in the morning and afternoon.

What was it about Tower Lakes that attracted you?

[LkZurichMom]

I agree with the comments about the quality of some of the older homes. Tower Lakes is also very crammed together as lakeside communities tend to be, though not as bad as some.

Personally, unless you really love small lakes, I'd avoid Tower Lakes. Some of the area south of Tower Lakes along Kelsey Rd is Barrington Schools, but you'll be getting more into the 59 traffic as you move south. The Biltmore area is nice, but few roads means more traffic thru the little area and there's traffic from the country club. Not sure if that's the best choice if you have small kids.

West of Tower Lakes is Port Barrington, which is Wauconda Schools. You'll want to avoid Port Barrington, the name is for realtor marketing purposes, much of it is low rent floodplain type river community, though I don't think it floods much anymore. They've also had well contamination issues in the past.

East of Tower Lakes, near Timber Lake, almost to Rand Rd is North Barrington and some unincorporated areas that use Barrington Schools. About half of the houses around Timberlake are in Wauconda School Dist, so be careful to look for Dist 220 Barrington.

Personally, I'd look in the nearby unincorporated area between Rand and 59. The lots are bigger. If you like HOAs, Timber Lake has one. And there are a few properties for sale in that area outside the HOA (no dues or rules). That area would give you easy access to Rt 176, Rand Rd and Old McHenry Rd to go into Mundelein. Though it's only a few minutes more to Tower Lakes.

[brschoppe]

I have family that live in Tower Lakes and considered the area with our recent home purchase. Like many have stated before, the house are older so you many not see many of the ammendities that you see in modern house such as large rooms, large baths, etc.

With that said it is a very nice and quiet community. The police patrol the area really well and closely. Unfortunately, that means you really need to watch your speed...especially on Roberts road. The police stopped by my family's house one night we were there because they noticed suspecious activity (it just turned out to be a group of teenage girls).

My wife enjoys visiting her family there at the Tower Lakes beach. It is nothing special, but nice for a picnic.

My biggest gripe about Tower Lakes is the mosquitos. They are everywhere and bad during the summer. I noticed that it was much more of a problem in Tower Lakes than other areas around Barrington.

I would recommend Lake Zurich, but the houses seemed overpriced last year when we looked. It was hard to find something decent under $400k. Also, I have read in the newspaper that the school is having a really bad fiancial problems and many programs have been cut.

We ended up moving to Wauconda. We could get more house for our money. And we actually got a brand new house with twice the space from what we were seeing in Tower Lakes. Just make sure if you look at Wauconda, find a house in the Fremont School district. There are many nice houses in Hawthorn Woods too.

[Chicago-Eman]

Lake Barrington is very nice too, lived there for my last three years of high school. If you like the area Tower Lakes is nice, but like LkZurichMom stated a drive down Kelsey Rd and you can find more housing and you get closer to Northwest Highway (Rt 14) which is an easy drive to the high school if you have older kids.