The Village Beginnings

Did you know that Birkdale Village was an Equine Farm? I had heard dairy but the developers website actually says equine farm. It's also amazing when we meet a local who tells of riding their bikes as kids up Sam Furr to the intersection of Hwy 21. At that time there was no highway entrance or exit and both 73 and 21 were just two lane roads. What is equally amazing is how few locals we meet in our travels around the area. That's part of what we like about this place. Almost everyone here is new and that makes everyone so much more willing to reach out and engage their neighbors in line at Starbucks, the Bagel Bin, or anywhere really for that matter.

While designing Birkdale the developers took extra care to ensure minimal conflict between the various uses. For example, the street lights are lower to the ground than typical street lamps and have lower watt bulbs so that the apartments above are not bothered by the light. However, to ensure that the retail had enough light and that pedestrians felt safe they added many more street lights than normal as well.

Did you know that Birkdale village has 15,500 parking spaces. Yes, that's fifteen thousand! I find this hard to believe because there just doesn't seem to be that many spaces. Especially so on nice summer nights when you see cars waiting in line for parking spaces - thankfully, we live in the Greens at Birkdale and don't have to worry about parking.

Did you know that Birkdale Village was patterned on a Nantucket village, which has two to three story buildings with offices/residences above first floor shops. Of course, Birkdale's buildings are much larger than a typical village building.

Here is an except about the humble beginnings:

"In Northern Mecklenburg County, just North of Charlotte, suburban developments and golf course communities are quickly replacing what was once farmland. As the population continues to grow, residents have expressed concern that the area lacks a sense of place and community. Pappas Properties, LLC, and Crossland, Inc. kept this concern in mind when they developed Birkdale Village, a mixed-use, village style town center. The center combines 233,000 square feet (21,646 square meters) of street-level retail and 54,000 feet (4,924-square-meter) movie theater surrounding a town green where residents and visitors gather for community events."

Ramsey Creek Dog Park

Is Fido driving you nuts? Does he need attention and wants to play? Then the Dog Park is for you. The Dog park extracts all that excess energy and leaves our dog content to sleep. Watch out though. The dog park is addictive. Once we started going our dog was so much better behaved that when it was raining or we couldn't go it was amazing how bad we felt for him.

Ok, so this is not exactly in Birkdale Village. But since so many people here have dogs we feel we must tell everyone about this great place.

It is a 4 Acre off leash place for your dog(s) to run free. Our dog absolutely loves it as he leads other dogs on a great circular chase around the park or as he play boxes with other dogs his size. Its great for the people too. We have met so many wonderful people at the dog park. In fact, we tell family back home that since moving to Charlotte all of our friends come from the dog park or the gym. The best times to go are weekdays from 5 PM till dusk (later in the summer due to the heat) and Saturday mornings 9 to 11 AM. There are two sections. One for large dogs and one for small dogs but everyone just goes to the big section. The little dogs have a knack for taking care of themselves.

When you go for the first time, dog not walk in with your dog on the leash. So many new people try to protect their dogs by keeping them on the leash for the first time. This doesn't work out so well when 10 or more dogs come running to check out and say hello to their playmate! So many poor owners become entangled. It is both best and most appropriate to let your dog off the leash between the two entrance gates and trust that the dogs will sort out appropriate behavior on their own. Once accustomed to so many other dogs your dog will have a blast!

Check out the Dog Park Link and Application Form on the right side of this blog. A $35 Pooch Pass is required but this is good because all dogs must be vet certified and vaccinated to get a pass. This helps protect all dogs.

How To Get There:

1 – Take a left out of Birkdale Village at NC-73 W/Sam Furr Rd
2 – Turn right at W Catawba Ave
3 – Turn Left at Nantz Rd
4 – Follow the signs for Ramsey Creek Park. The Dog Park is on your left as you enter the Park.

Welcome!

Welcome, Happy Easter! We, my wife and I, are creating this blog to record our observations about life in Birkdale Village and the three towns North of Charlotte - Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville. We want to chronicle observations about life in the village, its real estate, its activities, and future developments around it. If you are thinking of moving to Charlotte then Birkdale Village is THE PLACE TO BE. It's the happening spot.
First, a little about us. We live in the village in one of the Saussy Burbank houses. We have lived here for a year and a half after living in Germany for five years. We chose to live in Birkdale Village for two reasons:
1 - She is German and Birkdale is the closest thing we could find to a Bavarian (European) style village. She's adjusted very well during her first year in the states!
2 - We did not want to support suburban sprawl and live in the typical suburban style sub-division.
Since moving here we have come to love the sense of community, its youthful feel, its sense of life, the live music in the summer, Lake Norman, the shops, the movies, and, especially, the future Robbins Park. If you haven't found these walking trails yet you are definitely missing out. We wouldn't recommend them now (in the spring/summer) because of snakes and other wildlife but in the winter, it is definitely a great sanctuary for walking and letting the dog(s) run free.
If you are thinking of moving to Charlotte, we highly recommend Birkdale Village. The community supports people in all of life's stages. There is something for everyone. Lake Norman parties, bars, movies, walking trails, family activities, ice cream, cafes, etc.
Well, enough for now. Please leave comments for things you would like us to cover. We look forward to hearing from you.