Holly Springs: A real life Sim City Experience

Up until now, these blogs have been predominantly about Cary, but Cary is not the only popular suburb of Raleigh.  There is Apex, Morrisville, Wake Forest, Garner….and Holly Springs where my husband and I just bought our new home - we got an amazing deal: 3169 Square Ft of dream house for only $215,000

As a Realtor® I am fascinated with what makes real estate valuable, and since moving to NC I have also become interested in how towns/areas grow. On Long Island space is finite and growth is pretty much done, with the exception of the eastern most points.

 I used to love playing the Sim City computer game.  It gave the player a pretty good idea what had to happen to make a city successful, like the timely building of roads, electricity, sewers, housing, industry, schools, recreation, public transportation, etc. If you did a good job, your community ‘loved you’, if not, they would demand things: “your citizens demand a fire department”.  

 Living here is like watching that game come to life.  Little by little you can see towns like Holly Springs growing right before your eyes.

 You don’t have to travel far outside any of these towns to see what the countryside looked like around Raleigh before the “boom”.  Tiny 2 bedroom shacks, trailer homes, small farm ranches, many with the now decaying remnants of Tobacco Barns  (or drying sheds) as a reminder that much of this area was built on the Tobacco industry.

Now, as the area continues to attract more people and businesses,  the ‘Sim City’ model continues to expand towns to the south and west of Raleigh.  New roads are being built, including an ongoing major outer loop, NC-540 connecting the newly expanding suburbs with the city. New housing developments are being built continuously to keep up with the demand and replacing the little shacks with 4 bedroom dream homes.  With that comes the need for more schools. Since 2005 Wake county has added over 30 public schools to try to lessen overcrowding, and several more are in the works for the next 2 years alone.

And, just like in Sim City, the citizens demand cultural and Liesure facilities.  Holly Springs has met that challange beautifully with a gorgeous Library/Cultural Center and Theater, as well as with The W. E. Hunt Recreation Center with it's recent million dollar renovation which boasts

Fitness center

Elevated track that is 1/12 of a mile around

Gymnasium

Game room

Playground

Classrooms

Two multi-purpose spaces designed for aerobics

 

Holly Springs is scheduled for another one of my favorite necessities for a rapidly expanding area….the MAJOR shopping center.  Ground has been broken and leases entered into for the New Hill Place Shopping center which is expected to include bowling, movie theaters, major retailers and national restaurants, and is scheduled to open in less than 2 years. 

This means a couple of important things: MORE JOBS = positive economy which equals an increase property value for the new house we just purchased.  Win/Win

Come on down to Holly Springs! Get your property now while prices are still great, and watch the real Sim City play out!

Yeah, We've Got That!!

As a Yankee, I know we have this blind spot when it comes to ‘the south’….or anywhere else for that matter. We are convinced that no where else in the world has all that we have.  A New Yorker really does kind of see the world much like that great Saul Steinberg New Yorker Cover where everything in the world is rather insignificant from our New York perspective. It is a fault stemming from the belief that NYC is the center of the cultural universe and that everything else pales in comparison.

I am just as guilty of these Yankee prejudices.  The very idea of moving south of Ellis Island conjured up images of banjos, moonshine stills and a swampy wasteland void of modern conveniences...like strip malls. 

Though there are plenty of places here that hearken to the days of 'Green Acres':

There is much more here than the average Yankee might think.....


The lure of property taxes that were one tenth of Long Island's, and a significantly lower cost of living eventually got the better of me, and I pulled up 6 generations of family roots to search for a better life in what was being hailed as one of the BEST TOWNS IN AMERICA.

To my surprise and delight, I found Raleigh and it's surrounding suburbs are not only adequately up to date with current needs, but in many ways far above Long Island standards. Here is why:

Most of metropolitan NY/LI was built and populated on a finite area (being islands) in the early 20th century.  The buildings and infrastructure (roads, bridges, tunnels, electricity,schools etc.) were constructed 100 years ago and, despite attempts to fix them, are never going to be good as new.  The Raleigh area, however, has room to grow, and grow it does!  This means NEW roads, New neighborhoods, New schools, New shopping areas.  It is a modern and thriving area that makes NY look like the old world dinosaur that it is.


A pharmacy/bank/Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts on nearly every corner? Yeah, we've got that

Shopping centers with Home Depots, Staples, Pet Smarts, Targets, Walmarts, Home Goods, Old Navys, Toys R Us, Bed Bath and Beyond....Yeah we've got that.

Shopping Malls with Macy's, Pennys, Shoe stores, Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic, Coach, Brooks Brothers, Lacoste, Pottery Barn, Brookstone, William-Sanoma, Victoria's Secret.....Yeah, we've got that

Well known Restaurants like Ruth Chris Steakouse, Cheese Cake Factory, PF Chang, Panera, Applebees, Chillis, Carrabbas, Boston Market....not to mention southern chains like my personal favorite....Cracker Barrel....Yeah we've got that and more...better yet...most of them have outdoor eating areas that can be used pretty much YEAR ROUND because of the lovely weather!


Culture? Like The RBC center for world touring concerts, or the Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts where you can see Broadway productions as well as The North Carolina Symphony (who will be performing with Ben Folds in March) ,Carolina Ballet and the National Opera Company   or the North Carolina Museum of Art where we had the largest collection of Rembrandts for the past 6 months.....Yeah, we've got that.

So, my fellow Yanks....don't be afraid.... we've got it all.

Anyone for Tennis?

When you think of tennis, you might immediately think of NY.  After all, the US Open is played right there at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens. That relationship spawned numerous pro-training centers as well. John McEnroe had his own private facility just down the street from his family's estate in Oyster Bay Cove on Long Island.

I would have never thought a jaded New Yorker like myself could be blown away by some tennis facility in North Carolina.......

I was wrong...

Right here in Cary we have one of the finest year-round outdoor Tennis Parks in the country
boasting 29 Championship courts including a stadium tournament court,

as well as practice walls and 4 junior sized quick start courts for kids.

The facility, which is situated on a gorgeous park like setting surrounded by picturesque walkways and bridges, has been selected as one of only 2
Development Training Centers by the U S Tennis Association.



The town of Cary consistently exceeds at developing recreational "Quality of Life" areas, which is clearly yet another reason why so many people are drawn to the area.  People who desire an active lifestyle feel right at home on the walking trails, the designated bike roads, and at the Tennis Park where, even now in mid-November, the courts are......in full swing!

Parade of Homes...and amazing mansions

We New Yorkers, with our resident Rockafellers, Morgans, Vanderbuilts, Roosevelts and the historic homes on the 'Gold Coast' of Long Island, think we've cornered the market on mansions, but I have found many rivals here in North Carolina. Our most famous mansion is the spectacular Biltmore Estate in Ashville, but this year's Parade of homes boasts one development just 20 minutes outdise of Raleigh that has 15 executive mansions open for viewing, many of which are listed between $1 and $2 million.

The Parade of Homes is an annual event that pits the triangle area's new home builders against each other in a friendly compitition. They open up their very best model homes to the public for three weekends in October.  Some people go to buy, some to get decorating ideas and some...to see how the other half lives. To get information on all of the beautiful homes on tour folow this link: http://shopping.newsobserver.com/SS/Page.aspx?secid=108006

It is impossible to see all 200 houses that are entered in the parade (especially since Oct 14,15 & 16 are the final days) so in the interest of time I will tell you that in my opinion, this year the best of the best clearly resides in one particular new home community in Wake Forest.

From the moment you pull up to the security guard at the Hasentree golf community it's clear you've entered a world most of us can only dream of.  Then you pass a curious sign engraved with an Audubon International Signuiture Santuary Gold Certification, which means that the entire development was designed with environmental sustainability at the forefront. Then... there on your left, is the stunning Welcome Center/ Model Home.

The homes are built by TOLL BROTHERS who are kind of like the Rolls Royce of home builders. Their list of awards is endless including "World's Most Admired Home Builder of 2010" in Forbes Magazine. Once you step inside any Toll Brothers Model it is easy to see why.

The grandure and attention to detail, the professional decor and clever ideas are well worth the trip, and if you happen to be fortunate enough to be able to afford one of these gems, there are some great deals I can get for you.   If not, well at least you can feel like a Rockafeller for a day!!!                                                  

          

So, get the family together, fill up the car and head up to

Hasentree

7328 Hasentree Way

Wake Forest, NC

Come Meet Myrtle!

Sure, the east coast is always beautiful in the spring. Backyards are radiant with color, but the lacy pastel party wear of the apple, cherry & pear tress are quickly changed to their more formal green uniform for summer.

Here in the Carolinas we have one delightful hold out. The 'Crepe Myrtle', who wears her bright floral dress for most of the year. She may be dressed in lavender, white lace, fuschia, pale pink or red. No matter the color, she will turn your head every time.

                                                                                                                                                                                This "Flower of the South" can be seen beautifying the Raleigh area at every turn.

I was bowled over by their breathtaking bouquets when I first moved here, as I drove down Cary Parkway, where they decorate the median for more than 10 miles.   

They can be seen greeting you at the entrances to subdivisions, shopping areas, in front of fire houses, hospitals & schools.  They can be seen peaking over fences from professionally landscaped back yards.

You will find them shading moms and dads while they watch their children play at the many area parks. Everywhere you go, the Raleigh Triangle is decorated with their perennial splendor.

 A refreshing change from the browns and greens of the north eastern landscape,

 Myrtle welcomes you to the south!!

A Stellar Endorsement

If you work in the software business, an endorsement from Bill Gates might be your goal.  As a chef it might be a pat on the back from Emeril Lagasse.  When it comes to homes and living the good life, the ultimate endorsement would be from the ‘Goddess of home and garden’, Martha Stewart. 

                                                                                                       photo source: http://thepopfix.com

She might not be everyone’s cup of tea but, as a brand, she has gained respect for her nit-picky attention to detail and business savvy as much as her ability to bake cookies. It was that business savvy that led her to partner with a nationally known home builder KB Homes and find the perfect town to launch her first Martha Stewart neighborhood.

That perfect town was…Cary North Carolina.

The home designs are inspired by Stewart’s  own homes in New York, Connecticut and Maine. Stone work on some like homes in costal Maine, and some have cedar shingles like the beach houses in The Hamptons.


Photos: BJ Barratt



Models were wainscoted and accented with Stewart’s signature greens and creams, but they are not as grand as Stewart’s personal houses.  They are designed, sized and priced to appeal to the tide of middle and upper middle class North Easterners flooding into this area to escape high taxes, bad winters and traffic jams.

photo source: http://www.kbhome.com/martha/

...and to top it off, a beautiful community pool/clubhouse/tennis area was designed into the community.  Most communities here in the Raleigh area have pools... but this one is particularly nice:

photos: BJ Barratt

Once again that business savvy paid off. During its opening week in May 2006 Martha’s Twin Lakes subdivision sold out its first 100-home phase in Cary.  Now in it’s final phases, Twin lakes has just 11 home sites left to be built, however a constantly flowing market keeps several of the detached as well as the newly added townhomes on the resale market. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

This lovely home was recently on our weekly broker tour. It is one of those homes that should be listed as "COME SEE ME, I AM SO BEAUTIFUL INSIDE!" Most of these homes are quite modest on the outside, but open into a well laid out and beautifully detailed interior, like this: 

 



Bonus/loft with great built in computer worksspace

TMLS photos courtsey of listing agent, Pam Marshall - Fonville Morisey

 

So whether you want to live in the Martha Stewart community or, like Martha, you just want to find the perfect town to call your own - CARY North Carolina is the place for you!