Good Afternoon,
I hope everyone has been able to enjoy the amazing weather this past week. The pollen seems to have subsided and everything is really greening up nicely. It’s really amazing to see spring in a community like this with so many trees and natural landscaping. The Parade of Homes concluded this past Sunday and it was a great success for us. Over the two weekends we hosted over 650 visitors to the community and the feedback was tremendous. Two of the homes in the community received special recognitions awards and all of them won “Special Feature” awards. Thanks to all of you who took the time to stop by and look at the three Parade homes. The biggest news from the Parade was the induction of our very own Burrows Smith into the Cape Fear Homebuilder’s Association Hall of Fame. The announcement, made last Friday evening at a banquet with over three hundred attendees, focused on Burrow’s extensive experience in construction and development; but the main focus was on his understanding of how important our environmental surroundings are to our way of life in Southeastern North Carolina. Burrows was applauded as a developer who realized that protecting our environment is not only the right thing to do, its good business as well. This is major, and well-deserved, recognition by the building and development professionals in our market and please be sure to congratulate Burrows the next time you see him.
The foundations are going in for the first three homes in Cottage Park and the roadways down to the marina have been rocked and graded. The parking lot for the marina itself has been installed for the most part and will continue to be graded and seeded over the next week or so. The first part of Cottage Park, and the lots on the right side of the road heading down to the marina, should be recorded in the two months and our plan is to continue with the infrastructure for both the rest of Cottage Park and the Marina Townhomes over the course of this summer. On the north side of the community we have already closed on three Lots in the new section of Rosewood Landing and you will see a new garden home building (with a lighter brick color) going in on Jenoa on the other side of the infiltration basin. Down close to the river you may see what looks like green paint on parts of the bluff. That’s actually from the hydro-seeding project that was completed yesterday. A variety of wild grass and plant seeds are mixed with water and sprayed on the bluff in order to insure better germination and ultimately help prevent erosion. The project followed the work completed the prior week where over 1,000 plants were hand-planted along the river bank during low tide. You can see these plantings from the riverwalk at low tide.
Neighborhood Amenities
As I noted above, this summer we plan to complete the infrastructure for the balance of Cottage Park and the Marina Townhomes. As part of that work we will be constructing the “Marina Pavilion” between the parking area and the access to the marina. The Pavilion will include restrooms, covered outdoor gathering space and kayak storage. There will also be a fire pit in the area of the Pavilion. The pool is in full swing this season and rumor has it that the water volleyball club has already started practicing in anticipation of the big rematch with the River Bluffs staff later this summer. Crews are also working on the installation of additional irrigation up at the farm which will make watering the resident plots much easier.
Neighborhood Safety
Thanks to all of you who have watching your speed on Chair Road. I was meeting with a property owner up there this past week and they commented that the instances of cars speeding has decreased over the last several months. In the last update I mentioned that someone had gotten into the boat/RV storage area and we are taking steps to add additional security measures. Please remember not to leave any valuables in your boat or RV. The last item in this section is a reminder that best place to enjoy the river bluff is from the common area south of the power line easement or in the park between Lots 175 and 176. The other areas of the bluff are not meant for golf carts or walkers and we ask that you please not walk the bluff line.
Community Activities
Be sure to join us at Porches tonight for live music with Wes Hunter from 6:00p.m. to 9:00p.m. Jennifer will have the bar at Porches open tomorrow evening from 6:00p.m. until the cafe is empty! Also, Sunday brunch will return next Sunday, May 19th. Most importantly, be sure to remember your Mom this Sunday!
Thank you all your continued support of River Bluffs and your contributions to our community. This is a special place and we’re glad you’re a part of it.
Have a great weekend.
– John Lennon