Homes within walking distance of Kirkland beach

KIRKLAND -- Located within walking distance of downtown Kirkland and Juanita Beach Park, Summer Grove is a community of three- to five-bedroom homes. Residents celebrate the warmer summer months in backyards landscaped with water features, fire pits or garden beds.

The homes are located near everyday conveniences such as grocery stores, restaurants and services. The location was one of the first things that attracted new homeowner Emir Babic and his wife, Belma, to Summer Grove.

"It's a perfect location," he says. "We like to walk to downtown Kirkland -- it's a nice, safe 20-minute walk from our home. We are close to schools, the hospital and [my] work. And literally across the street is the grocery store. Pretty much everything you would need is nearby."

Summer Grove is located in the Lake Washington School District, and the Microsoft campus is a 9-mile, non-freeway commute away.

"Summer Grove is an amazing value; you're getting a Kirkland address at about $200,000 less than the average Kirkland home," says Kelly Nutt, the community's listing agent. "And the elementary school is one of the best in the area -- it scored 10 out of 10 stars on greatschools.org."

Summer Grove is built by CamWest, a Toll Brothers Company. Five homes are available for sale, three of which will be ready within the next few months. The other two are being sold presale, allowing buyers to work with a project manager to customize their spaces through the homebuilder's CamYes! program.

"We came out to the site to watch the construction progress on our home and took photos from the very beginning when they dug the foundation. We have photos of everything that was done," Babic says.

"CamWest catered to us -- they let us customize everything in the house. Our project manager would get back to us within hours of us asking a question about the home; he's really good and very patient. I don't know of any other builder that does this. I told him that if I ever bought a brand-new home again I would definitely go with CamWest because they made it super easy. It wasn't like, 'Here are your keys, see you later.' They worked with us every step of the way."

Summer Grove is a cul-de-sac neighborhood that includes a private park with seating and play equipment. Buyers can choose from seven home designs with varied architectural styles. Interiors feature five-piece master baths with soaking tubs, Craftsman-inspired woodwork throughout the spaces, 9-foot ceilings on the main level, built-in art and furniture niches, and stainless steel kitchen appliance packages, including gas cooktops.

The homes include one of three fully-fenced backyard landscaping packages. Backyards are landscaped with drought-resistant plantings, and front yards are maintained by the homeowners' association.

Toll Brothers is among the nation's leading builders of luxury homes. Its recent purchase of CamWest Development, LLC -- which has been building homes locally for more than 20 years -- expands the company's reach to the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1967, Toll Brothers is now building homes in 20 states.

Toll Brothers was rated No. 1 in 2011 and 2010 for Financial Soundness, Long-Term Investment and Quality of Products/Services in the homebuilding category of Fortune magazine's annual World's Most Admired Companies survey.

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