Holistic Real Estate

A fellow Realtor just told me about Amberly, a huge planned community in Cary. OK, OK, that's not exactly a unique concept. But this community's plan apparently goes way beyond your typical "cut down trees, grade land, insert clubhouse and pool here" concept of real estate development. Amberly actually has a vision statement based around what they refer to as the Four Elements - Environment, Wellness, Technology, and Education. The neighborhood features an amphitheatre, office and retail space, displays by local artists, and a REALLY big health and fitness center.


Amberly bills itself as having all the elements of an urban location. That's a truly lofty goal for a neighborhood that was likely an empty field a few years ago. But it gets me thinking...a few years ago I attended a Main Street seminar where the presenter described one of the primary functions of buildings as a place for people to gather, where they could form communities. In other words, buildings in and of themselves aren't the most important thing. Buildings are important to the extent that they create places for people to gather, to become neighbors, and to form the bonds of a community. In many of the older, urban, and historic neighborhoods across the Triangle, neighbors and newcomers are fighting over scarce real estate resources - becoming enemies as they battle over bricks and stone. So are developers on the right track when they go to the idea of creating homes and amenities in a way that offers us the opportunity to create community without baggage?


Some define this as sprawl. But as Americans become established in their careers and start families, they are heading for the suburbs en masse. We've become a community of newcomers as people leave dense urban areas in the Northeast and seek out the slower pace and bigger space of the Triangle. I used to wonder why they would leave the beauty and bustle of places like New York City for a place where a good pastrami sandwich is still a rare find. I don't wonder so much anymore, which means my established career and 2.5 kids must be just around the corner.