Client Testimonial: Focus

The successful fusion of architecture, nature and community is a lofty goal for any residential real estate development. However, Chicago-based Focus has found a way to achieve that goal with recently-completed Kelmscott Park in Lake Forest. Kendall Lettinga, Focus’ Senior Vice President of Marketing & Administration, explains how Kelmscott Park became such a tight-knit community, filled with an appreciation for the outdoors and for each other.

What was the initial vision for Kelmscott Park, and how has the project come to fulfill that vision? 

Kelmscott Park was an amazing return to Lake Forest for us. When Tim Anderson, our founder, and CEO started Focus, his first project was across the street from Kelmscott Park. Tim felt like these 10 acres in east Lake Forest presented an astounding opportunity to create something special for the neighborhood. 

From the outset, the vision was to create a community with a strong architectural presence. Almost every element in Kelmscott Park drew inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement, which came to prominence in the mid-1800s and celebrated the connection between nature and the built environment. We began with the concept of structures growing out of the earth, which drove our approach to landscaping, greenspace and design. Even the name Kelmscott Park harkens back to the movement as a reference to Kelmscott Manor, the country home of the Arts and Crafts founder, William Morris.

You describe Kelmscott Park as “Grace and luxury in the heart of downtown Lake Forest.” Can you explain the process behind the location, architecture, and landscaping that makes these new homes and condos an oasis within this storied suburban downtown?

It’s interesting to note that the site was the former location of the city’s municipal services building. And as a result of the new development, we've transformed a once-industrial area into a welcoming residential community with a range of options from single-family homes to condos to apartments. And from the outset, we thought about placement, density, harmony, flow, and green space for all.

One of the wonderful things about Lake Forest is how deeply the community cares about upholding rigorous design standards. As a result, the design and build approval process was extensive. We had many meetings with the planning and zoning committees, and the city had a very extensive design review process. We chose to work with Larry Booth of Booth Hanson on the project, given his great experience in residential architecture, and his design was beyond inspiring. He was able to bring a fresh interpretation of Arts and Crafts vernacular to Kelmscott Park, including lovely gabled roofs, which integrate beautifully with historical structures in Lake Forest that are still prominent today, and allow our architecture to speak to the other buildings in the town.

Looking back, were there any trends or insights your team discovered during the sales process?

There were several things, right off of the bat, that we observed. First, I would say that every one of our buyers has some sort of connection to Lake Forest. I would also say that the majority of our buyers have a home somewhere else. Another common theme we observed — throughout the pandemic — was buyers’ desire for light, space and  access to nature, which they were delighted to find at Kelmscott Park!

What challenges did you face when bringing Kelmscott Park to market?

Because of the uniqueness of the community we were building in Lake Forest, @properties Development Group (@DG) helped us understand the importance of having models that people could tour, since they recognize that today’s buyers are less inclined to make life changes without personally experiencing the product. That was a real game-changer for the project, and our sales pace accelerated as soon as we had residences that people could touch and see in real-time. 

@DG was also instrumental in helping us make refinements to some of the unit layouts, as they gathered insights from both early buyers and brokers. As a result, we reconfigured two tiers of units to offer floor plans to appeal to segments of the market we hadn’t yet attracted. We introduced a floor plan of 2,000 square feet — a size we didn't have — filling a gap we felt was missing from existing units. This modification also enabled us to convert a neighboring unit from 2 bedrooms to 2 bedrooms and a den, which was an opportunity we jumped on right away. 

What other ways did @properties Development Group and Focus work together to navigate the sales program? Can you give us examples of events and experiences you co-curated to drive awareness and sales?

In general, the @properties Development Group team had strong broker relationships, and leveraging these relationships was instrumental in drawing interest to Kelmscott Park. 

And since we started working with the @DG team from the project’s inception, we were able to pick their brains early and often, which was great. They helped conceive and plan two community-wide events that were incredibly helpful to our sales. One was a summer festival event where we had food trucks, bouncy houses and fun for the whole family. The other was a more intimate evening event with appetizers, cocktails and a local band that played on the grounds. Both of these were remarkably successful and created a ton of velocity for us. 

We’re just really proud of the community and what it has brought to Lake Forest. When you think about this piece of property that had been vacant and used as an industrial space to now being filled with such thoughtful architecture, design, and landscaping, I think it has made a difference for the larger community. Focus is all about building value and enhancing community, and that’s exactly what we’ve done at Kelmscott Park. 

To learn more about Kelmscott Park, check out their website.