The Smart Home Technology Included in Every Community
A plain-English guide to what these homes actually come with — and what it means for your daily life and utility bills.
The Difference Between Truly Smart and Just Connected
Most homes get called "smart" because they came with a Nest thermostat and a video doorbell. That's connected, not smart. What makes a home genuinely smart is infrastructure — what's run in the walls during construction that makes every future upgrade easier, cheaper, and cleaner than a retrofit. The communities covered on this site are built from the ground up with that infrastructure in place. Here's what that actually looks like.
Whole-Home Automation
Every home ships with a pre-configured smart home hub that integrates lighting, climate, security, and entertainment. Google Home and Amazon Alexa both work natively. The difference from a typical smart home setup is that everything is on one system rather than half a dozen competing apps from different vendors. You set a "leaving home" scene and the lights shut off, the thermostat adjusts, the door locks, and the security system arms — all from one button or one voice command.
Estimated 15–20% reduction in energy costs through automated scheduling and presence-based control.
Smart Climate Control
Not a standard programmable thermostat — an AI-learning system that tracks when you're home and when you're not, what temperatures you prefer at different times of day, and adjusts automatically over the first few weeks. Room-by-room sensors (included, already installed) let the system identify which rooms are occupied and heat or cool only where needed. Average savings in Chicago's climate are meaningful — the swing from summer to winter here is dramatic, and smart HVAC management reflects that.
Average 23% savings on heating and cooling compared to standard programmable thermostats in Chicago-area testing.
Solar-Ready Infrastructure
The roof structure, electrical panel, and conduit runs are all sized and positioned for solar panel installation. This means adding solar later costs roughly 40% less than a true retrofit because the hard infrastructure work is already done. Some communities (notably Lakefront Reserve) include solar panels as a standard feature. In others, it's the infrastructure that's standard and panels are an upgrade option. Either way, the home is designed to be solar-compatible from the first nail.
Solar installation on a pre-wired home in Chicago typically costs $8,000–$14,000 less than a full retrofit on comparable square footage.
Smart Security Suite
Video doorbell, smart deadbolt, window and door sensors, and integration with professional monitoring services are all wired during construction. No visible hardware mounted after the fact, no battery-powered sensors with 6-month replacement cycles, no contractor visits. The security infrastructure is part of the building — which means cleaner aesthetics and better reliability than anything you'd add after move-in. Remote lock/unlock, delivery notifications, and visitor video access are all accessible from the same home automation app.
Professionally installed equivalent would cost $4,000–$7,000 post-construction; it's included in your purchase price.
EV Charging Stations
A dedicated 240V circuit — capable of delivering 40 amps to a Level 2 charger — is installed in every attached garage and in the majority of parking deck spaces. Most electric vehicles gain 25–30 miles of range per hour on Level 2 charging, which means a full overnight charge is realistic for any current-production EV. The infrastructure is also pre-sized for future Level 3 upgrades if that technology becomes residential-practical. For buyers considering an EV purchase, this eliminates the need for a $1,200–$2,500 charger installation post-move.
EV home charging costs roughly $0.04 per mile in Chicago vs. $0.11–$0.14 at public DC fast chargers. Over 12,000 miles annually, that's $840–$1,200 in savings per year.
Gigabit Fiber + Mesh WiFi
Dedicated gigabit fiber runs to every unit — not shared building bandwidth, actual dedicated connections. A whole-home mesh WiFi system (already installed, access points in every room including the garage and outdoor spaces) means signal everywhere without visible hardware or cable runs after move-in. For remote workers and families with multiple streaming devices, this is the piece of home infrastructure that most resale inventory gets wrong. Chicago's major neighborhoods are well-covered for fiber, and these buildings have direct ISP agreements to guarantee the speed.
Building-negotiated ISP rates are typically 20–35% below standard residential pricing for equivalent speeds.
Connected LED Lighting
Every light fixture throughout the home uses smart LED bulbs on the Lutron Caséta or equivalent system — dimmable, color-temperature adjustable (warm white at night, daylight during the day), and fully integrated with the home automation hub. No "smart bulb" retrofitting, no partial-room coverage, no mixing systems. You can set sunrise simulation in the bedroom, automatic outdoor lighting based on sunset time, and different lighting "scenes" for different activities. The elimination of smart bulb retrofitting alone is worth noting — a proper whole-home smart bulb setup runs $800–$1,500 if done post-construction.
LED smart lighting uses 70–80% less electricity than comparable incandescent fixtures.
Battery Backup Ready
The electrical infrastructure in every home is pre-sized and configured for whole-home battery storage systems — Tesla Powerwall and comparable units connect without modification. Critical circuit separation (which determines what stays on during an outage) is already done in the electrical panel. Chicago's grid is generally reliable, but the combination of increasingly extreme weather and the shift toward all-electric homes makes battery backup a meaningful consideration. Homes with this infrastructure already in place have a 1–2 day installation timeline for battery addition vs. 3–5 days for a full retrofit.
Battery backup eliminates the need for a whole-home generator, typically $8,000–$18,000 installed, while providing cleaner and quieter backup power.
Want the Full Smart Home Spec Sheet?
We'll send the technical spec documents for any community you're interested in.