When the cops arrived after I called about the metal thieves raiding the subdivision under construction, they began peppering me with questions. I was amused to hear the questions had nothing to do with the crooks.
“Hey, what can you tell me about this subdivision?”
“Is this a multi-family or single-family project?”
“Any idea what these will sell for?”
Crime happens so rarely in my area that cops don’t have much opportunity to visit. The ones that do express surprise that such nice homes like Bennett Woods’s and (soon to be) Oakwood North are tucked inside East Raleigh. “It’s like Wisteria Lane or something,” one told me incredulously upon seeing Bennett Woods for the first time.
I’ve said it before that no one knows real estate like cops do. That so many are interested in this project says a lot. I only wish we paid our officers better so they could afford to live among the citizens they serve.
On another real estate note, since I’ve been taking Hallie to Ligon Middle School in the mornings I’ve become enamored with the real estate I pass along the way. The area between New Bern Ave. and Oakwood Cemetery around and along Idlewild Ave. looks particularly ripe for development. I recall Idlewild being among one of Raleigh’s most dangerous streets not too long ago. Now it’s poised to explode. Add in an attractive, walkable streetscape along New Bern Avenue with gas lamp-style streetlights and you’re looking at a happening place.
If I had a big pot of money to invest, I’d buy up all those vacant lots and retire early!