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The Daily Tar Heel

Magazine Lauds Community With Top Honors

That place is actually a village -- the Southern Village mixed-use development to be exact. The development is home to commercial property (the Lumina Theatre), educational facilities (Mary Scroggs Elementary School) and a variety of families to fill the 1,175 housing units.

The magazine's list, which pinpoints the 10 best-selling neighborhoods in the Triangle, was based on amounts of sales using figures compiled by the Triangle Multiple Listing Services 2002 market update.

"The list was put together from a business standpoint," said Kim Nilsen, business editor for the Triangle Business Journal. "Southern Village is selling lots of homes."

Statistical categories included the number of properties sold, average price and average days on the market. They were gathered from subdivisions in the Triangle from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31, 2002.

Erika Buchholtz, Southern Village's sales and marketing manager, noted several factors that help the sales of the community.

"Southern Village is doing well for numerous reasons," Buchholtz said. "It offers convenience and aesthetics and is a village designed for people."

Buchholtz also said the diversity of the area is appealing to home buyers.

"We have people from all of the country and all over the world," she said. "It's a great mix, people from all stages of life."

Chapel Hill Town Council member Pat Evans said the success in the area is because of the satisfaction of the residents.

"Everybody likes it," Evans said. "It's very pedestrian-oriented. They have community events."

Buchholtz also said the pedestrian resources have helped the neighborhood.

"It's very walkable," she said. "We have shops and services, school, swim and tennis in walking distance."

Evans said she thinks effective land use is another reason Southern Village is selling homes.

"It's a compact mixed-use development," she said. "This allows people to live closer together."

Evans also thinks the success of Southern Village shows the necessity of good decisions regarding land.

"We've got to make a wise use of the land," she said.

It's this land use that creates a homey nature for the village and draws people to Southern Village, Buchholtz said.

"It's a true village," she said. "There's something for everybody. It feels good to have a sense of place."

Council member Dorothy Verkerk agrees that Southern Village's coziness is what draws buyers in.

"Chapel Hill is a series of communities," Verkerk said.

"People like the sense of community Southern Village offers."

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The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.

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