Said this before but I really do think Raleigh has housing in the beltline still. Not “affordable”, really, but these are the houses sold in the last 12 months with >= 3 bedrooms and < $350k. East Raleigh around Longview/Lockwood are mostly > 300k but Southeast Raleigh has a lot more under 300.
Obviously your individual budget, home size needs, feelings on old homes, etc. can add complications, but it’s possible.
On a slightly different idea, with the recent legalization of ADUs, I wonder if there could be a process to connect with a homeowner to purchase rights to build and own an ADU on their land. I know Raleigh is trying to set up a bank of pre-approved ADU designs, so this would be building on that idea. Not sure how realistic that is though.
Funny you ask that, I just finished a really interesting podcast about California City. It was a private endeavor, and there are some key differences from what you’re describing, but the concept is similar.
I know people have tried it. There don’t really seem to be any instances where it was actually done well. I guess my argument would be, why bother bulldozing more undeveloped land when you could rework something that already exists? I guess the lack of political obstacles, maybe?
Well, this would be a substitute to the culdesac development that is already happening and will continue to happen. It looks like bombs have gone off in Eastern Chatham.
Also, I think developing a new town requires creating new deeds of land. You couldn’t go into a town full of individual property owners and change the developed landscape out from under those owner’s feet without first assembling all the parcels.
But you could take something like South Hills Mall or Cary Towne center and apply this logic. I think the key is subdividing the property into small pieces that can be individually acquired or bought in chunks, and developed into any use. There would probably need to be some parameters on use, like only 1 veterinarian clinic per ______ area, and minimum density requirements. But otherwise, allow owners to develop as they see fit and let the market respond.
The problem is that all efforts to make somewhere a better experience, higher prices are surely to follow. I’ve been saying for years now that Garner development should be a thing, yet it seems to go almost everywhere but Garner. It’s insanely close to downtown Raleigh, has ample developable/redevelopable land, and is well connected by arteries into downtown.
I’ve been in contact with them to at the very least add a stop on the ZWX express in Wendell falls
Also once wake tech is built, Wake med and the collective mixed use district there is momentum for us getting an actual bus route too. It’s a start. Still a long way to go out here there.
I also had a lot of convos with the Wendell Falls developers; they said there should be a new multi-family project every two years. At least 5 communities.
prior to north hills being what it is now my partially blind folks would walk to north hills from wingate drive. it was 2 miles even. they were about 50 at the time and enjoyed the walk through the neighborhood…ortega, compton, dartmouth. sidewalks the entire trip i think. if they had too much to carry back from shopping they called a cab and paid a 2 mile cab fare if i didnt pick them up. if they were still at the location on wingate not too much would be different with what north hills is now. they seemed ok with it.
Good for them! I’m in my 50s and walk 5+ miles every day. It’s awesome that your parents could see beyond what their environment was “telling” them to do. Even with the sidewalks, everything else we built was telling them to drive.
So I’ve gotta give you a shoutout for this @Samuel. For like a year now, I’ve only been looking at what was currently for sale on Redfin/Zillow, and it was scaring me to death. It was nearly impossible to find something under $375k in a walkable neighborhood. Hadn’t even really considered the fact that most listings are changing hands really quickly and that looking at already sold homes was a much better gauge for the market.
Been browsing Redfin with WalkScore filters on and feeling a lot more confident about our search. Cheers to you man.
You’ll find a winner, just may take some time. My girlfriend and I spent two months back in 2020 right when the pandemic hit looking for our home and put in atleast 4-5 losing bids during the process. We were close to giving up.
In the end, we ended up “settling” on looking at a not-so-great looking townhome that had been on the market for 60 days in Knightdale. Once we visited it though, we fell in love (the seller had taken shitty pics + the previous buyer passed away during closing so the wife walked away = the reason for it being on the market so long). Ended up closing for $180k. 3bd 2.5ba. In hindsight…it was a steal. You’ll find yours as well, just keep looking.
It’s all about seeing the potential. Floors can be changed, paint makes a world of difference, light fixtures are easy diy upgrades. Without taking on more debt, and with a little YouTube, a dingey looking house can shine beautifully
I have friends in Wade Park, a large mixed use neighborhood, walkable, with greenway under Edwards Mill, to the arena. Would be great for a segment of the arena’s parking lot be converted to an entertainment district connecting the arena to Wade Park. However, the Centennial Authority (owner) is not very forward thinking & do not want to give up their asphalt. But, my desire is for the arena to relocate downtown, of course, some day.
Note: WF = Wake Forest, either the town or University. Your WF takes a moment to register. I like what’s happening in Wendell, a cool little downtown gives it much to work with!
