The Danbury has arrived.

The fourth – and latest – new home plan in Gallagher & Henry’s revered Lifestyle Series, a collection of cutting-edge home plans built explicitly for contemporary living, the Danbury will be available for “sneak peek” viewings starting March 6 in Tinley Park’s Radcliffe Place community.

A four-bedroom, 2.5-bath home, the Danbury packs more than 2,600 square feet with the hallmarks of modern living: an open floor plan anchored by a chef’s kitchen that overlooks a spacious family room with nine-foot ceilings; a luxurious master suite featuring volume ceilings, separate shower and tub; the ease of second-floor laundry; ample storage with a mudroom, a full basement and walk-in closets; a three-car garage; and various flex spaces that allow homeowners the freedom to define areas to their precise needs.

“Keeping today’s homebuyers top of mind, the Danbury emphasizes luxury, convenience and flexibility,” Gallagher & Henry principal John Gallagher said.

While the Danbury model will be housed at Radcliffe Place, the new two-story home plan will be available for construction at any of Gallagher & Henry’s eight single-family home communities across the southwest suburbs. The Danbury will start at $392,300.

Over the last 60 years, Gallagher and Henry has developed more than 40 Chicagoland communities and constructed nearly 15,000 homes.

“That’s a lot of lives we’ve touched,” said John Gallagher, a principal with the family-owned construction firm his father, Bob Gallagher, and uncle, Dan Henry, started in 1954.

Motivated to build on that foundation, Gallagher and Henry stands poised for an energizing 2015.

This spring, the homebuilder will debut its latest Lifestyle Series home plan, the Danbury, in Tinley Park’s Radcliffe Place community, before opening the Calysta model in Homer Glen’s Kingston Hills community in the summer. Later in 2015, Gallagher and Henry will begin taking lot reservations at Farmingdale Village in Woodridge, the first phase of that established community’s next 107-lot development.

“We’re continuing to charge forward and excited about what the future has in store for us and, more importantly, our homebuyers,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher and Henry is currently offering new single-family homes in eight different southwest suburban communities as well as condominiums in Homer Glen in Woodridge. Single-family home prices start at $379,200, while condominiums begin at $189,900.

When local homebuilder Gallagher and Henry celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2014, John Gallagher embraced the opportunity to reflect on the family-owned construction firm his father, Bob Gallagher, and uncle, Dan Henry, started in 1954.

In business, Gallagher noted, longevity doesn’t come from leaders taking shortcuts or favoring short-term gains, but from earning trust, executing on promises and exceeding expectations time and time again. That, in a single sound bite, is the Gallagher and Henry story.

“I believe my father and uncle would be proud of where we are today,” said Gallagher, now a principal with the company based in west suburban Countryside. “We continue their legacy of helping people enjoy the American Dream and employing local tradesmen, stabilizing and supporting people and local communities by building homes that last.”

60 years in the Making

The Gallagher and Henry story begins on the city’s southwest side. There, in shadow of Midway Airport, Gallagher and Henry, a pair of blue-collar, Chicago-bred entrepreneurs, built their first brick homes, creating an enterprise built on trust, professionalism and quality.

From there, the partners traveled south and west, constructing residences in Midlothian and Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park and South Holland, and, more recently, villages such as Orland Park, Lemont, Tinley Park, Woodridge and Homer Glen. Over the last six decades, Gallagher and Henry has built nearly 15,000 local homes.

“It’s truly remarkable and, frankly, an honor to think about how many people, families and lives we’ve touched,” said Gallagher and Henry, Director of Operations, Linda Staszak, who began working with the homebuilding firm in June of 1972.

Throughout its 61 years, Gallagher and Henry has adhered to a simple, unshakable mission defined by its co-founders and still engrained in the company’s DNA: build the best homes in the best communities. Purchasing large tracts of land in both proven and up-and-coming villages with strong school systems and sound governance, Gallagher and Henry has provided homebuyers long-term value with strict quality control standards for everything from a home’s foundation to its front door.

“A lot of people say ‘They don’t make ‘em like they used to,’ but we do,” Gallagher said. “While we’ve certainly evolved with building codes and technology, our commitment to expert craftsmanship that will survive for generations remains the top priority.”

Looking into the Future

Today, a new generation of buyers, many raised in a Gallagher and Henry home themselves, is discovering the can-do attitude that has characterized Gallagher and Henry since 1954. The firm continues providing its homebuyers personal attention and evolving with an ever-changing real estate market, highlighted by the 2010 launch of the Lifestyle Series, a portfolio of home plans designed for contemporary living.

With the past serving as a sturdy foundation, Gallagher and Henry continues to capture new market opportunities.

Last year, Gallagher and Henry launched two new homes in its Lifestyle Series – the Calysta and the Danbury – and both will debut models in 2015. The Danbury will open in Tinley Park’s Radcliffe Place community this spring, while the Calysta model is slated to open this summer in Homer Glen’s Kingston Hills community.

Later in 2015, Gallagher and Henry will also begin taking lot reservations at Farmingdale Village in Woodridge, the first phase of that established community’s next 107-lot development.

“We’re continuing to charge forward and excited about what the future has in store for us and, more importantly, our homebuyers,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher and Henry is currently offering single-family homes in eight different southwest suburban communities as well as condo living at Goodings Grove in Homer Glen and Farmingdale Village in Woodridge. Single-family home prices start at $379,200, while condominiums begin at $189,900.

In today’s America, customization and choice are prized commodities, consumers largely rejecting one-size-fits-all offerings that ignore individuality or personal needs.
Gallagher & Henry, a family-owned and operated homebuilder in the Chicago area for 61 years, knows this well and has long relayed a simple company mantra to prospective homebuyers: “Although our homes are made of brick, our dimensions are not etched in stone.”

Unlike many other homebuilders offering a defined home plan with limited variations, Gallagher & Henry allows its homebuyers to make custom changes to any of the company’s 40-plus floor plans ranging from adding a sunroom, shifting the kitchen layout and creating related-living suites to extending walls, heightening ceilings and even installing an in-home elevator.

“Without that expensive custom home price or the investment of time and effort it takes to create plans from scratch, our homeowners can start with our foundation and then work side-by-side with us to get their home to where they want it,” Gallagher & Henry principal John Gallagher said.

Gallagher & Henry currently has eight new single-family home communities across the southwest suburbs with home prices starting at $379,200.

From restaurant meals to automobiles, today’s American society favors customization, not one-size-fits-all offerings that ignore individuality or personal needs.
And while the broader residential construction market has largely been slow to account for this swelling consumer trend, Gallagher & Henry, a family-owned and operated firm for 61 years, has long embraced home customization as a marketplace differentiator in the Chicagoland area. More than a decade ago, in fact, Gallagher & Henry ran a newspaper advertisement carrying a now-familiar message in the company vernacular: “Although our homes are made of brick, our dimensions are not etched in stone.”

Unlike many other homebuilders offering a defined home plan with limited variations, Gallagher & Henry has built its reputation on architectural professionals and quality craftsmen making custom changes to any of the company’s more than 40 floor plans.

“Our homebuyers are allowed to move a wall, add a wall or reconfigure a space as it fits their specific needs,” Gallagher & Henry principal John Gallagher said. “So without that expensive custom home price or the investment of time and effort it takes to create plans from scratch, our homeowners can start with our foundation and then work side-by-side with us to get their home to where they want it.”

In recent years, Gallagher & Henry has completed hundreds of customer requests ranging from modest, on-the-fly adjustments to more elaborate and intricate architectural changes, such as: adding a sunroom; extending a wall, heightening ceilings and widening doorways; increasing the number of windows and skylights; installing massive walk-in spa showers in lieu of tubs; restyling the kitchen cabinet layout; and creating related-living suites with private bathrooms and larger bedrooms. In one recent project, Gallagher & Henry even installed an elevator transporting the home’s residents and guests to a finished basement.

“We offer our homebuyers the ability to make the changes they want, which provides our clients a greater sense of pride in their home and gives them the personal touch they desire,” Gallagher & Henry sales manager Sandie Kanakes said.
Currently building eight new single-family home communities across seven southwest suburban towns – Homer Glen, Lemont, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Park, Tinley Park and Woodridge – Gallagher & Henry promises to have something for everyone and the construction know-how to complete even the most ambitious of tasks. Single-family home prices start at $379,200.

“In today’s real estate market, homebuyers want a homebuilder who will be responsive to their own concerns and desires and then execute that plan,” Gallagher said. “For decades, we’ve been doing just that, taking what our clients want and making it happen.”

For first-time homebuyers, the real estate landscape has never been more advantageous. Today’s 30-year mortgage rates sit near record lows of 3.75 percent; loosening underwriting requirements have granted greater access to capital; and an award-winning local homebuilder like Gallagher & Henry offers dozens of dynamic home plans in choice southwest suburban communities.

In villages such as Tinley Park, Woodridge, Homer Glen and Lemont, Gallagher & Henry brings a portfolio of more than 40 home plans to towns with an established record of forward-thinking leadership, providing homebuyers in-demand amenities, high-achieving schools and robust recreational options alongside expert craftsmanship that ensures a community’s architectural integrity and the homeowners’ long-term investment.

“Savvy homebuyers today are looking beyond the decorations to construction practices and village leadership because they see the bigger picture of their investment,” Gallagher & Henry principal John Gallagher said. “And when they consider those factors and look at Gallagher & Henry, they see significant advantages in a local homebuilder that’s been here 60 years and is poised to be around for another 60 years.”

For first-time homebuyers – and, in fact, so many others pursuing a home purchase in early 2015 – the real estate landscape has never been more advantageous.

As rental rates across the Chicago area rise at a double-digit clip according to many industry estimates, homeownership is becoming an increasingly attractive option for residents looking to ditch the pitfalls of leasing for their own stake of land.

“The American dream of home ownership is as alive and relevant today as it’s ever been,” said Mark Zdenovec of Stearns Homes Loans. “Owning a home not only provides people a space all their own, but also allows individuals to build equity that will pay off in the future.”

During the recession, interest rates declined amid global economic pressures and rates have since reached lows unseen in nearly 60 years. Just one decade ago, the market touted 30-year fixed mortgage rates hovering near 5.875 percent. Today, homebuyers are securing 30-year terms at a once-unthinkable rate of 3.75 percent. At those rates, Zdenovec said, today’s home buyers are paying $363 less per month on a $300,000, 30-year fixed mortgage than they would have in 2005.

“The fact of the matter is that it’s a lot cheaper to purchase in today’s marketplace than rent, and that’s even before you consider the tax write-offs,” Zdenovec said, adding that the continued easing of underwriting requirements has sparked a jump in mortgage applications and provided many potential homebuyers greater access to capital.

With those favorable financial elements on their side, numerous industry forecasts predict a strong influx of first-timer buyers heading into the market, many of them favoring the sparkle of a new home over the uncertainty of the resale market.

“With a new home, buyers can enjoy the advantages and peace of mind that comes with a new build, including a home built to today’s efficiency and safety standards as well as one constructed with entirely new products that won’t need to be replaced anytime soon,” said John Gallagher, principal of Gallagher & Henry Homes, a Countryside-based homebuilder that has been constructing new homes in the Chicago area since 1954.

With eight new home communities across Chicago’s southwest suburban landscape, Gallagher & Henry has emerged a compelling choice for prospective homebuyers, as the homebuilder combines premier southwest suburban locations with a 61-year track record of building high-quality homes.

“We build the best homes in the best communities has been our team’s longstanding mantra and we still live by that mission today,” Gallagher said.

In villages such as Tinley Park, Woodridge, Homer Glen and Lemont, Gallagher & Henry claims new home offerings in towns with an established record of forward-thinking leadership, offering homebuyers a dynamic mix of in-demand amenities, high-achieving schools, robust recreational options and convenient easy access to the greater Chicagoland community with nearby expressways and train stations.

And with more than 40 home plans to offer, led by its modern-themed Lifestyle Series, Gallagher & Henry pairs diverse home options with expert craftsmanship that ensures a community’s architectural integrity and its homeowners’ long-term investment.

“Savvy homebuyers today are looking beyond the decorations to construction practices and village leadership because they see the bigger picture of their investment,” Gallagher said. “And when they consider those factors and look at Gallagher & Henry, they see significant advantages in a local homebuilder that’s been here 60 years and is poised to be around for another 60 years.”

Though an undeniably favorable climate for prospective homebuyers, Gallagher cautioned that the rising costs of building materials and labor will eventually drive up new home prices in new home communities across Chicagoland.

“For now, many builders are absorbing these increased costs, but it can only last so long,” he said. “That’s why first-time buyers would be wise to jump into the market sooner rather than later.”