McGrath Residence, Prestwick Country Club, Frankfort, Illinois
Owner: Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McGrath Architect: Robert Juris & Associates Architects, Ltd. Building Type: Single Family Residence Building Area: 2,475 S.F. (1st floor) + 1,932 SF (2nd floor) = 4,407 S.F. (total) Date of Completion: September 2005
This new single-family residence consisted of a two-story home with an attached three-car garage on a pie-shaped heavily wooded and sloped lot located in the Prestwick Country Club subdivision in Frankfort, IL. Prestwick Country Club Golf Course was built in 1957 and was designed by noted golf course architect Dick Nugent. The Prestwick Country Club subdivision was developed thereafter in 1964 by Arthur T. Macintosh as part of unincorporated Will County until incorporation and annexation by the Village of Frankfort, Illinois in 1990.
The subject property and development is sandwiched between the Old Plank Road Trail, which was the first plank road in the area and traveled in a straight line without regard for terrain, originally from Oswego, Illinois to Michigan. On the south side of the development is the Great Sauk Trail, which is an old Native American trail that followed the lay of the land; thus the crooked nature of the trail. We like to believe that this home was designed to fit into the existing sloped terrain with minimal disturbance of the existing grade, while preserving as many trees as possible, just like the Great Sauk Trail.
The Client selected man-made ledge stone veneer and cement board siding for the exterior walls Indiana limestone separating the stone and the siding. A variance was granted by the Village of Frankfort to allow less than full height stone veneer at the first floor because of the architectural design of the home. The interior floors of the home are primarily natural stone and were selected to avoid off-gassing of some man-made flooring materials.