Good Afternoon,
Spring has finally arrived and the green dust that covers everything this time of year is the glorious reminder that flower, trees, and plant are all getting ready to bloom. We’ve had a busy March so far with sales and new construction starts. There are currently five homesites under contract, and Lot 5 closed this past week. Construction will be starting on Lot 4, Lot 205 (on the river), Lot 131, Lot 393 and several others. On the development side, the paving contractor should be mobilizing on site tomorrow or Monday to pave the new areas of Rosewood Landing, and they will also be repairing several areas of roadway throughout the entire community, including some of the curves that need to be widened. On the south side of the property, in Phase 3, curbing will start next week down the roadways, and then the rock will be laid shortly after that. The builder has submitted for building permits for three model homes in Cottage Park and construction will begin on those any day. We already have five reservations for homes in Cottage Park.
Let’s talk about trucks. As we all know, construction will continue within the neighborhood for some time to come as we continue to develop and grow. With all that activity there is bound to be damage to yards and common areas, mainly when the ground is wet and saturated. We have taken aggressive measures to try and educate drivers coming into the community, but it doesn’t always work. I’ve personally watched Ron give a driver instructions on where to turn and then watched them turn right two streets too early. In an effort to try and prevent trucks from running over your yards, many of you have installed PVC pipes, posts, ropes, logs, tennis balls, whiffle balls, steel rebar, rocks, land mines and other types of barriers. The problem we are running into now is the diversity of obstacles has led to an appearance that is not consistent with the neighborhood. This issue was discussed with the Resident Advisory Committee and effective April 1 we are implementing some new rules regarding the barriers. After that date, you may only have the posts in your yard if there is construction on your street or by special exception. Once the construction on your street is finished, the barriers must be removed. If you choose to install posts, they must be one-half inch white PVC pipe with a white PVC cap on the top. The pipe may be no more than thirty-six inches in length, with twelve to eighteen inches in the ground and eighteen to twenty-four inches exposed above grade. Where can you get these pipes? I met with the management at the Ace Hardware store on Kerr Avenue (across from the fire station), and they can provide you with a “River Bluffs Barrier Kit” for $7.61. The kit will include six three foot sections of pipe and six caps. You can either call Nathaniel or Tai at 763-2004 before you go so they can pre-cut it for you or they can cut it while you wait. Be sure to let them know you’re from River Bluffs. We hope that this program will allow for some type of barrier in certain situations but present a more uniform picture of the community. Remember, if you see damage occurring, please pass the information along to us as quickly as possible.
Amenities Update
We met this past week with representatives from Bellingham Marine to go over the addition of two new “T” heads at the marina this coming October. We will be adding one on either side of the existing “T” head with the one to the south having thirty-five-foot slips and the one to the north having twenty-five-foot slips. The current boat slips are thirty feet. We have received one estimate for the construction of the bathroom and covered porch area down by the marina and will be getting a few more as well with construction scheduled to start later this year. Crews began cleaning up the tennis and pickleball areas this week, and that will continue, as well as the completion of the dog park.
Farmer Steve has been back and forth on the weekly market and made the decision to hold off on having another one until the last weekend of April when the Parade of Homes starts. He has done a tremendous amount of work at the farm, and we are also preparing to get a water supply over the resident plots at the back of the farm. Steve needs our support. The success of the farm at River Bluffs depends on his success in getting subscribers for the CSA program. Joining is as simple as clicking on this link and remember, you don’t have to live in the community to become a member, so share this link with your friends in the greater Wilmington area! If you have any questions or would like to request certain things, please reach out to Steve, and he’d be happy to talk to you.
Neighborhood Safety
We are working with Officer Murphy Hall, with North Carolina Wildlife, to speak to the community in the latter part of April. He will be joined by the biologist from Wildlife, and the topic will be “Coexisting with the wildlife of River Bluffs.” We plan to have in on a Monday or Tuesday evening so please stay tuned. We have also invited Officer Hall and others with Wildlife to utilize the boat ramp anytime they need to. Deputy Moore with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department also has promised to have the mounted unit back out to the neighborhood several times over the summer.
Community Activities
Sunday Brunch-Don’t forget brunch this Sunday at Porches, starting at 11:00. There will be some great choices, and we plan to continue having it every other week as long as there remains to be demand.
Live Music at Porches-Stop by Porches tonight for live music with Dos Eddies starting at 6:00.
Trivia Night- This was a big time the first (and only) time we did it, and it was a huge hit. Join us next Friday night, March 29th for some friendly competition. Should start at about 7:00.
Parade of Homes- The annual showcase of new homes in the Greater Wilmington area will start the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May. There will be a large number of visitors coming through the neighborhood as we have four houses entered in the Parade.
As always, we appreciate your continued support and promotion of this exceptional place to live. Thanks very much and please be sure to stop by and wish Erin well as tomorrow will be her last day at Porches. She’s starting a new chapter in her career we want to her all the best. Have a great weekend.
John Lennon