People flock to O’Fallon for its schools and amenities

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of articles looking at residential growth in O’Fallon.

People are flocking to the O’Fallon area for the benefits of small town living, according to new and longtime residents.

Prospective and current O’Fallon residents list quality of schools and living as the top incentives on why they are settling in O’Fallon.

“The great schools are what drew us in,” said C.J. Rogers, who just moved into the Reserves of Timber Ridge in O’Fallon about a month ago.

The couple moved into this new subdivision located off Simmons Road on June 14.

Developer and owner of Huntington Chase Homes Denny Blumberg, of O’Fallon, has been building in and around O’Fallon for decades, with The Reserves of Timber Ridge being his latest big project, which started construction in January.

“I have had so many clients come to me by referral who have friends with homes I’ve built them, and they want to jump on the band wagon and settle down here,” Blumberg said.

“Honestly, I don’t blame them. It’s beautiful in O’Fallon, and the city has so much to offer here. That’s why I live here, too,” he said.

Blumberg’s wife, Maureen, grew up in O’Fallon, so that’ s where they’ve called home for 30 years and counting.

Building in O’Fallon since 1993, Blumberg and his wife and three children continue to make O’Fallon their home, too for that very same reason.

“Maureen grew up here. Her father was a mail carrier in town, and her grandmother passed away in the same house she lived in for about 70 years, which is the majority of her 102 years in O’Fallon before passing,” Blumberg said. “We love it here, the schools and parks are great, and we are going to stay here, too. It’s not just where I work.”

Blumberg isn’t the only one who boasts about O’Fallon, even his clients who’ve only been living in town for about a month already attest to the same positive living experience.

“We love it here,” Rogers said.

The Rogers said that they have many friends who’ve also already moved in to the neighborhood, or plan to, as their homes are currently under construction.

“It’s quiet and more modern here,” said Eric Bruce, who moved into the Reserves of Timber Ridge last week.

Formerly of Belleville, Bruce said he also has friends who are under contract with Huntington Chase Homes to build a home in one of the neighboring cul-de-sacs in Timber Ridge because a recent shooting that occurred in a Belleville apartment complex was the last straw for them.

“They put their house on the market and should be residents here with us soon, their home should be done by November. The crime just keeps climbing in Belleville, and we all wanted something quieter and more safe,” Bruce said.

The Rogers’ and the Bruce’s are cycling enthusiasts who, along with a few others, founded a cycling team called ‘Black-Ops Racing.’

“We just raced in the annual O’Fallon Grand Prix race, and the racers were routed to ride just past our subdivision entrance. Our Timber Ridge sign hadn’t been erected, yet. So, we hung our racing banner. It was nice to pass by home,” Rogers said.

Rogers, who used to work on Scott Air Force Base (SAFB), now works in downtown St. Louis. He said O’Fallon was also a great option to be in closer proximity to work and family in the area.

Superior schools

According to the 2016 Bank of America (BOA) Home Buyer Insights Report, great school districts turn a house into a home.

More than 75 percent of parents say their child’s education is an important part of the search for a new home, and of that 53 percent will buy a new home in a specific neighborhood to get their child into a better school.

Timing is everything when moving with children. For example, the report shows more than 25 percent of parents plan to move to a new home during school breaks. O’Fallon School District 90 Superintendent Carrie Hruby agrees that waiting to relocate to a new town and school during a summer or winter break is beneficial in helping children adjust.

“We do see families settle over summer and winter breaks often, as they seem like a natural transition period. While parents may worry that a mid-school year move affects a child educationally or socially, most children are naturally very resilient. Generally speaking, children often have an easier time making new friends and adjusting to new settings than we do as adults,” Hruby said.

O’Fallon Community Development Director Ted Shekell said the construction of a new roundabout at Milburn School, Simmons and Fairwood Hills roads is expected to open no later than Aug. 5, to be ready for school to begin a few weeks later.

“People want to live here because it’s a great town, and the city accommodates new developments with infrastructure improvements. Our school system is the anchor, and the heartbeat of our neighborhoods in our town,” Shekell said.

Bruce said, he works on SAFB and his wife works in downtown St. Louis.

“It’s more modern here too, which we like, the city does a good job at keeping the streets and parks up to par, which we appreciate,” Bruce said.

O’Fallon is a very intelligent community with many professional people, Blumberg said.

“They look for quality, and want to be treated with respect. Of course, value is important, but the location of your home, the surrounding environment, conformity to the market, style of home, features are all important to them, and home owners want to sit and be involved in changing and designing their home, and we do that here,” Blumberg said.

Demand for high quality homes starting well above $300,000 is strong right now, especially with low interest rates being a big motivator, State Construction developer and owner Rich Gorazd said.

“As long as the demand keeps up we’ll keep building because O’Fallon is a great place to live,” Gorazd said.

“I’ve met so many people who’ve lived here at one point in their lives, and now they’ve come back. I strongly believe it’s because of the Midwest values and it’s a nice place to live. I’m happy here” he said.

Hruby said the superior quality of education in O’Fallon is one reason why her family relocated here last year from Chatham, Ill.

“When I was looking at where to live, I was looking for a strong community and good schools, and I believe O’Fallon was the perfect fit for me professionally, and also for my family. My husband, Scott, works in O’Fallon and was commuting here over an hour daily,” Hruby said. “Our five children, Will, Luke, Ben, Kate and Claire, were excited to move to O’Fallon as well.”

Hruby said of the five children, four attend District 90 schools in O’Fallon, and one of the boys will be a sophomore at O’Fallon Township High School this fall.

Interestingly enough superintendents are hearing feedback all the time from parents who say the schools were a big factor in moving to O’Fallon, Hruby said.

“But also even retired people who don’t have children at home anymore are also looking at the quality of school system’s too because of property values are closely tied to the good school systems,” Hruby said.

“Especially, too, because a good majority of prospective homebuyers are looking for the high quality education for their kids, so retirees know that they will have a better chance at selling faster if the schools are good,” Hruby said.

During her research before moving to the town she was going to be working in, Hruby said she found that District 90 schools had strong teachers and curriculum.

“I was very impressed by the quality of great teachers, and being here for a year now I see that first hand as a superintendent and as a mom,” Hruby said.

For instance, District 90 has a strong professional development focus and does a great job keeping the bar high for comprehension strategies when teaching students how to read, Hruby said.

“Technology is a focus, even at times when there are reductions in budgets due to (lagging) state funding — it’s a priority to give the students the tools they need to succeed,” Hruby said.

O’Fallon also keeps schools and family life a top priority, Hruby said.

“Having a strong school system while still having the best benefits of a small town feel, and the ability to travel to St. Louis, Mo. easily is important to a lot of people — it provides options for everyone,” Hruby said.

Thinking with the future in mind, 34 percent of parents believe close distance to the school is extremely important, and 22 percent say the ability for their children to walk to school is very important, the 2016 BOA report states.

“Neighborhood schools are often desirable for parents. A school is the heart of its community and, or neighborhood, and being able to live close to the school can help parents feel involved and active in it,” Hruby said.

Although Bruce and his wife, Angela, don’t have children, they still wanted to be in a family- friendly town like O’Fallon because that’s where a lot of their friends are settling down.

“We are just some of the first people to live here in The Reserves of Timber Ridge, and we are looking forward to more of our friends joining us and seeing what our neighborhood can become,” Bruce said.

Then, and now

O’Fallon plans to do a special census this year with a projected population of about 32,000. In 2014, that U.S. Census Bureau recorded 29,069.

Longtime residents of O’Fallon for about 45 years, David and Carol Petry said O’Fallon had 7,268 residents, when they first moved to O’Fallon in 1970.

“You can tell just how much has changed over the (decades) just by looking at the roads — it’s like you’re driving through St. Louis now,” David said. “Before, just after we were married, there were no houses or developments in north O’Fallon. It was all farm fields.”

Carol added, “Troy-Scott Road was just two lanes (all the way through), but now (closer to SAFB) they’ve expanded to four — it’s been grea19t watching all the change over time.” “Back in them days there weren’t even many stores around here, except for some downtown O’Fallon shops, and the Bank of O’Fallon, Thomas Hardware, and the Community Park was around too, and those older homes downtown, but nothing on the scale it is now — oh, there was a swimming pool and taverns too, but at that time that was about it,” David said and laughed.

Growing up on the outskirts of Belleville, which later was annexed by the Village of Shiloh, David said he’s been a fixture of the community since youth.

“I grew up here, and I’m gonna go out here...at our age nothing is indefinite, we are definitely staying here,” David said. Growing up in Cahokia, Carol said her and David have spent their married lives together in O’Fallon and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s served us well,” Carol said of O’Fallon.

Both their children attended O’Fallon schools and are now grown adults. Their son lives in O’Fallon and has three children, and the couple’s daughter lives in Maryville with one child.

“The schools here were excellent, and they still are,” David said. “It certainly wasn’t the taxes that kept us here — it was the school system, and family.”

Now the couple lives in Hearthstone Enclaves where they can be close to the grand kids, and enjoy life like swimming in the subdivision pool to cool off on Friday morning.

“We loved it then and we love it now,” Carol said.

This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 6:03 PM with the headline "People flock to O’Fallon for its schools and amenities."