Summer Camps & Classes

In case you haven't yet heard, Chatham Arts Council will be offering summer camps & classes at Briar Chapel this summer!

These art camps are meant to give your child an opportunity to experience music, painting and drama. They will also be teaching an adult drawing class.

All classes are held at the Briar Club, and are open to the public with limited space, so act quickly if you’re interested. To learn more or download a registration form, click here.

The Pool is Open!

Briar Chapel's pool facilities opened yesterday for the first time ever!

A number of residents and non-resident members (sorry, member-ships have sold out already), as well as some Newland staff, enjoyed themselves under the watchful eye of the lifeguard staff.

As expected, the water slide and diving well were a big hit among the adults and children. Meanwhile, the younger ones enjoyed the splash pad and zero-entry pool. I particularly like the fact that Briar Chapel uses salt-water chlorination. The water feels smooth, is softer on your skin, and has no chlorine odor.

Folks that were not swimming relaxed on comfortable furniture that was installed last week. For shade lovers (like myself), there were plenty of places to sit under umbrellas or cabanas.

If you would like to see the pool, and experience what life is like at Briar Chapel, please schedule an appointment to tour the community.

1st Annual Briar Chapel 5K Race Results

Over 150 people signed up for the 1st Annual Briar Chapel 5K, which benefited the Abundance Foundation in Chatham County. Overall winners were Jack Morgan (19:04) and Tiffany Thompsen (20:14).

Personally, I had a tough day, and finished much further back in the field. I did, however, enjoy the course - except for the last hill. I'm in the process of getting back into shape, and will be much better prepared next year!

For a complete list of results, visit East Carolina Road Racing.

Green Incentives at Briar Chapel

In honor of the Green Home Tour, Briar Chapel's builder partners are offering the following green home features on all pre-construction sales until May 10th...

McNeill Burbank: Receive a free “Rain Water Harvesting System” as shown in the McNeill Burbank home showcased in the Green Home Tour.

Vanguard Homes: Receive a free tankless water heater.

M/I Homes: Receive an upgraded, high-efficiency heating and air conditioning system (14SEER) for both zones of the home.

Chatham Builder Guild: Receive a free tankless water heater or an upgrade to Icynene® spray foam insulation in the roof.

Please contact me to learn more about these incentives, or to schedule a tour of homes in Briar Chapel.

Briar Chapel’s First Annual 5K Race

I hope you will join me next Saturday (May 9) for the running of the First Annual Briar Chapel 5K Race!

The race starts at 8:00 am, and will follow a brand-new, well-marked, USATF-certified 5K course. Proceeds will benefit the Abundance Foundation, which sponsors innovative ideas to increase awareness of renewable energy and promote local food consumption.

An awards ceremony will immediately follow the race, with awards to overall and age group winners, with refreshments for all participants. You and your family can then attend a private showing of Briar Chapel’s model homes from 8:30 to 9:30 am.

Don’t miss your chance to run on this beautiful new course, tour the energy-efficient green homes, and help support your local community. Race-day registration begins at 6:30 am. For more details, or to pre-register online, visit Active.com.

See you at the race!

4th Annual Green Home Tour Starts Tomorrow!

The 4th Annual Green Home Tour will be held on April 25 & 26 and May 2 & 3. This free, self-guided tour will include 36 green homes in Wake, Chatham, Durham, Orange, Granville, and Alamance Counties.

All homes are enrolled in the green-building certification program administered by the Green Home Builders of the Triangle. Each entry is required to achieve sufficient goals in all of the green building program areas and must conform to at least the bronze level of green certification. See my previous post for a list of homes in Briar Chapel on the tour.

You can pick up a free tour book at a number of local outlets during the week before the tour, including the Briar Chapel Information Center. Otherwise, visit www.TriangleGreenHomeTour.com for more detailed information.

Triangle Green Home Tour Coming Soon!

The 4th Annual Green Home Tour has been expanded to two weekends in 2009: Apr 25-26 and May 2-3. This free, self-guided event will feature 36 entries in six counties.

As usual, the tour will allow you to examine a number of green building features in a wide variety of homes in all styles and price points -- ranging from Habitat and entry-level homes to luxury custom entries.

This year, Briar Chapel will have five homes on the tour, which are listed below. However, it is important to remember that ALL homes in Briar Chapel are required to achieve at least the bronze-level of certification upon completion.

1190 Great Ridge Parkway (McNeill-Burbank)
1194 Great Ridge Parkway (McNeill-Burbank)
1256 Great Ridge Parkway (Vanguard)
1269 Great Ridge Parkway (M/I Homes)
256 Windy Knoll Circle (Chatham Builders Guild)

To learn more about the tour, visit the HBA-DOC website.

Briar Chapel Townhomes Now Underway

McNeill-Burbank has broken ground on their much-anticipated townhomes near the pool! The first of these units will be ready this summer, and each will have a master bedroom on the main floor with direct access to a private courtyard. They come in sizes ranging from 1925-2500 sqft, and are available in 3/4-bedroom, 2.5/3.5-bath configurations. Basements are also available.

Priced from the mid-$200s to high-$300s, these townhomes are sure to be popular with those looking for maintenance-free living in Briar Chapel. If interested, please contact me so that I can tell you about the current incentives being offered and setup a meeting to view floor plans.

Briar Chapel Middle School May Benefit from Federal Stimulus Package

Congressman Bob Etheridge met with Chatham County and school officials recently to discuss the money that the state will receive from the federal stimulus package. A number of local projects may benefit, including construction of Briar Chapel Middle School and renovation of Northwood High School. View the full story, as reported by NBC 17.

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

In its efforts to stimulate the economy and revive the housing market, Congress has enacted legistlation providing a tax credit of up to $8000 for qualified first-time homebuyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

Learn how you can take advantage of this tax credit to buy a home in Briar Chapel.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Briar Chapel Middle School

Community leaders were on hand last Thursday (1/29) just off Andrews Store Road to break ground on the new site of Briar Chapel Middle School. The new 120,000 sqft site will be home to a new $26.5 million facility that is built to be energy efficient and LEED certified, making it Chatham County's first green school.

Read the full story that News 14 published, which includes video coverage of the event.

Tree Spade Earthcasts at Briar Chapel

If you've been to Briar Chapel, you undoubtedly noticed the large earthcast sculptures that adorn the traffic circle near the Briar Club and pool. These were created by Thomas Sayre, a Raleigh-based artist and co-founder of Clearscapes, a multi-disciplinary design firm.

Sayre’s large-scale sculpture and public artworks are installed worldwide, from Atlanta to Portland, and from Turkey to Thailand. Thomas is probably best known for the Gyre, the monumental earthcast rings he created at the NC Museum of Art. His local works also include the Shimmer Wall at the Raleigh Convention Center, the gleaming marble World Wall at Marbles Kids Museum, and the Pas de Chat outside the Progress Center for the Performing Arts on Lichtin Plaza.

Currently, Sayer is exhibiting two new bodies of work at the NCSU Gregg Museum of Art & Design. Similar to the installation at Briar Chapel, he is displaying a group of site-specific earthcasts made from a commercial tree spade. To see how he creates these sculptures, check out this time-lapse video on his website.

Briar Chapel Middle School Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled

On Monday, the Chatham County Board of Education announced that a groundbreaking ceremony for the new middle school in Briar Chapel has been scheduled to be held on Thursday, Jan. 29th at 9:00 a.m.

According to Chatham County Schools Superintendent Robert Logan, the new middle school is projected to open in August 2010, and will cost an estimated $27 million. Here are just some of the details:

• 650 student capacity / 800 core
• LEED Silver Certified

Learn more about Chatham County Schools.

Briar Club Achieves LEED Silver Certification

Newland Communities recently announced that Briar Chapel's community clubhouse, the Briar Club, has earned LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver status. Here is the full press release:

Triangle’s Largest Green Community Receives Green Building Certification

Chapel Hill, N.C. – Newland Communities’ Briar Chapel, a 1,589-acre mixed-use community in Chatham County, has achieved Silver certification for its community clubhouse under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System™ from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The LEED for New Construction certification was obtained for the community’s 11,000-square-foot clubhouse. The building is the first Newland-owned community building to receive LEED certification. The LEED standard, created by the USGBC, is a third-party certification system and a benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

Briar Chapel received points for the Silver certification level under the LEED for New Construction, which is the second of four levels of certification. Some of the sustainable and green elements incorporated into the facility include:

• 95 percent of space is daylight accessible
• Low emitting materials such as low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) paints, composite woods and agricultural fibers
• Water consumption reduced by 40 percent through low-flow toilets and showerheads
• 50 percent more efficient landscaping by using indigenous plants and a rainwater harvesting system

The LEED program regulates energy efficiency, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and sustainable sites. The certification is based on a points system, and each category requires specific requirements, which must be met before points are awarded. The LEED for New Construction Rating System is designed to guide and distinguish high-performance commercial and institutional projects, including office buildings, high-rise residential buildings, government buildings, recreational facilities, manufacturing plants and laboratories.

“The certification of Briar Chapel’s clubhouse is a tremendous achievement for the entire Newland Communities team and marks a great accomplishment for our company,” said Keith Hurand, senior vice president, division manager for Newland Communities Carolinas division. “This reflects the level of commitment we have to our homebuyers, as well as Chatham County and North Carolina and establishes Newland as a leading developer that creates healthy, long-lasting communities which preserve and conserve natural resources.”

Briar Chapel opened in September 2008 with more than 900 acres of open space just south of Chapel Hill. It is the largest community in the Triangle to require homebuilders to comply with rigorous new home construction requirements including the Green Building Initiative developed by Green Home Builders of the Triangle and ENERGY STAR®, creating high performance, healthier homes with measurable cost savings for residents and contributing to an improved quality of life.

Vanguard Concept Home Recognized By EPA

Next Tuesday, November 25th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will recognize the Vanguard Homes’ “Sensibly Green” Concept Home in Briar Chapel as the first home in the country to be WaterSense™ labeled. The press conference will be held at 1:30pm in the Concept Home with a reception to immediately follow.

Stephen Johnson, the 11th Administrator of the U.S. EPA, will be one of the special guest speakers, and will discuss the WaterSense New Homes Pilot Program (of which Vanguard Homes is one of only seven builders in the country to participate).

Learn more about the WaterSense™ program, or read the full press release regarding this event.