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.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Housing Slow Down
So what do you think? How will Charlotte and Birkdale fare with the housing slow down?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Going Green
We're been reading a lot lately about going Green. Its in the paper that the Charlotte is looking to go Green and we've been trying to figure out exactly what that means. Apparently, that means using technology and alternative building materials and methods for conservation of resources and minimizing the human impact on the planet. There are some really neat products out there that actually cost the same or less than many of our existing products or they offer such energy and water savings that they pay for themselves in a matter of years. We've learned about Green Roofs, Rainwater Harvesting, Grassy Pavers (asphalt replacement things), Solar Hot Water Heaters, Solar Arrays, Insulation Materials, etc.
Check out these cool local (mostly local) websites that we found on the subject:
Brea Water Systems
Green Roofing
A Information Site
Discovery Place's Green Roof
Grassy Pavers
This is neat stuff. I wonder if computers and the Internet were the boom of the last twenty years will Green be the boom of the next twenty?
Check out these cool local (mostly local) websites that we found on the subject:
Brea Water Systems
Green Roofing
A Information Site
Discovery Place's Green Roof
Grassy Pavers
This is neat stuff. I wonder if computers and the Internet were the boom of the last twenty years will Green be the boom of the next twenty?
We're Back
So we recently had a baby which allowed for much less time on the Internet. Well, now we're getting back into a routine and I'm hoping that we can post here more often. I will say that as hot as it is outside right now (we're breaking heat records in Charlotte this week - 104 Degrees), I am looking forward to when our son is old enough to be running around the fountain with the kids in the center of Birkdale. It looks like a lot of fun and it is amazing how packed that center can get with moms and kids. I jokingly tell my wife that the water fountain is like the dog park but for kids.
Other than this past week we've had a great summer. It wasn't too hot, mid-80s mostly. I was personally expecting the heat to be much worst here during the summer. I guess that we are far enough back from the coast and close enough to the mountains that we are usually spared the extreme heat and humidity.
Anyways, if you have young kids and are coming to Birkdale, definitely have them bring their swim suits because that fountain looks like a blast.
Other than this past week we've had a great summer. It wasn't too hot, mid-80s mostly. I was personally expecting the heat to be much worst here during the summer. I guess that we are far enough back from the coast and close enough to the mountains that we are usually spared the extreme heat and humidity.
Anyways, if you have young kids and are coming to Birkdale, definitely have them bring their swim suits because that fountain looks like a blast.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
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'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?
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