Opinions on Village at Pilot Mill and Renaissance Park communities? (Raleigh: crime, houses)

[AZherewecome]

We are relocating from out of state. These two communities seem to have an urban feel/location. Work is at Centennial Campus and the commute looks like it would be easy. Opinions please. Any other similar communities? Thanks!

[RaleighLass]

You are right, Urban feel. Renaissance is a great location for you to commute to CC. It's slightly south of downtown proper in an area that has been mostly commercial and stip ctrs for years. It will take a while for the surrounding area to be fancied up But there is nothing wrong with the location and the developer has done a great job with it. You'd go on Tryon Rd and cut over to Western or a feeder street. I think it's a hidden gem being so close to downtown, West Raleigh, Cary, Garner/hwy 70 (to the beach)

Pilot Mills is at downtown, which means it's walkable, and to a gentrified areas with cafe's, restaurants, etc. Renaissance is not really walkable in the way you'd want it to be meaning the surrounding areas. it will get there but for now Pilot Mills would be superior for this reason if it's your goal. I haven't ckd values recently but Pilot should be more costly than Ren, and would certainly appreciate at a higher and more rapid rate, all things being equal. I'm not a realtor, just a long time resident familiar with these areas - even before they were developed. Ren would be a long term hold for investment purposes, location is convenient. Pilot you could sell a lot easier as it's already a hot area - in my humble, non qualified opinion.

If you want walkable and close to lots of shopping and can afford it, check out Cameron Village area. The village was built in the 50's, an outdoor shopping area that's lovely. The homes are older but there is some infill but oh so pricey!

[VSB]

Renaissance: Know nothing about it.

Pilot Mill:

There are definite positives and negatives about Pilot Mill. We have friends who own a home there, both of whom work downtown. They love it there, and I have heard nothing but positives from them. Here's my take:

Positives:

1. It's within reasonable walking distance to some downtown amenities, including Seaboard Station (about 3/4 mile), and as well as the ongoing development of N Blount Street and Preston Street. Seaboard contains the best nursery inside the beltline (Logan's Trading Company), as well as trendy Seaboard Fitness, two excellent, higher end restaurants (J. Betski's and 18 Seaboard), and one good take-out style Chinese restaurant (Peace China). Tookie's Grill could disappear without notice. Phydeaux, a high-end pet products store (rather than pets themselves), is moving in to the old Capital Grocery location. There's also a wine merchant, a baby-boutique, an "eclectic" furniture retailer, and probably some other things I'm forgetting.

2. Having Peace College as a neighbor means there should always be a steady population pushing positive development in the area (in terms of restaurants, et cetera).

3. The price point is fair, considering the houses are practically new (5 years or less in most cases), and the location is just north of downtown.

4. Easy access to Capital heading north or south out of downtown with especially quick access to 40 E/W on the south side.

Negatives

1. The surrounding area is decidedly mixed in terms of its stages of development. Some of the surrounding area seems frankly run down.

2. While it is within walking distance of some downtown amenities as above, it doesn't strike me that I would personally be walking to most of those things. Seaboard has some cool stores, but they don't strike me as the types of places I'd walk to frequently, and there's no grocery store that you can walk to. The heart of downtown is too far to walk for most people from there.

3. The development abuts the train tracks. I'm not sure if noise is an issue.

4. The lots are exquisitely small. That means no yardwork (a positive) and also no yard with limited "patio privacy" (a negative).

Depending on your age and inclinations, two other "urban" areas I would strongly consider are:

Roanoke Park (practically directly west, on the other side of Capital Boulevard) which makes up one of the "pie" slices of "Five Points." The neighborhoods specifically surrounding Roanoke Park itself are priced at about the same level, but are made up of old homes many of which have been renovated, reconstructed or torn down and rebuilt. The community there is very strong, and the area tends to be one of the more liberal areas of town (that can be positive or negative, depending on your inclinations). The park is a great meeting spot for people with kids, and folks come from all over town to get there. Property Values may be somewhat better there, over the long run, because homes there are in the Underwood Elementary school district which is a highly regarded magnet school. Roanoke Park puts you in walking distance to Five Points but I have to admit that Five Points is currently quite small (and will likely stay that way) so it doesn't offer too much in the way of amenities either. However, it does have a movie theatre (Rialto, single screen, tends toward the independent), a few bars, Lilly's Pizza, a coffee house (the Third Place), Nofo's (a good restaurant), The Point (a fair restaurant in my opinion), Bloomsbury Bistrro (a phenomenal restaurant), and Hayes Barton Cafe and Desserty (referred to as "the pharmacy" since it's attached to the Hayes Barton Pharmacy), which is a local institution serving diner-style lunches and gourmet dinners. It also has a post-office (unless the USPS closes it), a Wachovia and First Citizens Branch, a dry cleaners, two gas stations, and too many antique shops. Overall, it feels more like a true neighborhood than Pilot Mill (at this stage) and the property values will reflect that. It's a tad less urban than Pilot Mill.

Cameron Park:

High price point but right next to the action of "Glenwood South." If you want to be close to fun things, Glenwood South is really the current focus of downtown nightlife, even though it's not technically "downtown." Over the next ten years, the city will likely see development on the corridors between Glenwood South and true downtown, making living in the surrounding neighborhoods even better and more valuable. There is an increased rate of crime (mostly petty crime, e.g. car breakins, et cetera), but CP has another very strong sense of community, and tends to be liberal. There's too much stuff to mention within earshot of CP, so check out Glenwood South.

You could also look in the small Glenwood Brooklyn neighborhood with is on the east and west sides of Glenwood just north of Peace street (look for the Glenwood-Peace Street intersection on a map).