If the referendum for the building of a new high school is approved there are four potential new plans available on their website . School district 204 serves a large portion of Naperville, DuPage County Aurora and small sections of Bolingbrook and Plainfield. An award winning district, Indian Prairie is highly regarded both locally and nationally.
The subdivision where my family and I live is destined to be in the new school in all four of the plans.
How does my family feel about that? We’re kind of excited because it will mean that we’ve had one of our boys graduate from each of the three high schools. That should make for some interesting rivalries in the house. Truth is, we have been delighted by both of the current High Schools schools and the district in general.
Some History: The Butterfield Subdivision
Saturday, June 19th, 2010Butterfield in Aurora is a collection of neighborhoods.
We lived here from 1988 to 1994 and have sold upwards of 250 properties in this development. Among the many things that people like about this neighborhood are: easy access to I88 (even easier with the new ramps on Bilter/Ferry) being north of the expressway eases congestion, terrific district 204 schools and the Illinois Prairie Path which runs along the western edge of the neighborhood.
Originally started in 1977 when the Levy Corporation (known for developing 1 Mag Mile, the restaurants Spiaggia & Bistro 110 and their quality food service to public venues) formed the development group called DuPage Property Ventures and started developing the area. At one point in time the Chicago Bears had an option on some of the commercial land for a potential Stadium. The commercial section of the area starts west of Eola and extends in places to RT59.
The first builder in the neighborhood was Jim Joyce. He had two distinct collections of homes, unfortunately he was a victim of the extremely high interest rates of the early 1980′s.
The Cavalcade of Homes was hosted along Blue Spruce and Pine Tree Court in 1983. Cambridge, Pulte, Sundance, Keim, Bigelow and United Development all built homes to show off to the masses. Ironically, it would be four of those companies who, in later years, would complete the neighborhood.
Pulte took over the southern portion of the neighborhood (White Barn to Big Woods) in 1983/84 and it was renamed “Bristol Woods at Butterfield”. They also built ”Country Oaks at Butterfield” The very well run townhome development.
It was in the mid 80′s that the park became an issue. the sign “future school and park site” was looking a bit bedraggled. District 204 had repeatedly said the site was too small for a school and the township line runs right down the middle of the field.. meaning that two park districts were responsible. Fortunately for the residents, the two taxing bodies worked things out and the terrific Fox Valley Park District took over., developing a wonderful park for the neighbors to enjoy
Bigelow was known for their super energy efficient design in upscale luxury homes. In 1985 Perry Bigelow decided to transfer those skills to a more affordable home. They built a large section of the north end (Southlight at Butterfield) of the subdivision as well as townhomes (Cinnamon Glen at Butterfield) Known for their homes without furnaces, Bigelow built with 2X6 exterior walls (more insulation) and used the Apollo Hydroheat system which uses the already heated water from the hot water heater to help heat the home.
On a blind drive out from Chicago my wife Lisa and I followed the billboards to the Bigelow homes and loved them. We decided to eat something (at Triffany’s, now known as Omni) and talk, it was while we were on our way back that Lisa and I discovered United Developments “Sycamore Woods at Butterfield” and fell in love with the house we purchased on Ptarmigan Court. United Development sold over 90 homes in the area, we always wished that we had gotten one of the lots backing to the Big Woods Forest Preserve. We loved that house and our neighbors.
In the early 90′s Bigelow ran out of gas, they had 6 lots left for single family homes and they had lost interest in this type of development, it was distracting them from building their new concept “Hometown” developments (Aurora, Oswego & Romeoville) They hired me to sell the lots.
The six lots were all on Blue Spruce and Evergreen, great streets and locations. A small custom home builder by the name of John Mclaughlin bought all six. I sold four of them to folks from the area. When Bilter Road was relocated that left space for another townhouse cul de sac (Preston Court) and Bigelow came back to finish up the townhomes, they sold a few at auction to get things going, but that was ill advised as we were able to sell all we had in a normal manner through the MLS. The market had changed.
Things settled down after that. There were disputes about setting up special service areas for taxes for the maintenance of the parkway and entrances. The neighbors rallied, meetings were held and the neighbors won that battle. It was Democracy at its finest.
Cambridge Homes had to assume that burden when they bought the remaining land. Cambridge bult condos, townhomes and single family homes. They did it quickly and successfully. Perhaps this is why, after the brutal market of the last few years, they are still in business.
Below, I am including the neighborhood of Ginger Woods because it enjoys many of the same benefits of location, even though it is not “technically” part of Butterfield. These are upscale custom homes built by Traditions and Sterling Builders, well regarded local builders with an eye for detail. Some of the neighborhood attends Naperville/Aurora District 204 but at the county line Ginger Woods changes school districts with some of the children attending the highly regarded Batavia Schools.
Showing properties 1 - 5 of 54. See more The Butterfield Subdivision.
(all data current as of 9/10/2010)
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
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Tags: Aurora Statistics, District 204