Found New Off-Leash Walking Trails

Have you ever wandered down Birkdale Commons Parkway away from the village. In case you haven't it has two side walks, a bike lane, and it is a wide street. At the end of the street is the Glens at Birkdale. If you keep walking through that 55+ community, you'll wind up on Babe Stillwell Road (thnk Charlotte's web). If you take a left, Babe Stillwell curves around a corner before dead ending into the McDowell Creek Water Treatment Plant. The Creek sits on a bout 1000 acres that I believe are preserved from development. Off to the left and right are trails that anyone can walk down into fields and the woods.
These trails are a great area for our dog to run around in. As the weather gets cooler and the ticks and snakes go into hibernation, we love to get outdoors. Our dog loves it too.
To and from the village this walk is about 3 miles and usually takes us about an hour because we walk slowly along the trails off Babe Stillwell.
I'll have to take some pictures to add to this post.

Charlotte's Housing Slow Down

As we walk the neighborhood we can't help but notice that it is taking longer for houses to sell in Charlotte. The Charlotte Observer reported that Home Sales have drop significantly and that new housing starts have declined by one third year over year. At the same time the average house price rose 7% in the past quarter. My thoughts on the housing slow down are that I am glad I bought in Birkdale. Although houses seem to be taking longer to sell here they are at least selling. One house on our street Sold By Owner within three weeks of posting the sign. Two other houses also sold on the street. Speaking with recent and prospective buyers it seems that the slow down here is because people elsewhere (NY and California) can't sell their houses there to actually move here.
It seems that things outside of Uptown, the Lake, and Birkdale village aren't looking so good. Many of the run of the mill sub-divisions (the ones without a built in attraction) are battling foreclosures and acres upon acres of new houses. Moss Creek is a new sub-division along NC 73 and down the road (about 7 miles) from Birkdale that is being hit hard. As the sub-division is still being built the builder has offered significant enticements to new buyers. That has hurt the resellers already on the market so they have been forced to lower prices. Now, who wants to buy in a sub-division where current owners are losing money on a house they recently bought. We just had two friends who lost their $5000 deposit in Moss Creek after they pulled out of the pre-construction contract. They figured that it was cheaper to loss the $5000 up front that it would be to ride out the market where recently purchased homes are down about $15,000. In a sense, Charlotte has so much vacant forest and farm land that the new home potential is what has held down prices here and is what will also hurt existing home owners as the market declines.
Of course, the decrease in new home permits tied with the fact that Charlotte is still one of the top "move to" destinations in the country may mean that existing home owners could come out ok. Also, what all this means for Birkdale is that it seems the consensus among new home buyers (or maybe it is the hope of existing home owners) is that Birkdale Village is a safer bet that the surrounding sub-divisions because Birkdale itself is an attraction. Prices may not rise as fast as they have in the past but at least homes will continue to move as they have been all summer.

Brixx's Beer Special

So we sat outside at Brixx last night with a group of friends and enjoyed Brixx's Saturday night $2.50 beer special. It was a German Lager that I can't remember the name of. Every Saturday night Brixx has a different beer special. Its a great deal and considering that their list of about 30 import beers are all great it is a fantastic way to try out new beers. I also had a vegetarian pizza that was great as well. I have two slices left which I think I'll enjoy once I'm done writing here.
Birkdale's live music band was great last night too. They played a good mix of 80s rock. We really enjoyed the live music and wound up sitting outside until about 11pm. The live music ends at 9:30 PM which seems a little early but I guess that since people live right above the shops it makes sense not to keep them up all night. What we were amazed by is how little of the music we were able to hear as we walked towards the main strip. We figure that since the speakers are pointer towards Sam Furr that the houses behind the village don't get much of the music.
What was nice about last night is that we didn't get to Brixx until about 8:30 PM. Since it was so cool out Birkdale was lively but not packed so we got an outside table right away. Even cooler, is that Brixx has these outdoor gas heaters that throw heat down on the tables so even though it was a little cool out we were quite comfortable. I'm thinking of getting one of these Resnor heaters for my back deck. I wonder how much they run and how hard it is to tap in to the existing gas line?

Birkdale Village Live Music

Does anyone know when the music starts in Birkdale Village? Last year I thought it started the last weekend of April and went through the last weekend of October. What's strange is that we haven't seen any advertisements or fliers for the music yet this year. I searched the web and all I come across are other blogs talking about enjoying the music at birkdale. The The Adventurers Club was interesting because it claims that Birkdale is a great place to have a Rock concert. I'm not sure if I quite agree but maybe it depends on the definition of Rock. Any way about it though the live music is great and is very popular. We really enjoyed sitting out listening to the music, drinking wine or beer, and people watching. Its amazing how lively the village is on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

The best show we experienced last year was actually right after a rain storm. The rain storm was about one hour before the music started and everyone fled. So we sat outside at Brixx and enjoyed their Saturday night beer specials ($2.50 a beer) while listening to the music without having to feel rushed because they didn't need to turn over the table.

Well, as soon as I find out the schedule I will post again and link to it.

Pool Opens May 12th!

Great news. The pool is opening on May 12th. We got our 'Birkdale Villager' newspaper today and the main feature seemed to be the pool opening. We're excited even though we didn't make it to the pool even once last summer. I guess we spent all our free time on the lake. This year will be different though. We intend to enjoy the pool and the sun.
Its great that the pool is opening early. Last year we wondered why the pool only opened from Memorial Day to Labor Day. It made no sense given the nice weather that Charlotte has at least from April through October. I guess that having the pool open only for summer vacation for schools makes some sense. But they could at least have the pool open say on just evenings and weekends. This year they seem to be doing that by having the pool opened only 3:30 to 7:30 on public school days. The article also says that we have to get a pool tag, which is required for entry. Last year's tags are still good to go.
Well, enough rambling. We're looking forward to the pool opening.

Ideas for the Empty Stores

Have you noticed that Pike's has gone out of business in Birkdale? As a group of us were sitting out at the wine bar tonight we were musing about what would be a good fit for that location. Someone also pointed out that the space on the corner behind the old Pike's is also vacant. So with two spaces to think about here is a listing of our ideas about what would be a good fit for these locations.

The Front Side Prime Corner Slot: We all agreed that this would probably do best as another Red Rocksy type restaurant. The new owners definitely need to make more use of the outdoor seating possibilities. Pike's did not use its prime location real estate well enough. That corner gets the most sun in Birkdale and only Brixx uses the outdoor seating. I also suggested that they could transform the street side windows into sliding ones that open up horizontally which will allow the indoor and outdoor spaces to flow together. It was also suggested that a restaurant call 'Restaurant X' from Davidson could move in. Restaurant X's Irish owners serve a great fare. We also came up with a BY style bakery/deli. I know that the bagel bin is great but it would be awesome to have that in Birkdale vice driving over to Northcross. Plus, the bakery could sell all sorts of other breads and really good meats.
As for the space behind the former Pike's, someone suggested a performing arts studio so that parents could drop their children off and enjoy the time in Birkdale. Perhaps, this could be the bakery location? How about a personal training studio? A massage/spa place? We all felt that since it was off the main street that it would be tough for a retailer or traditional restaurant to survive in that space. We also though that it was odd that the store front has been under construction continuously for at least the past year. Who knows, maybe they've had a succession of tenants drop off after they already started remodeling.
Well, whatever fills these voids we hope that they do well and offer us all some new service and yet another reason not to drive somewhere else when we don't have to.

A Time to Sit - Starbucks, Wine Bar, or Cafe Mia

This is my favorite time of the year for sitting outside. I especially love the mornings which are still crisp and slightly cool but which warm up slowly when the sun arises.
Morning. Here in Birkdale my favorite place to sit outside in the mornings is at the Starbucks. The coffee is ok but what I really enjoy is the people that Starbucks attracts. It is energizing to see so much life in one place and to see people starting their day on such a nice morning. Its amazing how many business meetings take place over a cup of Joe at Starbucks. What is also amazing is the number of people willing to brave the wind, dew, or just about any elements in order to sit outside. I myself prefer sunny days but this past Sunday I even saw a woman sitting out under the overhang during that slogging rain storm we experienced.

Noon. Although I haven't had too many noontime meals in the village we mostly prefer Brixx (Brick oven Pizza) or Red Rocks (Not sure how to classify this one) for their lunch time fare.

Evening. Choices here vary depending on what we seek. If sitting out to enjoy wine is our desire then the Wine Bar is the place to be although we often have to wait a bit for outside seating and then fight for chairs to boot. If we desire beer then I highly recommend Brixx with its various foreign beers. You can't beat the Sampler beer platter which lets you sample four exotic beers at a reasonable price. Or even better is its Saturday night $2.50 beer special. We've sat outside many a night in the summer at Brixx listening to the live music. Lastly, our favorite ice cream, coffee, and conversation stop is Cafe Mia. Marco and Mia, the owners, and, yes, he is Italian, and double, yes, the cafe is named after his wife, Mia, have a wonderful selection of Gelato Ice Cream. It truly is delicious. They also have great Italian coffee which is way better than Starbucks. (On a side note they recently started serving a breakfast and a lunch but we haven't checked it out just yet).

So those are our choices. Of course there are more that we like at Random times: Jason's Deli (Good place for a dog too to sit out with you), Galway Hooker, Eez, and lastly just the plain old benches in Birkdale are nice too.

Birkdale vs Northlake

I attended a BBQ this evening at our friends new house in Wesley heights just West of Charlotte. Most people at the party live north of Charlotte and we were discussing the relatively new Northlake Mall off Exit 18 on Hwy 77. The party was predominantly women (seems to be a Charlotte thing I'll have to write about in a future post). Most agreed that they were not particularly fond of the new Northlake Mall. However, they all expressed concern that since many of the same stores were at both Northlake and Birkdale that Birkdale would eventually suffer.

Thankfully, the Charlotte Observer reported the following:

With Northlake mall now six months old, it's showing no signs of harming its nearest major competition, Birkdale Village. Some retail observers thought the proximity of the open-air Birkdale to the Northlake traditional enclosed mall, along with the fact that several major stores are duplicated in both spots, might lead to a shakeout.
But there's plenty of demand to go around, experts say. "There's really not been any negative impact from the mall," said Darryl Cater, spokesman for Inland Real Estate Group of Companies Inc., Birkdale's ..."

I for one hope that Birkdale maintains its strong appeal. Northlake may not be much now but with both a Lowes and a Super target opening right across from the mall it might become more attractive in the future. I personally think that it is a shame that the city of Charlotte let them build Northlake like they did. At first the developer went to the town of Huntersville which turned the developer down. So Charlotte being the great neighbor that it is let the developer build the mall right on the city/town limits. Why isn't Northlake Mall a mixed use development itself. I mean that Hwy 77/Exit 18 is the epitome of poor planning and sprawl at its best. On one corner there is Harris Corners Parkway a commercial office complex. On two corners are currently or soon will be big box stores. And, lastly, there is the mall. I did the math assuming that 1500 people work in Harris corners they will have to make 180,000 car trips a year through the intersection just to get lunch. Why doesn't the mall have commercial buildings above it. Workers could walk down to the food court or shop in the mall, parking could be consolidated since workers work on weekdays and malls are crowded on weeknights and weekends, and land around the mall could have been preserved for walking trails or something.

Well, enough ranting about better possible land uses and back to the original thought of this post. Will Northlake threaten or compliment Birkdale? Is there room enough North of Charlotte for both and all of the other retail that is planned for the area? I personally think so - except maybe in the dead of winter. Let me know what you think.

While searching for information about the developments around Northlake I found this interesting Urban Planet website that describes how Northlake Mall came about and has many local reactions to its development.

Here's Northlake Under Development:

McDowell Creek Greenway

Birkdale will eventually be connected to the Mecklenburg Country Trailways system. McDowell Creek which runs right behind Birkdale is part of that plan. Above is the map of the Birkdale Village piece of the trail that will incorporate our current pond walkway and will run right behind the movie theater. Here is the link to Mecklenburg County's McDowell Creek Page and Map:

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Park+and+Rec/Greenways/Upper+McDowell+Creek.htm.

This section of the Greenway will initially run 1.5 miles from West Moreland Road to Sam Furr. It will connect Birkdale, Stratford Forest, the future Robbin's Park, and the Alexander Chase neighborhood. The design is largely complete and they should start construction this summer.

I wrote Jason Pauling, Mecklenburg County's Greenway Planner, to suggest that the trail might be better off running beside the village along the gas line that runs between the village itself and the Greens at Birkdale Houses. Here is his great response:

"Thank you for your email and questions. The issues at Sam Furr relate to the fact that we will not be able to go under Sam Furr at this time due to the fact that the box culverts are too small, plus we do not own any land next to the creek and would have a tough time trying to get through the Birkdale golf course. Therefore, the best crossing would be at the intersection of Birkdale Commons Parkway and Sam Furr Road as you have mentioned. We would most likely widen the sidewalk along Sam Furr, which is currently 5-feet wide and separated from the road by a planting strip. We have not researched the possibility of using the gas easement, but I will do that and let you know if it looks feasible. Birkdale Commons Parkway contains sidewalk and bike lanes, and is a good overland connector for the greenway to continue. The next leg of McDowell after that will most likely extend from the end of Birkdale Commons Parkway, back to the creek, and then run behind the Wynfield neighborhood toward Gilead Road, where it will connect to the Torrence/Lower McDowell Creek system."

I also asked about a future possible connection to the northcross shopping center and eventually to the light rail stop at Sam Fur/73 and 115. Can you say weekend morning walks to the Bagel Bin? He replied:

"As far as a connection to Northcross, there is a tributary of McDowell Creek called Caldwell Station Creek that runs behind the Northcross Center. Not sure if it runs all the way to 115, but it gets close. I think that developing a greenway along this tributary is something that would be in the Town of Huntersville and Town of Cornelius Greenway Master Plan. It's a good idea, although getting under I-77 would be a challenge and major cost factor. Check with Michael Jaycocks with the Town of Huntersville Park and Rec. dept. to see if this creek is in their master plan. His number is 704-766-2228. In the meantime, We will be improving the existing boardwalk/bridge crossing at Townley Road, which will provide a connection to Northcross Drive, where there is a CATS Park and Ride lot. By using the greenway and the boardwalk/bridge, you would avoid having to get on Sam Furr Road. Safety of bicyclists and pedestrians, and connections to a number of destinations is our primary goal."

I look forward to the day a few years from now when I could
eventually Bike for miles on the interconnected Greenway system of Mecklenburg County.

Awesome 'For Sale By Owner' Idea

Check it out: http://8720camberly.com/default.aspx.
It seems that Birkdale Village Real Estate is so hot right now that For Sale By Owner is all the rage. While on one of our twice daily dog walks around the village we saw this awesome house for sale at 8720 Camberly. Even cooler is that the flyer references a really neat website dedicated just to describing the house. It seems like a great idea especially if you're not registered with the MLS and just relying on drive by drivers. Who doesn't want to look at pictures and be able to point family and friends to a website to help make or solidify the purchase decision.
In Birkdale For Sale By Owner works because there's usually so few houses of a certain type for sale that buyers want to see everyone available before deciding. I know that when we bought here (it was December) there were only 3 houses available at the time and of those there was only one that met our criteria for price and square footage. Right now (Spring Time) it seems that For Sale and For Rent signs are blooming like the flowers. Last year at this time I was concerned that there were too many houses for sale and yet they all sold and the prices went up - go figure. Hopefully, this year will be more of the same and supply with stay tight so that the village continues to see property appreciation.
I view property appreciation as a double edged sword. On one hand it prices out people that would love to live in a mixed use community. On the other hand, hopefully, it conveys to both developers and the planning board that people really want to live in great quality of life locations. Now, if developers build more Birkdale Villages, would Birkdale continue to be so special? Ah, what a conundrum.

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.