Hot Property: Home in the woods is an architect’s dream
If you’ve always wanted a place in the woods, there’s a large home on the market that might fit the bill. And it’s right in the middle of the city.
The rustic contemporary home, listed for $1.4 million, is on 10-plus acres in Washington Township at 1311 Fox Hill Drive. Hidden from the street, the house is accessed via a long, narrow drive a quarter mile into the woods.
It’s set almost in the middle of the property, which extends south to 59th Street. A new owner could choose to add an access point there and develop extra lots, said Helen Carroll, with United Real Estate.
Current owners Dr. Frank and B.J. Green downsized after raising three children in the 8,000-square-foot home, built in 1990.
“It’s a hard place to give up,” B.J. Green said. “There is nothing in Marion County that is this secluded.”
When her children were little, they enjoyed building forts in the woods, curling up in window seats or other secret spots with a book, even launching a music career in the playroom above the three-car garage.
Daughter Meghan Webster, now an architect in Chicago, describes the five-bedroom house and wooded property as a cross between a “luxury lodge getaway and the familiar comfort of sleepaway camp.”
Despite the acreage of trees, the home is bathed in light. Large windows frame expansive views of the property, while interior windows connect spaces inside the house. Skylights brighten other rooms.
“The outside is part of the inside,” Green said, noting there are no window treatments to separate the two. “You have to consider the colors outside when decorating inside.”
The Y-shaped layout separates the house’s more public areas from the bedroom wing, and the living area, kitchen and dining room are open, which makes it a great house for entertaining, Carroll said.
It’s also a great house for a swim party. A 70-foot indoor pool offers year-round recreation, and a large deck and grassy area off the pool expand the entertainment area. The owners staged many a theatrical production on the deck, Carroll said. There’s even a balcony above for better views.
In contrast to the open spaces, the house offers quiet hideaways — the loft above the second-floor study connected by a circular staircase, the playroom at the end of the bedroom wing, the third-floor au pair suite and the music room off the main entry.
Call Star reporter Maureen Gilmer at (317) 444-6879. Follow her on Twitter: @MaureenCGilmer.
About the home
• Location: 1311 Fox Hill Drive.
• Details: Five bedrooms, five baths, indoor pool, two offices, playroom, au pair suite, library, fireplace, three-car garage, 8,262 square feet, 10.78 acres.
• List price: $1.4 million.
• MLS: 21354932.
• Contact: Helen Carroll, United Real Estate, (317) 250-0078, hcarroll@mibor.net.