Monday, September 17, 2007

Biltmore Park

This post is in response to a comment from my first entry. Cathy, commented that Crossland is building 'Biltmore Park' near Asheville, NC. She had asked some questions about traffic and vadalism:
Cathy,
Birkdale is a great place to live. Seeing your neighbors at the gym, the cafe, the restaurant, or simply strolling the village provides a wonderful sense of community. Ironically, Birkdale has definitely increased local traffic outside the village, however, the traffic increase is significantly less than if Birkdale was a normal mall or shopping center. Since a few thousand people live within walking distance thats a few thousand less car trips required. I personally walk to the stores and even to the supermarket for quick items. As for the vandalism, I feel perfectly safe here. We do have lots of teenagers in the village on weekends but they would be present at any mall and they are not rowdy or disruptive as I have seen in other places. We do connect to two separate major thoroughfares but not many people cut through the residential section of the village. I don't think its very convienent to do so. Perhaps, the biggest complaint that people make about Birkdale is its lack of parking. On Friday and Saturday nights when the live music is playing there is usually a line of cars circling looking for a space. It doesn't concern me because we walk to the village but I do know that the tight weekend parking has deterred my coworkers from coming to Birkdale. In the end, I love living here. Other than uptown Charlotte there is no where else that I would like to live. For us, it is the perfect blend of suburban and urban lifestyles. It seems that many people agree with us because Birkdale houses are priced at a premium compared to the surroundng subdivisions. Also, the houses here have appreciated faster and seem to be holding their value better in this downturn. I hope that Biltmore Park does as well as Birkdale.