CRAVER'S COMMENTS
June 2005
IN THIS ISSUE
· MY BUSIEST YEAR EVER
· WHAT’S IN -- URBAN LIVING?
FUTURE ISSUES
EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS OR SO. EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS TO: TONY.CRAVER@VERIZON.NET
ALSO, USE MY WEB SITE TO LOOK FOR HOUSES:
THINGS TO BE PROUD OF
THE TRIANGLE BECAME HOME TO TWO MORE NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHIES SINCE LAST ISSUE. UNC MEN’S BASKETBALL (ROY WILLIAMS’ FIRST) AND DUKE WOMEN’S GOLF (DAN BROOKS’ THIRD)
DID YOU KNOW?
DURHAM’S NEW HOMETOWN BANK, CARDINAL STATE BANK, HAS ALREADY WORKED ITS WAY INTO THE LIST OF TOP 100 NORTH CAROLINA HOMEBASED CORPORATIONS.
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I remember the year our kids were ages 2, 4, 6, and 8 and how busy I thought our lives were. The more I think about it , however, my wife did most of the work. Then there were the teenage years, and I was the only Dad never to miss a tennis or golf match, home or away ( the three girls played tennis and Jeff was the golfer). But the more I think about those years, that was a lot of fun. Then came the college years, and all I did was work and work, just to pay for college. None of those years holds a candle to how busy the last year or so of my life has been. Thanks to all of you wonderful past clients and friends who receive this Newsletter my real estate business has continued to be very good due to the great referrals you so generously send my way. That is normally enough to keep me very busy. Add to that the now four grown kids, their spouses, and the eight grandchildren that I try to see as often as possible, and life is pretty full.But there is more. Over the last year or so I have gone from President Elect of the Durham Regional Association of Realtors to President. They have sent me to meetings in Greensboro (4), Raleigh (2), Pinehurst, Washington DC (2), Chicago, Orlando and Asheville. The job has generated fourteen interviews in the last three weeks. The Association has just had the ribbon cutting on its new 9,000 sq. ft. office building that will not only serve as home base for Realtors in the area, but it has beautiful, rentable facilities for all kinds of meetings and parties. I was honored that the completion date came on my watch, but the effort has gone on for several years through serving on planning, fund raising, and building committees. On top of all of this we have been adding on to our house- and guess who is doing a great deal of the work. And oh yes, I am building a couple of rooms on to my daughter Amy’s house (with their help), and we are doing all of that work. Yes, I am tired but I can’t remember having a more satisfying year. Where does the time come from, you ask? Well, my golf game has suffered, my hobbies are on hold, and there aren’t any days off. Mostly, I tell you about all of this because it is my excuse for not sending you a newsletter for a while. |
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WHAT’S IN?
URBAN LIVING!
I like trees. I like land and yard work. I also realize that I may be a member of a shrinking group. When you are in the real estate business you quickly learn to appreciate that not everyone wants to live the way you do. Enter the new urbanites. They are not new to the northeast, the rust belt or the west coast, but they are new to the Triangle. These urbanites are not just the younger generation either but are often Baby Boomers and older looking to simplify their life style.
No place in the region is reaching out to these people more than Durham. City officials and developers are eagerly trying to position downtown Durham to be ready for what they are certain will be a new bonanza in home buying and retail spending.
The city council is expected to approve this month a new 31 million dollar concert arena which will sit on a site next to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and across the street from the American Tobacco Complex. The 2800 seat facility was originally planned to have 5,000 seats but after several years of research, the smaller size arena seems to be the right fit. Concerts and plays are scheduled to begin in 2008.
The second phase of the American Tobacco Project had its official start this past week. The 65 million dollar phase will be a combination of apartments and condominiums blended with an additional 175,000 square feet of office and retail. Two new restaurants are opening this month and more are planned. If you haven’t visited the complex you are missing something very special. Phase III of the project, projected to begin in 2006, will contain 400-500 apartments.
Not to be out done, Blue Devil Ventures, founded by Brian Davis and Christian Laettner (remember that shot that beat Kentucky in 1992) and developers of the highly successful West Village, are seeking National Historic Landmark status from the City Council this month for their Leggett and Myers restoration project. The 148 million dollar project is designed to create 375 loft style apartments, 164,000 feet of office space and 58,000 feet of retail space. That’s a couple of basketball scholarships that paid off well for the community.
The Renaissance at Durham Centre is picking up its pace by announcing that it is building sample units in what will be its twin 15 story tower, the Durham Centre (that’s the big glass building downtown). The units are for upscale living, ranging from $250,000 to $1,100,000. The luxury tower will be complete with doorman, spa and a fancy restaurant. Construction is anticipated within the year.
Other things going on downtown as part of the urbanization of Durham include construction of Diamond View II. Scheduled for 2006, it will sit behind the left field fence at the ball park (Diamond View I is the building behind the right field fence). The city is busy redoing several streets downtown to ease the flow of the expected urbanites. This redo includes some new park space as well.
If Durham can somehow figure out how to make the school board meetings seem a little more professional, then maybe they will convince prospective urbanites to have as much faith in the future of the downtown area as do the investors.
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It’s not all happening downtown. Have you been to Patterson Place, Briar Creek, or the area adjacent to the Streets at Southpoint recently? I know this is a growing area but I sometimes wonder where all of these shoppers are coming from.