A roller skating date between a boy from Kenosha and a girl from Winthrop Harbor almost 60 years ago eventually lead to the latest, up-scale condominium development in Pleasant Prairie.

Doug Stanich and his wife, Joan, are spearheading the building and development of The Cottages at Village Green in Pleasant Prairie.

The Stanichs run Douglas Kent Development, which is named for Doug’s first and middle names. The business is truly a family affair.

Doug and his son, Todd, handle matters related to development and construction. Joan and Todd’s wife, Jade, focus on design cues and creative touches. Michael and Debra Stanich, provide professional real estate services.

Doug and Joan married out of high school in 1961, and Doug bought his first home shortly thereafter. Even after a lifetime spent in real estate, including dozens of developments in southeastern Wisconsin, the Stanich’s passion for real estate has not slowed.

“What we did here was unique,” Doug Stanich said. “We came up with four different elevations, and my wife designed all the different colors and combinations.”

The exteriors of the condominiums can be viewed on the development’s web site – thecottagesatvillagegreen.com. Options range from Craftsman, French Country, Classical and Vintage styles. The interiors can be customized to whatever the buyer prefers.

The Cottages at Village Green is located at 47th Avenue and Main Street in Pleasant Prairie. More specific directions are available on the development’s website. The Cottages at Village Green consists of 72 condo units – 38 single units and 17 duplexes.

Doug Stanich said The Cottages at Village Green are surrounded by several other high-end developments. The Cottages at Village Green is bordered by the Village Green, Devonshire and Meadowdale Farms developments.

“Pleasant Prairie is an upscale community,” Doug Stanich said. “We’re getting an awful lot of people from Illinois coming across the border to live here for a variety of reasons. They’re looking for something unique.

“It was a perfect setting to be able to go in and build something with a higher value to it.”

Doug Stanich said the condos are appealing to those seeking something different, and added that a lot of single people are finding The Cottages at Village Green to their liking.

A bonus of life in The Cottages at Village Green is that exterior maintenance is covered by the association. Whether siding, roofing, painting or landscaping all maintenance is covered by the condo association, along with snow shoveling and plowing.

Even the name carries a significance that is a point of pride for Doug Stanich. The name of the development – The Cottages at Village Green – came to him from seemingly out of nowhere.

“One night it just dropped into my mind,” Doug Stanich said. “I told the architect, ‘We’re going to call it The Cottages at Village Green.’”

Doug Stanich’s rationale for the name is that people live closer together in the subdivision– there is not as much room between the buildings, and that is by design.

The Cottages at Village Green also feature sidewalks, and the units have front porches. All of the small touches added by the Stanichs go a long way to establish a sense of community.

“We want people to communicate with each other and move together again,” Doug Stanich said. “That was the idea behind it – the concept we were looking for.”

“I love what I do. I do it with a passion. We do it with excellence. I’m proud of what we do.”