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Category: Clairemont Client News

In the News: Client Launches Commercial Section

In the News: Client Launches Commercial Section

July 14, 2020July 15, 2022 Cherith AndesBlog, Clairemont Client News, Real Estate PRcommercial real estate PR, real estate marketing, Real estate news, real estate PR, wendell fallsLeave a Comment on In the News: Client Launches Commercial Section

Wendell Falls — one of the largest master-planned communities in the Triangle — is growing again! This Clairemont client has always been on the cutting edge of real estate development, and we were excited to debut the news of its upcoming commercial segment, Treelight Square.

Treelight Square will entail 35,000 square feet of dining, retail and shopping. Not only will this provide a bevy of fresh options for visitors, all of this goodness will be just a short stroll for the residents of Wendell Falls.

Check out the feature in the Triangle Business Journal for the scoop!

… and that’s just the beginning. See our other work in real estate!

Image/rendering credit to Finley Design Group.

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Once Upon A Time … How to Write a Story

Once Upon A Time … How to Write a Story

May 1, 2020July 15, 2022 Kelli FletcherBlog, Clairemont Client News#continuedlearning, #education, writingLeave a Comment on Once Upon A Time … How to Write a Story

This month, acclaimed local author and client, Carrie Knowles, released “A Self-Guided Workbook and Gentle Tour on Learning How to Write Stories from Start-to-Finish“. The book is a compilation of advice, examples and exercises to inspire writers of all levels – even beginners.

It’s no secret that at Clairemont we’re sticklers for good writing and a good story. Even more, we’re always excited for an opportunity to learn a new skill – especially during these days of quarantine.

We recently chatted with Carrie about a few pillars that she believes are the must-haves for a good story. If you’ve always been interested in learning how to write stories or if you’re just wanting to try something new, read on to see Carrie’s top tips!

1. Get to know your main character before you start writing your story.

Give him or her a birthday so you will know how old that person is as the story progresses.

By giving that person a birthday, you will also know when he or she graduated from high school, what was going on in the world when he or she was growing up and where that person falls in the continuum of life’s expectations/disappointments/desires. Decide what he or she wants and why. What are the motivations of that individual?

Give the main character a place to live: a highly mortgaged home, mom’s basement, a hip singles apartment complex, a farming community or a big city. Think about how he or she fits in that living environment and why the character might want to either stay there or move.

Most importantly, figure out the strengths of that person as well as weaknesses. Use these attributes to help your character maneuver through solving a problem.

Oh, yeah…be sure to have a problem to solve. No problem = no story.

2. Understand the power and importance of that first page.

Think of that first page of your book/story/research paper as the promise you are making to your reader. That first page is the most important page you will ever write.

A good first page, or better yet, first sentence, sets up the story/book and lets your reader know what kind of journey they are going to experience in your work.

My favorite first sentence of all times is from “Out of Africa” by Isak Dinesen. She tells you the whole story — i.e. what you are going to experience — by reading her book in the first six words on page one: “I had a farm in Africa.”

From those few words, you know you are going to be reading an adventure story about Africa, about having a farm and losing a farm, and all that happens when everything you love in life is lost.

3. The most important thing you can ever do when you first sit down to write is to spew out a truly bad first draft.

Write like your hair is on fire. Like you have a story to tell and you have to blurt it out as quickly as possible or your mind will explode! BUT (and here’s the good part) you need to do it as badly as possible.

In fact, you need to create a truly ugly, disgusting, rambling mess that only you can clean up and reshape to have beauty and lyrical moments and brilliant characters.

That bad first draft is your toolbox. It helps you understand where you might go with your story. It can tell you what works and what won’t work. It should help you define your main character more clearly. It will give you a hint of the story arc and the problems and where there are holes in your story and where you’ve told too much.

It is exactly what you need to eventually make your work lift off the page and capture not only your imagination but also the interest and imagination of your reader.

Interested in hearing more about writing from Carrie? Be sure to check out “A Self-Guided Workbook and Gentle Tour on Learning How to Write Stories from Start-to-Finish“, available at Quail Ridge Books and online at Owl Canyon Press. Don’t miss Carrie’s other works including her latest book, “The Inevitable Past“, set to be released next month or her regular column on Psychology Today!

And check out more or our Clairemont client successes in Client News.

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Wendell Falls Hosts Hero Home

Wendell Falls Hosts Hero Home

April 7, 2020July 15, 2022 Cherith AndesBlog, Clairemont Client News, Real Estate PRHero Home, Operation Coming Home, real estate marketing, real estate PR, wendell fallsLeave a Comment on Wendell Falls Hosts Hero Home

We love when good things come together for a great cause. And now more than ever, we want to celebrate the “bright spot” stories in our community.

Clairemont client Wendell Falls, the Triangle’s largest master-planned community, is teaming up with acclaimed builder Garman Homes on a touching project known as the “Hero Home.”

The Hero Home

Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz sacrificed his life in service of our country in September of 2019, leaving behind his wife — Legna — and two sons. To honor his life and legacy, Garman Homes will be building his wife and children a brand new home on a lot donated by Wendell Falls. The Hero Home is created in partnership with Home Builders Association of Raleigh – Wake County and Operation Coming Home.

This Hero Home carries an additional story of a trifecta of women who are making a difference in the Triangle. Garman Homes, a woman-led and owned builder, is joining hands with Newland, the developer led locally by Tanya Matzen, to build a home for Legna, a single mother.

Operation Coming Home

Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF – Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF – Afghanistan), more than 35,000 men and women have been wounded in combat, and approximately half were so severely wounded they were not returned to duty. Operation Coming Home joins hands with willing partners like the HBA of Wake County, Garman Homes and Wendells Falls to provide some of these soldiers’ most basic needs — a safe home for them and their families.

Garman Homes and Wendell Falls presented the Ortiz family with this exciting announcement at a Carolina Hurricanes’ hockey game earlier this year. Wendell Falls plans to welcome the Ortiz family to its new home in October or November 2020.

Thank you to client Wendell Falls and partner Garman Homes for making a difference in our community.

Have a “bright spot stories” we can celebrate? Share on Facebook!

Photos courtesy of Summit Exposure.

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Spreading Hope From a Distance

Spreading Hope From a Distance

March 24, 2020July 15, 2022 Kelli FletcherBlog, Clairemont Client News, Raleigh PR AgencyLeave a Comment on Spreading Hope From a Distance

It would be wrong if we didn’t acknowledge the change of the media landscape over the past few weeks. These are difficult times that are requiring different navigations.

The Clairemont team is all working from home, practicing social distancing, finding silver linings in the new normal and keeping our clients top-of-mind as we assist them with messaging, next steps and Plan Bs for the coming months.

Helping to bring a smile to our face is client TRU Colors Brewing in Wilmington, N.C., a for-profit company founded by active gang members. TRU is on a social mission to unite rival gangs and stop the violence across our country. They’ve seen success on the local level and are continuing to work hard to prove that especially in times of despair community is everything and hope is just as contagious as fear.

https://www.facebook.com/TRUColorsBrew/videos/563220197882771/?__xts__[0]=68.ARCEyjxM-jfHKNzTAx6bpfNNaXZpTmIhDsvxAx-IR7OoJhpO2qrYjmEdzVBU7xAgFojvwPzUSEMrC66ryZX6-5SbWvbLUzbx_1mdcigJCXj0uG9Mtk2YuPGsrWzC6yIhRmmM95YDY5TY_oBTcQ9BF53P83P7B0q4InXKwcd-2hsAg73Kwy0gQqSXzHBOtFTTxTm3E6-V6ulbY_omvzHkVwM8P-Cc2qPwVU2gO5ZyfDR53-g6nT2gAAEgLni1IVkR7Nm_xIpJ1UTGE4LhMK6Fy-43cXEj9nKbQJ7JPud2mZhT9OCqqQixcUQIpLNfT6GQlOAByFaNcovYSG7Dr-uBZzyIxmXKQ5eUlzM&__tn__=-R
Video by TRU Colors Brewing

Want to help spread this message of positivity far and wide? Head to the TRU Colors Brewing Facebook page and share the above video!

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Briar Chapel Hits the News

Briar Chapel Hits the News

December 20, 2019July 15, 2022 Cherith AndesBlog, Clairemont Client News, Real Estate PRBlue Heron Asset Management, Briar Chapel, real estate marketing, real estate PRLeave a Comment on Briar Chapel Hits the News

Real estate news hit the Triangle — and all about Briar Chapel, an amazing Clairemont client. Briar Chapel, one of the largest and best-selling master-planned communities in the Triangle, recently unveiled the newest addition to its growing, vibrant community. Blue Heron Asset Management will be launching gorgeous, high-end apartments at Briar Chapel, complete with an amenity center and Pinterest-worthy interiors. In fact, this will be one of the first major apartment complexes of this type on 15-501!

Aided by our pitch efforts, the Triangle Business Journal shared the full scoop below!

Raleigh developer plots apartments for Briar Chapel 

A Raleigh real estate investment development firm has plans for an apartment complex in one of the region’s fast-growing communities.

Blue Heron Asset Management has announced it will build a 200-unit apartment community in Briar Chapel, a 900-acre master planned development south of Chapel Hill and led by Newland.

The apartments will be spread across three buildings, each four or five stories. The complex will have a centralized amenities building. 

“Blue Heron is thrilled to be building at Briar Chapel, where we’ll be bringing the best-in-class finishes and amenities common in urban apartment projects to a more laid-back, gracious and community-centered setting,” says Kevin Wade, project manager for Blue Heron. “Residents will be able to enjoy the natural beauty of the Piedmont while maintaining a close proximity to the jobs and attractions in Chapel Hill, Durham, RTP and other hubs of activity in the Triangle.”

Apartments will range in size from 625 to 1,600 square feet — the company has yet to determine rental rates. Groundbreaking is slated for nearly next year, though the specifics of the timeline are still being worked out, as is the total cost of the project. 

Apartments will include features often found in single-family homes, such as built-in bookshelves, separate dining areas and kitchen bars, according to a release. Amenities at the apartments will include a main club building, fitness area, demonstration kitchen, library, a community pool and outdoor space.

Coffee bars, lounges, and pop-up workstations will be included in the lobbies of all three apartment buildings.

JLL commercial real estate brokered the project. 

Wade says as the popularity of mixed-use master-planned communities grows in the Triangle, so has interest from developers such as Blue Heron.

“It kind of proves out the attraction for tenants. People want to live in these communities and that’s attractive for us,” he says. “From a feasibility standpoint, Newland has laid an enormous amount of groundwork.”

Putting the project in Briar Chapel meant Blue Heron not only had the entitlements it needed to build the project, but the necessary infrastructure had already been put in place by Newland. 

“Few other apartment complexes in Chatham County have the benefit of a site with existing entitlements and infrastructure,” says Mike Scisciani, vice president of operations for Newland. “Briar Chapel offers both, which enables Blue Heron to create a large, urban multi-family complex not normally found in this area.”

Briar Chapel is currently entitled for up to 2,500 homes, with 1,900 already built, along with a senior apartment complex and assisted living/skilled nursing facility by Liberty Healthcare Management.

The development also features 500,000 square feet of commercial space, which includes a Central Carolina Community college campus and Veranda, Briar Chapel’s current commercial area. That area opened three years ago and features 42,500 square feet of dining and retail space, as well as health care, legal offices and educational institutions.  

Scisciani says another 400 residential lots are in the works, and Newland expects construction to continue for several more years.

Have some big news around the corner? We can help!

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