This University Park Home on McFarlin Has Flexibility on Flex

It’s always interesting to jump into the proverbial time machine and look at a home’s history. Take our featured Dave Perry-Miller home at 3507 McFarlin Blvd. for example.

This 6,499-square-foot home was built in 1980 as a duplex, but the first owners converted it to a single-family detached home in 1986. As such, there are dual two-car garages, two primary suites, and multiple formals. The current owners bought it in 1999 and updated and remodeled it throughout. Walls were added and removed to make it a functional multigenerational family home.

Now, my crystal ball is fuzzy when it comes to what this home looked like before 1980, but going by the 1925 symmetrical Tudor next door, I’d venture the original home probably wasn’t far off a similar symmetrical style. Homes like this along McFarlin have long been desirable for their high vistas — as in Highland Park — and proximity to Southern Methodist University — as in University Park. Words are fun, right?

“The entertaining aspect of this home is amazing,” says listing agent Shelly Hammer of Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate.

There are lots of criteria that can make a home good for entertaining, but the one you probably don’t think of first is parking. I mentioned the dual two-car garages enclosed behind the gate, which also provides a few extra spaces but there’s also the circular drive out front. You know what else all that parking is good for? The aforementioned multigenerational family.

The second element of a good entertaining house is a great big kitchen. Checkmark in that column with this recently remodeled kitchen. The chef’s kitchen features stainless steel Wolf, Thermador, and Sub-Zero appliances, quartz Carrera countertops, and a whole wall of cabinet space.

The kitchen opens up to the massive living area and ample salon spaces made even cozier with fireplaces. I’m using the term salon to mean anything you want to make these dual formals — study, home office, comfortable tv room, or a mother-in-law sitting area. (Or is it just my mom that likes to sit in my formal living room by herself and gaze out onto the pool? Away from the fam and the tv and the xBox?)

“Actually, these corners are really quiet so they’d be perfect for a variety of uses and flexibility,” Hammer says. “That’s what’s great about this home — the space is just so flexible and various corners and rooms are very quiet. You won’t hear the downstairs from the upstairs, and vice versa.”

The two primary suites are located upstairs but never fear, there’s room for an elevator. Both suites have sitting areas (more sitting, Mom), vaulted ceilings, and newly remodeled bathrooms with dual sinks, dual shower heads, a jetted tub, and two large closets.

Two other bedrooms with separate baths and a library space complete the upstairs. The fifth bedroom and bath are located downstairs.

The landscaping is low-maintenance, too. There are two side yards, one that’s paved and the other that’s turfed for a dog run. But again, flexibility is the keyword for this home, so you’ve got a 0.19 acre lot to figure out what works best for you.

The home is zoned for Highland Park ISD with attendance to Armstrong Elementary, McCulloch Intermediate, and Highland Park MS and HS.

Hammer is hosting an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30 so you can go call dibs on your bedroom. Shelly Hammer has listed 3507 McFarlin Blvd. for $2.159 million.