For most professionals, the words “annual planning meeting” solicit a groan. A big one.
But at Clairemont, we can’t help but to have fun with our clients while brainstorming creative strategies for the upcoming year. And we think this photo — captured at Clairemont client Briar Chapel along with our friends and collaborative partners at Roni Hicks last week — says it all!
Briar Chapel, one of the Triangle’s largest green home communities and a beloved Clairemont client, just unveiled its next big step in the Triangle! The community is joining forces with David Weekley Homes to launch Encore, an integrated new-home lifestyle offering for adults ages 55 years and older — only the second release of this housing plan in the country.
Check out the details in this feature from the Triangle Business Journal!
One of the Triangle’s fastest-growing new home communities, Briar Chapel in Chapel Hill, is finalizing details to turn its latest phase of development into an enclave of active adults ages 55 and older only.
The new age-restricted neighborhood, to be called Encore at Briar Chapel, will have about 185 single-family home lots on the westernmost side of Briar Chapel off of Boone Street. It will be built exclusively by Texas-based David Weekley Homes, which is already building traditional single family homes in five other neighborhoods at Briar Chapel and elsewhere in the Triangle.
The deal will pit David Weekley Homes and Briar Chapel’s development firm, Newland Communities, directly against Pulte Home’s Del Webb brand, which also markets exclusively to the 55-and-older buyer, and other age-restricted communities underway in the Triangle.
Pulte recently announced plans to build its third age-restricted community in the Triangle at Traditions in Wake Forest.
Laurie Ford, senior vice president in charge of Newland’s North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C., metro area communities, says the plan to open an age-restricted community within Briar Chapel has actually been in the works since 2012. A study that Newland had commissioned showed that the Triangle was so underserved by communities offering active adult lifestyle options that the company could even could convert all of the remaining undeveloped Briar Chapel land into an age-restricted community.
“Of course, that wasn’t something we wanted to do, … but it did show us that market is being underserved,” she says.
Encore at Briar Chapel will be only the second such partnership between Newland Communities and David Weekley Homes. The first opened within Newland’s FishHawk Ranch development in late 2015 near Tampa, Florida.
Ford says the specific price points for the new homes within Encore at Briar Chapel haven’t been set yet, but she says they will be competitive to other parts of the master-planned communities. The average price point for a home at Briar Chapel is around $350,000. At Encore, four home models will be offered between 1,500 square feet to 2,600 square feet.
The new age-restricted community will also have its own clubhouse and programing while also still having access to Briar Chapel’s network of existing trails, sports facilities and other amenities.
Amanda Hoyle covers commercial and residential real estate. Follow her on Twitter @TBJrealestate
Marketing Director of Newland Communities, Shannon McSwiney appeared on TWC News this week to discuss the one-year anniversary of Wendell Falls, a master-planned community in eastern Wake County.
This Saturday, Clairemont client Wendell Falls will celebrate the milestone with a down-home “Barn Raising” festival from 1-5 p.m. at 320 Vintage Point Lane in Wendell. The event will feature activities for all ages, including music by bluegrass band Old Habits and a Hoedown Showdown. The Hoedown Showdown is a celebrity square dance competition, and the winner will receive $1,000 to donate to a charity of their choice.
The family friendly event is free and open to the public. Bring your cowboy hat and join us for some square dancing fun!
Briar Chapel, a Clairemont client, shoveled out some big news last week!
The Triangle’s largest green community officially broke ground on the first of its four commercial segments on Thursday, February 18.
Ten years in the making, this new commercial segment known as Veranda will feature a 42,500 square-foot, four-building project that offers a blend of dining and retail options, healthcare and legal services, and educational institutions.
Four community leaders wielded shovels—both small and big—to celebrate.
(Left to right): John Fugo (president, Montgomery Carolina, and vice president, Montgomery Development), Brian Mart (owner, Primrose School of Chapel Hill at Briar Chapel, tenant), Dianne Reid (president, Chatham County Economic Development Corporation), Lee Bowman (senior project manager, Briar Chapel).
We loved digging up a fun event with Briar Chapel. Check out the news segment from WRAL-TV!
Grounds Café, the café onsite at Wendell Falls, features local brews by Raleigh Coffee Company and Big Boss Brewery as well as fresh sandwiches, salads and desserts that change daily. In order to continue building onsite traffic and general visibility for Wendell Falls, Clairemont hosted a “Cheers and Cheese” event at Grounds Café for the region’s leading food bloggers and culinary media.
The Pitch:
On July 21, 2015, Grounds Café and Wendell Falls hosted a build-your-own grilled-cheese and s’mores event for local food bloggers. Clairemont leveraged the hot Triangle food scene trend of DIY activities to draw media onsite. We also emphasized the distinct character of the café as one of the first in the town along with its commitment to another food trend — local sourcing.
Execution:
Food Blogger Outreach: Clairemont sent VIP invitations to key bloggers and local food media to make their own grilled-cheese and s’mores creations while enjoying “brews and brews”– craft beer and local coffee. Bloggers were tempted with the opportunity to name their own grilled-cheese to compete for a spotlight on the menu.
Beer Blogger Outreach: Local beer experts received teasers to try hot local brews on tap to pair with their grilled-cheese specialties.
Prep Kit: Clairemont provided guests with information to seed their news feeds leading up to the event. Bloggers received social media handles, sample tweets, images and newsy tidbits about the café and Wendell Falls that were easily spread online to build excitement.
Onsite Visuals: Clairemont recognized the importance of food photography and worked with Grounds Café to display a visually appealing and well-lit food spread. The social media handles for Wendell Falls were peppered throughout the space for easy access during the event. Bloggers received Wendell Falls “goodie bags” as departure gifts and physical reminders to talk about their experiences.
The Results:
As a result, WRAL Out and About and NC Beer Guys filmed and posted Periscope live feeds during the event, which featured an interview with Kelly Talbot, marketing manager, about the Wendell Falls new home community. In addition, the event also generated two home buyer leads who connected with Kelly to schedule a tour or get more information.
Collectively, these contacts created approximately 100 posts about Wendell Falls and Grounds Café. On Twitter alone, these posts reached a combined followership of approximately 50,000 followers. The event also generated five blog posts and vibrant buzz online, a vital building block in increasing the ongoing visibility and touting the well-rounded lifestyle at Wendell Falls.
Want to learn more about the work we do at Clairemont? Read more of our case study blog posts here.
