Triangle’s up
and coming residential hot spots
Something for everyone
By
Julie Connell
For
today’s home buyers, choosing a home is all about putting a list
of what they want beside a list of what they don’t want and finding
the ideal place that seems to cover it all. A yard for gardening or
no yard at all, a tree-lined view or a view of the city’s skyline.
Raleigh’s current real estate hot spots all embrace a broad range
of amenities, which draw buyers to them in the quest for the ‘perfect’
home.
Three areas in particular – Mordecai,
North Hills and downtown Raleigh – have become very popular parts
of the city in which to reside. The reasons are as numerous as the
people, but one often quoted favorite is location.
Corbin Robin, a broker
and market statistician at York Simpson Underwood, says downtown offers
residents a quality of life at their fingertips and puts virtually
everything within walking distance. Robin says the attraction to the
area is the proximity to work, culture, arts, museums, parks, restaurants,
night life, history, the city plaza and upcoming new convention center.
Homes, townhomes and condominiums are part of the downtown real estate
mix.
Popular residential
offerings uptown include The RBC Center, The Dawson, Hue, 222 Glenwood,
West at North, Hudson and
Blount Street Commons, currently under development.
“The Downtown
Raleigh Alliance has an active role in making sure downtown has something
for everyone,” Robin says.
“The new projects are being developed with the conveniences of
everyday living on the street level offering immediate access to shopping
and all aspects to maintain a rich quality of life for all. There is
additionally a large focus on maintaining the historic value of our city
and revitalizing our historic areas by bringing back the neighborhoods
we had in the early 1900s.”
Robin notes that
a first-rate commitment from the city and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance
brought about a revitalization of downtown and now these efforts are
coming to fruition.
Growth in downtown
has fueled what some refer to as Raleigh’s urban renaissance,
with more corporations choosing or returning to downtown, and more
people wanting to live, work and play there also. As market statistician,
Robin keeps a tally on the new projects in the downtown market, including
sales, traffic and reservation conversions. It’s part of a monthly
look at downtown by York Simpson Underwood, and Robin said it gives
developers coming here a reality check on the true activity of the
area.
Mordecai, one of
Raleigh’s oldest neighborhoods, wraps around the pre-1800 historic
Mordecai house and park. Most of the homes were built between 1900-1940,
but it does have newer sections built during the last several years.
According to Chris
Yetter, a broker with the Glenwood office of Allen Tate, this area
is characterized by a quiet residential neighborhood of tree-lined
streets and a very active neighborhood association. He describes Mordecai
as a combination of historic homes, new single-family patio style homes
and condominiums/townhomes that attract a wide range of people to the
neighborhood.
“Mordecai’s
proximity both to downtown, Glenwood South and the Seaboard Shops allows
walking to some of
Raleigh’s hottest nightlife areas,” says Yetter. “We
can walk to a neighborhood grocery store, fitness center, hardware store,
wine shop, garden center and restaurants.”
Yetter notes changes
that have helped to prompt the popularity of the area:
-
Tearing down Halifax Court, an older deteriorating city housing area
and replacing it with new rental sections managed by the Raleigh
Housing Authority
-
Building private residences at The Village at Pilot Mill. The original
Pilot Mill was renovated and contains prime office space and the
Raleigh Charter School. A sports field is also available for soccer and
lacrosse teams.
Another thriving
residential destination is North Hill, a centrally located mixed-use
district that also puts everything within walking distances – grocery,
movie theatre, a spa, dozens of restaurants, three Starbucks and more.
Two residential choices here are Ramblewood, with brick townhomes,
stacked flats and elegant single-family homes on smaller lots, and
The Lassiter at North Hills, 49 condominiums to be built in the heart
of North Hills.
Josie Reeves, sales
and marketing manager of Kane Residential, says North Hills has become
an enjoyable place to gather.
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Popular Triangle neighborhoods these days include shopping and
dining within walking distance of residences. |
Reeves points out
that these residential offerings are not just about one “target demo,” but
that they share a lifestyle that everyone can enjoy, bringing people
from all ages and life-stages to look and then live here.
"Our buyers
come to us to simplify,”
Reeves says. “They want the ‘lock and leave’ lifestyle
that will allow them to spend more time in a second home, travel, or
just spend weekends doing what they want to do, instead of being a slave
to their yards and home maintenance.
“We pay attention
to urban trends and multiple studies have shown that this type of lifestyle
will cut down on daily car trips and will ultimately allow the buyer
to reclaim what is most important – time,” Reeves notes.
As gas prices continue
to soar, the rising popularity of these three areas of
Raleigh all share the common trait of allowing residents to get out and
walk to things they like, need and or have an interest in. It’s
a healthy alternative for residents, for both their fitness and their
budgets.
REALTORS® agree that
in
Raleigh’s residential hot spots, they’re not simply selling
homes, they’re selling lifestyles. In North Hills, downtown and
historic Mordecai, homeowners get the house they envision with the lifestyle
that’s best for them.
(Connell
is a free-lance writer living in
Denver, N.C.)
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