SarahGray Lamm ~ Chapel Hill / Carrboro / Durham Real Estate Blog ~ Agent Outlier

A juvenile prank or someone's opinion of what is or is not art? It doesn't really matter. What matters is that someone felt compelled to make off with a large sculpture installed in front of the financially troubled Chapel Hill Museum on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, NC.

The sculpture was on lease from a Florida artist and intended to be on display until October of this year. It is gone.  Surely someone noticed it being removed or has seen it someplace where it doesn't belong...which is anywhere except in front of the Chapel Hill Museum.

Come on boys and girls. This is art theft even if you prefer Rodin. Chapel Hill is fortunate enough to have a dedication to displaying public art in public places. For some reason there are always those who think it is a challenge to remove it. On previous occasions, when public art, or even art that is on personal property, has been "moved" it has always been found in a friend's garage or a fraternity house. Let's hope this will be the case this time as well.

The Town of Chapel Hill is offering a reward of $250 for information leading to its return. Personally I think you should provide any information you might have for free. How embarrasing for our lovely community that there is always somebody who thinks their fun is more important than our town's commitment to making our public spaces pleasing. And if you are one of those who didn't like this particular choice of art...you only had to wait until October.

Click the picture below to go to the Town of Chapel Hill website for a better look at the sculpture.

I've just had a pergola built over my deck in Carrboro, NC. As our daytime temperatures reach over 100 degrees for the third time this summer, I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to sitting under my new pergola with its soon-to-be-installed ceiling fans and Coolaroo UV blocking exterior shades.

I'm a Carolina girl, born and raised, and you'll forgive me if I daydream about serving my guests cocktails and dinner by candlelight at a garden party under my new pergola, on my mother's china and table linens, with ceiling fans spinning slowly overhead. Ah believe ma southe'n accent got thicka just thinkin' about it but...I digress...

There are many non-native plants which were brought to our region by surely well meaning folks who simply wanted a beautiful, exotic garden. English Ivy, for instance. As the local Southern States garden shop employee told one of my neighbors; "Ivy is the gift that keeps on giving. You better hope all your neighbors want ivy if you plant it!"

If you live in North Carolina, or any other southeastern state, and you aren't already thinking "Kudzu", you haven't been paying attention. Brought to the USA from Japan in 1876 for a gardening exhibition, it was widely planted during the Depression to provide erosion control. Kudzu planted in North Carolina is the very definition of an invasive plant. Growing up to a foot a day in the summer, it is a common sight along our highways as it chokes out native forests and tugs on overhead power lines.

So it was with appreciation that I read that Carrboro, NC has decided to update it's zoning rules list of invasive plants which cannot be included in new plans submitted by developers. Not to worry. This is not intended to tell Carrboro residents what they can and cannot do with their own property. Rather it is a step toward bringing some intelligence to the process of deciding what kind of plants we should be propagating in Carrboro.

The invasive plants list is based upon continuing work by the North Carolina Native Plant Society and includes rankings of plants as severe threats, significant threats and lesser threats as well as watch lists. But the NCNPS website isn't just a DON'T DO IT list. It also provides valuable information about native plants and how planting them honors our regional heritage as well as providing food and shelter for our local wildlife. I would encourage anyone interested in planting a garden in any part of the Triangle to consider using only NC native plants.

As for the image in my mind of a garden party under a vine covered pergola...I can just as easily see a native climbing Hydrangea fitting into my daydream. I'm willing to keep an open mind when it comes to recreating my heritage. Thank goodness because I can't really see myself in a Scarlet O'Hara dress on a hot summer evening, even if I am sipping sweet tea.

Washer, Dishwasher, Refrigerator, Freezer?

Need a new appliance for your new digs or a replacement for one that is on its last legs?

Consider purchasing an Energy Star rated appliance over the upcoming Earth Day weekend, April 22nd thru April 25th, 2010 and you may qualify for a rebate from the state of North Carolina!

Need some more info on the program? Download this FAQ provided by the NC Energy office!

Energy Star

So, it's official. I admit there is one thing I DO NOT like about living in North Carolina.

Tree pollen. It's absolutely everywhere. I'm not kidding. EVERYWHERE.

This is the one time of year I do not like having to be in and out of my car every five minutes. The yellow-green dust is so thick you can see it in the air and I cannot even think about how much of it I breathe in in the course of a day.

It's in the driveway...

On the grill...

On the woodpile...

On the deck...

In the bird bath...

On my cat...

Did I mention my poor cat....

Thank goodness it is a short lived issue. I'll forget all about it when the azaleas are in bloom. Please excuse me now...I need to go take a shower....and rinse off my cat.

If you were born and raised in Eastern North Carolina, as I was, you know how we got our economic start. We were a cotton and tobacco economy, pure and simple. As the child of a cotton merchant I dove off many a cotton bale into loose samples of cotton piled high in a warehouse. I know the smell of cured tobacco in an auction warehouse before it was moved to the cigarette factory.

Durham meant tobacco. Block after block of red brick warehouses and plants, the first of which was built in 1874. The huge arched windows and smoke stacks that looked like cigarettes, the water towers bearing familiar brand logos and the railroad tracks weaving throughout told you exactly where you were. A few blocks up the road another red brick plant with palladium windows went up in 1900 so the Golden Belt Manufacturing Company could began turning cotton into thread and manufacturing the cloth pouches for all that Durham tobacco.

You have to forgive us North Carolina natives for not going easily down the road when overwhelming evidence showed that smoking was bad for our health. It had been good for our families. But that fight has already been fought and what was left in the aftermath were all those red brick buildings and railroad tracks...and a dying downtown Durham. Move along.

It was true throughout the '70s, '80s, and into the '90s...nothing to see here. Durham, NC – one half of Raleigh-Durham and one third of The Triangle Region – home to the RTP, Research Triangle Park, one of the most concentrated areas of growth in the country for healthcare, bio tech, high tech and research companies, and surrounded by three, yes, THREE, tier one universities and countless smaller ones. So why has this area of the country fared better than many during this economic downturn? Reread the last sentence.

Why, then, would downtown Durham have simply been ignored all that time? Because we were lucky. At least as viewed through the lens of a dynamic 21^st century downtown economic development team; we were lucky. Or at least we are lucky to have visionaries like Bill Kalkhof, the President of Downtown Durham, Inc., in our midst. Lucky that no one thought to come in and tear down the buildings of our tobacco and cotton heritage. I was lucky enough to spend a day in February 2010 with Carver Weaver, Director of Business Retention for the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce and one of her colleagues, Matthew Coppedge, as they showed off their enthusiasm for a Durham rising once again to the top of its game.

As real estate agents committed to truly knowing the communities in which we live, work and play, a group of Allen Tate Realtors climbed into a white van for a drive through the present and future of The Bull City. After a two hour tour of the places I 'see but don't see' everyday, I'm not sure they aren't right about being lucky. Did some folks and their businesses get the short end of the stick with the rise of suburbia in the '70s when the “loop” was built to divert traffic around downtown Durham? Yes. Did Durham suffer the blight of being a decaying urban area and all the hardships which ensue because of that? Yes. Did Durham get a bad reputation and did the folks who were left behind find it tough going for too long? Absolutely. But is there a city better poised than Durham to springboard to success when all these bad economic winds abate? No!

Remember all those red brick warehouses? Block after block of buildings sporting palladium windows, massive wooden posts and beams and heart pine floors? Any guess what it would cost to build something like that in today's market? Any idea what local developers committed to reclaiming and re-purposing those buildings might be able to envision? Any clue what happens when a city partners with private business to return itself to a former glory?

For starters, think the American Tobacco Campus. Then head east to the Golden Belt art campus. On the way you'll pass the Durham Performing Arts Center and the wonderful new Durham Bulls Athletic Park. No, not the same venue as the one shown in the movie “Bull Durham” but not to worry, that one has been restored too. It's located in the Central Park area, near the Durham Farmers Market, and soon to be a venue for music events and winter ice skating.

There is Brightleaf Square, the first warehouse area reclaimed by forward thinking local business folks back in the '80s. It became a shopping and restaurant destination all on its own for many years. Once again updated in 2004, Brightleaf anchors the western edge of a revitalized Durham downtown.

The heart of downtown or the City Center area is home to Parrish Street, also known as the “Black Wall Street” and it's historic value is being preserved and honored. The City Center is home to the Durham Arts Council and to Greenfire Development, a company whose mission is to improve the overall quality of life in Durham by creating opportunities and whose very name is meant to indicate their understanding of the interconnectedness of people and communities, even forgotten ones.

There is so much more. What you really need to know though is that Durham, NC is back! It has a walkability score of 94 out of 100! It is home to world class restaurants, a thriving arts community, historic preservation and festivals celebrating everything from Civil War Re-enactment to Beer! Durham has reknowned medical facilities, music, museums, beautiful parks, Broadway entertainment and some pretty awesome sports! For a real treat check out this photo blog of A Photo Love Letter to Durham by Jessie Gladin-Kramer.

Wondering where you could go to live and work in a community poised for greatness and endless possibility? Ready to be part of building something sustainable and beautiful while honoring history? Wondering if there is a place you can afford to live yet still have infinite choices of things to do with your free time?

Call me...I think I might have a few ideas....

Click Here for Single Family Homes For Sale in Downtown Durham

Click Here for Condos & Townhomes For Sale in Downtown Durham

American Tobacco Campus photo by J S North:http://www.flickr.com/photos/joephotos/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Durham Skyline photo by Ildar Sagdejev: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2008-07-12_Durham_skyline.jpg

If you love nature and the outdoors, biking, trail running or simply strolling along listening to the birds singing, Chapel Hill and Carrboro have some easily accessible ways to get out and enjoy your passion! Part of a planned system of greenways throughout North Carolina's Triangle ( anchored by Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill) are plenty of easily accessible trails running along the streams and through the forests that are part of the Triangle's treasure. Quite a number of the trails can be reached by local residents right in their own communities.

A short stroll through my own neighborhood and I am exploring The Bolin Creek In Winter:

This map shows the area where I filmed this video:

Carrboro is probably the most walkable community in the Triangle and that is not an accident. Sidewalks, bikeways and greenways, many connecting with Carrboro's sister community of Chapel Hill and finally with the larger Triangle greenway system is a community goal. Click here for a printable map of the sidewalks, bikeways and greenways in Carrboro, NC.

If this sounds like your kind of town, give me a call! I can help you find a home with nature on your doorstep!

The Chapel Hill, NC Fire Department participates each year in a safety campaign called Keep The Wreath Green as a visual reminder to the local community of the danger posed by Christmas trees and other holiday decorations if they are not properly installed and monitored.

The wreath hangs on the Chapel Hill fire station from the first day of December until the last and starts out decked with a large red bow and green lights. For every house fire during the month of December a green bulb is changed to a red one.

Today is Christmas Eve and fortunately there is but one red bulb on the wreath. Of course the goal is no red bulbs but this year cigarettes were the cause of a house fire in Chapel Hill which completely destroyed someone's home.

There are still eight days to go until the wreath comes down. Here's hoping our firefighters have a boring end of the year and get to spend their time with their own families and not witnessing the destruction of any more area homes.

Be Safe and Merry Christmas!

Can't you feel the anticipation? The magic words were spoken yesterday, “The Raleigh Durham area is preparing for a snow event.” Yes, that's what we call it here; a “snow event.” That's because snow in the Piedmont of North Carolina is always an event.

The technical reason is that we see so little snow, and it is so infrequent, that the cities and towns around most of North Carolina don't have budgets for the equipment and manpower to stay ahead of mother nature's winter kiss. We have none of the mountainous salt hills of the north. No massive snow moving equipment or fleece clad armies ready to spread out in the middle of the night to take care of the business of erasing the effects of the latest snowfall so business as usual can go on. No, the irritating inconvenience of chipping ice off a windshield experienced by most northern dwellers is unheard of here. We aren't going to work.

Southerners know that a “snow event” means everything will stop. And I mean STOP. School will be canceled in anticipation, meetings and other less climatic events will be postponed. Parents who work will stay home, no discussions. Who would watch the kids if they went to work? But no one else will be at work either. Southerners have no “snow driving skills.” I'm not kidding. You take your life into your hands by attempting to drive in snow in Chapel Hill. Any amount of snow. Half an inch or half a foot, no matter. Ah, you're from the north you say. You KNOW how to drive in snow! Take my advice...don't do it. It is really irrelevant that you know how when absolutely no one else does. The only folks out on the road will be in a 1975 Chevy Impala with bald tires, driving around in the silence, just because they can...they CAN walk away alive from a slow motion slide through an intersection which ends in a shallow ditch.

Yet we still make sure the car is full of gasoline and we fill the extra gas cans, just in case the power goes out and we have to crank up the generator. A truly prepared Chapel Hill homeowner has a gasoline powered generator in the garage just waiting for the next “great snow event.” I've been there. Five days with no power. Blankets hanging over room openings and the biggest neighborhood party on record. For us, snow is a magnificent unplanned event. But that doesn't mean we don't plan for it. Far from it. Southerners race to the grocery store at the first hint of a snow advisory to buy up all the bread and milk available. We haul in the wood and check the pantry. We need all the fixin's for homemade vegetable soup, chili and applesauce cake.

Which brings me to the best thing about snow events. Party in the 'hood! Southerners have party skills. Skills finely honed during that other kind of weather event we occasionally endure; the hurricane. Neighbors come and go, eating together, cooking together and just hanging out by the fire. It's true what you've heard about us. We know our neighbors. On a normal day we think nothing of borrowing a cup of sugar to finish a recipe and understand that returning with a bit of the resulting treat is part of the process. A southern snow event is simply an excuse to do what we do best...take a party to another level!

Gotta run now...Greg Fischel, our perpetually reliable local weatherman, just announced that we are “under a winter storm warning” and I just realized I need some more egg nog before the neighbors arrive!

Let It Snow!!!

Living near public transportation has become more and more important for folks when considering a new career or higher education and when looking for a new home near either. That's easy to understand in California, New York, Chicago or any number of cities with reknowned public transportation systems.

Did you know that relocating to Chapel Hill or Carrboro, NC doesn't rule out the possibility of replacing some of your drive time and expense with inexpensive public transportation? How inexpensive...well, how does FREE sound?

Since 2002, Chapel Hill Transit has served the Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC areas with clean, attractive state of the art public buses, a comprehensive bus route and special event service...all for FREE. In fact, Chapel Hill, NC was the recipient of the first place "2009 Mayors City Livabillity Award', chosen from 200 cities. One of the biggest factors was the city's commitment to public transportation and the impact it has on quality of life in Chapel Hill. This video from the Town of Chapel Hill discusses the decision behind making the bus system free and how it contributes to a sustainable city and benefits students at UNC, residents of Chapel Hill and the folks who visit, live and work here.

Chapel Hill Transit connects to Triangle Transit allowing access to many other areas of the Research Triangle. Route planners and real time bus information are available online from your computer or mobile phone, or download this pdf of the current service area, complete with maps!

The annual Paws4Ever Dog Walk was held this past weekend at Southern Village in Chapel Hill, NC. The event was well attended on a beautiful Saturday which brought out pooches, some in costume, and their people for live music, browsing the booths of pet centric vendors, a silent auction of some unique hand crafted dog houses donated by local builders and many other unique handcrafts.

A lively demonstration by the Paws4Ever Drill Team was followed by the dog agility course demonstration and a popular round of Musical Sit! Finally, the pet parade left the village green for a walk around Southern Village.

Thanks to all who attended! We look forward to seeing you again next year!

(A Big thank you also to C Tann-Starr and her "mad" music production and video editing skills for this wonderful clip of some of our events!)