Plantation Builders in Brunswick Forest! Pre-Parade of Homes Party

David Spetrino's Plantation Builders has started selling homes in the Shelmore "village" area of Brunswick Forest. Like the other homes in Shelmore Plantation Builder's models have front porches, picket fences, and rear garages with small yards. The model below, where the party was, just went under contract but they're ready to build more.


If you're not familiar with Plantation Builders and the style, type, and quality work that David's company provides, you're in for a treat. Much of the company's work is in downtown Wilmington and the surrounding area. They build custom homes and condos and in the downtown area often do stunning restoration/renovation construction. That's David in the white shirt and tie in the photo below.



You'll really have to see the model to get a sense of how much living and storage space is provided in this seemingly "small" home. We were shaking our heads as we went from room to room and, particularly on the second floor, in the amazingly ample walk-in storage. With the various configuration options in these homes you can never say you don't have enough storage.


So when you get a chance, stop by Plantation Builders' Parade of Homes entry in Brunswick Forest this weekend or, if it's sometime later and you're looking to buy a great new home with incredible storage, fine finish details, and family-friendly living spaces, all in a super new neighborhood in the an amenity-packed community in the greater Wilmington area, call me. I'd love to take you to see it.


Great job, David, that house is fabulous.

Sea Coast Realty Leland Office Oyster Roast

Each month Denise Kinney, the managing broker of the Leland office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty sets a contract goal for the 20-odd Realtors who work in the office. If we make or exceed the goal (or rather I should say 'when', because we usually make it), Denise plans a party. This year we've hit our goal most months, and last evening we had an oyster roast at our office to celebrate exceeding our October goal target.

Realtor Sean Skutnik, a multi-talented guy who also fishes, gardens, and cooks, did the honors of picking up and cooking the oysters and he did a fine, fine job. Here's Sean below with the initial load of oysters on the cooker (this was a very small portion of the oysters - we went through two huge cartons of them).

Office Manager Kari Essig and brokers Peter David, Linda Killian, and Craig Spafford.

Broker Howard Bailey, Kari, and Allyson Kinney with her mom Denise.

I left fairly early but the festivities went on for hours.

I wonder what Denise will think of when we beat our goal this month?

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty - Ice Cream Social

We had a great month in August at the Leland office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty so we ended the month with an Ice Cream Social. Sea Coast Broker in Charge Denise Kinney provided the toppings and fixings and Alpha Mortgage's Lam Nguyen brought the ice cream.

This was my creation. It didn't last long.
Jean Costello was actually being very good and eating granola, but Karen Schwartz had the real deal.
Denise watched as Candace Wolff and her son Garrett built sundaes.
Sean Skutnik does everything with enthusiasm - including eating ice cream.
Lam Nguyen and Craig Spafford, on the other hand, were more reserved in their stand up ice cream eating demeanor.
Thanks Lam and Denise, it sure was good.

Change Is Good - New Directions for Being Bruce

"Late to the party, last to leave."

I started this blog in September 2008. Since that time I've posted more than 250 times and used 49% of my Blogger allotment of image storage space (that's a lot of photos). I had intended to wait till this September to announce a change in, or rather an addition to, the blog direction, intention, and purpose, but, in a move that will come as no surprise to those who know me best, I'm not waiting. I'm starting with this post, but intend by the first of August, to make significant changes to the Being Bruce blog. These changes reflect parallel changes in my business/work life.

I'm not going to stop blogging. I'm also NOT going to stop writing about and posting many photos of places, people, events, and things I think interesting or amusing. The changes will be in added content and additional direction. Therefore, if you're already at or near your limit of my view of the world, you might consider un-following the blog or killing the RSS feed. The previous sentence will be your only warning.

Here's what's going on: I'm a big believer that we each have unique purpose. I also believe that many of us find our best expression of purpose through multiple outlets or directions. In this post I'm outting myself about going back to some of my career/life roots and adding another patch to my current professional canvas.

A while back in my professional life I was a counselor and therapist, later on a computer and business consultant, and (sort of in between and always) a life and business coach. I have decided to charge back into that realm (in my usual high-energy manner) while continuing my profession as a full time REALTOR in the great Wilmington area and also working with Marge on Fat City Cards, our SendOutCards distributorship. I'm passionate about all three endeavors and am looking forward to once again having two full-time jobs and one half time gig.

I should make it very clear that I'm not going to be "doing" therapy or personal counseling - I'm not licensed in this state for that and that's not my interest or passion. I'm also not going to be a business/computer/marketing consultant (been there, got the t-shirt). What I am going to do is offer my services as a coach to a very narrow niche. That niche is defined as high-energy, high-achieving people who have had one or more business successes and one or more failures and are now ready to make a huge leap, a significant change or advance in their business or career.

We've named the service Quantum Results Coaching, which is both denotative and connotative. It's not for everyone, but those for whom it will be of best service will recognize it. Others likely won't get it at all, which is fine.

Here's a graphic we're going to use that depicts the service:

How will that effect the Being Bruce blog? The major difference you'll notice, if you read all the blog items and not just specific event-focused posts, is that each weekday I'm going to be posting content that speaks to change agency.

I will post about:

• teachers or writers I follow or find interesting,
• books I think useful,
• specific tools or principles for personal realization or success,
• profiles of people I know who love what they do or making great leaps, and
• a running personal business diary.

I'll also be changing some of the side content and possibly the color and graphics on the blog, but those changes will come gradually.

So, the Being Bruce blog is going to "be" a lot more personal. It's going to "be" more focused on people taking charge of their (business) lives and living boldly. It's therefore going to "be" longer.

But I'll still post photos like this one of my yummy breakfast today.

Thanks for bearing with me on this post.

If you have questions about Quantum Results Coaching, I'm reachable in all the usual ways. The best ways to contact me are:

• E-mail: brucerbrown@yahoo.com
• Cell phone: (910) 297-8753
• Twitter: @brucebrownnc
  
  

The Secret Life of a Real Estate Agent

A Big Surprise - Thanks, Leland and Sea Coast!

OK, so today I was truly surprised. Marge asked me to pick her up at home so we could meet a friend for a business lunch. When we got to Antonios Pizza and Pasta restaurant in Leland, I had to take a call first but she went in and came back out and said our friend was sponsoring a luncheon for a bunch of folks, it wasn't just us. So we went upstairs and it was a surprise going-away party, for me.

This first shot was taken at the end of the really nice affair that was organized by Broker in Charge Denise Kinney and Office Manager Kari Essig. The Leland crew plus much of the management team from the Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty family was present.

We had a good meal, with great desserts, catered by Steve Pagley and Vinnie from Antonio's. We also had some good laughs. The photos here don't catch every one who was there and don't do justice to any, but I sure appreciated the thought and the event and I definitely appreciate being part of the Leland office, which I had the honor to lead for 15 months.

Four of the biggest trouble-makers are in the shot below:

while this shot has more of the managers and serious folks.

Clearly impatient for dessert, these four great women held down the end of the table.

And Sean proved once more that, not only can he cook, the boy can also eat!

And it isn't a surprise, really, that I'm not going away. I'm staying in place doing what I really love to do, selling real estate in Leland, NC.

The agents and staff even gave me a present that represents my 2009 nickname: Freight Train - for the energy I'm bringing to the job.

Party On! Business After Hours a Big Success in Leland - the Land of Abundance

We had a great time last evening at the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours hosted by our Leland office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty. Between 5:30 and 7:30PM 80+ chamber members, visitors, and guests ate, drank, talked, and were entertained by local singer David Bohn.


The weather was perfect so we held the event outside in front of Sea Coast Realty's offices at 1018 Grandiflora Drive in Leland (right in front of the Magnolia Greens golf community).

The evening was catered jointly by Antonio's Pizza and Pasta Restaurant (Manager Vinny is in the photo below at the carving station serving Frank Bullard of Bugsy's Cigars) and by Flavors Ice Cream (I didn't get a photo of them, but they were serving ice cream sundaes and went through a LOT of great Hershey's Ice Cream).



David Bohn, pictured below, is a perfect entertainer for this type of event. He filled the evening air with sweet singable covers of songs we all knew -- not just a few of us sang along at times.

We had a super turnout from the NB Chamber and very much appreciated it. Below Greg Norris, husband of NBCC Executive Director Rhonda Norris (not in the picture) and Peggy O'Leary, NBCC President and CEO of Premier Staffing smile and wave for the camera while Sea Coast's Linda Killian-Huevel talks with other Chamber members.

NBCC events are always well-attended and fun. I appreciate the turnout and all the help from Sea Coast agents and staff and chamber members.

Afternoon Meetings Go Better with Ice Cream and Pizza

This afternoon was beautiful. Prior to getting ready to go out or get home to receive trick or treaters, Four of us met late this afternoon at Flavors Ice Cream in Leland to network and discuss marketing strategies. Michelle Morris of Flavors Ice Cream (wearing an appropriate pumpkin colored top), Marge Brown of Fat City Cards, Chris Houseknecht of Southport Shutter and Closet, and Bruce Brown (that would be me) of the Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty Leland office got together to share ideas and eat some great ice cream (thanks, Michelle). For the record only the guys had ice cream (Chris had pumpkin ice cream and Bruce had vanilla).


After ice cream what better place to go than our favorite area pizza place, Antonio's Pizza and Pasta in Leland. Michelle didn't come along, but Marge, Chris, and I did. I could only take this shot of the patio (we sat inside) before Marge told me to put the camera away already, so I did, and we ate and laughed and had a great time.

Next Thursday November 6th in front of the Leland Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty office at 1018 Grandiflora Drive the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce is having a Business After Hours from 5:30 till 7:30PM or something like that. Catering will be by Antonio's, with a carving station and adult libations, and a dessert area with ice cream sundaes by Flavors. Local entertainer David Bohn will bring his guitar, microphone, and singing voice for everyone's enjoyment. If you're looking for a great time to meet active business folks in Leland next Thursday, some on over to our place.

Embrace Change In Your Business

Face it. Change, in life and in business, is not only inevitable, it's the natural state. You can't avoid it, you can't fight it and win, and you can only ignore change at peril to your personal serenity and business success.

Change is constant. Change is healthy. Change is opportunity. Change is your chance to excel.

The NASA photo in this post shows the Helix Nebula (the photo is a composite taken via the Hubble Space Telescope). Think exploding star. Now there's change for you. According to NASA astronomers the distance from the front to the back of the image is approximately one trillion miles (and I don't care what you've got in your Mustang, THATS a long distance). As you can see, even during the nebula's time of great change, it is amazing and beautiful - this photo, btw, is often referred as the "Eye of God". All that's changing in this photo, however, is the state of the matter and energy that made up the nebula, they still exist, but in a different state and form.

You, too, can be amazing and beautiful during times of change. It's a choice.

Many speak of postive attitude. When faced with change, positive attitude is healthy, in fact it's imperative for survival, but even more important is positive action. Start by thinking positively about change in your business - that enables you to "feel" postive, but the greatest benefit comes when you take positive action.

I will write more about change in business and how to predict and plan for it. The first step is to accept and surrender to change. That surrender enables you go forward boldly. The better you predict, plan, and take action the more success you will enjoy. But do not think you'll rest in your success, that you'll "finally get there" - because change won't stop.

You can resist change and fail, or at best have a miserable time. You also have the choice to accept change and excel, profit, and have a great time. The choice is yours.

Ashton Place Grand Re-Opening in Leland - A Real Estate Success Story!!

Paige Robinson of Brookside Homes and good friend Landon Barker stood in the chilly air and welcomed visitors to Paige's Grand Re-Opening Event today. In less than a year after opening Ashton Place on Old Fayetteville Road in Leland, Paige held a Grand Re-Opening luncheon for REALTORS(tm) today. The old model home used to be right by the entrance but the new model home, a design called the Bradley Creek(see photo below), is halfway back in the community. REALTORs like to eat, a lot, and Middle of the Island caterers did their usual fine job, this time under a tent - it was a bit brisk to say the least today, temperatures were still in the low 50's at midday (yeah yeah, we know you Northeners are snickering - but hey, we expect and usually get GREAT WEATHER year round, so snicker at that!).

The three biggest factors in Ashton Place's success in this time when many are bewailing the real estate market? That's easy: price; design; and build quality. Oh yeah, and there are three more: location; location; and location. The convenient Ashton Place placement is pretty much smack in the middle of Leland, close to schools, post office, library, both the older and rapidly expanding newer retail areas, and don't forget its great access to major highways.

In all there are seven home plans at Ashton Place priced under $200,000! How cool is that? No wonder that in this time when mortgage money is still a bargain and plentifully available for folks who qualify Ashton Place is a poster community for success. The price is right. If you'd like to tour Ashton Place and would like a buyer's agent to represent you, I'd be honored to assist you - please call my cell phone at 910-297-8753 or e-mail me at brucebrown@seacoastrealty.com. You can also look for other homes via my website.

Raspberry Cat Presents a Purrfect Venue for the Arts

Plans are moving forward rapidly for Mary Ann Sauer's (aka The Frame Lady) Raspberry Cat Gallery & Gift Shop in Cross Creek Commons in Leland. On Thursday evening, October 23rd, approximately 35 artists and artisans from our region met to hear Mary Ann and guests speak about both the potential of the North Brunswick area centered in Leland and the reality of the great opportunity it presents today!

Rhonda Norris, Executive Director of the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce spoke about the many businesses opened and coming to our area. Bruce Brown, Managing Broker of the Leland office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty (hey, that's me I'm writing about) started by assuring people that he is not and never was Henry Winkler and then talked about population growth, demographics, and "playing to win" as opposed to "playing not to lose". The final speaker, Decorator Theresa Sholey (in the photo above during her presentation), who is working with Mary Ann to design and decorate the display areas and pieces, talked about displaying gallery members' arts and works. Mary Ann followed up with a presentation of her vision of the gallery, the history of the the project, and the support she's already received from the artisan community. At the end of the evening there was a great deal of excitement about Raspberry Cat and an impressive number (I'm not telling because I don't want to jinx it) indicated their immediate willingness to sign on. We'll keep you posted on what promises to be a very cool custom gift shop in the heart of Leland's Route 17 shopping area. For more info, call Mary Ann Sauer at 910-383-1343.

REALTOR Booty Call ! Steel Band Entertains at Stevens Fine Homes Design Center Grand Opening

Thursday afternoon 150-200 REALTORS gathered outside in the parking lot and inside Stevens Fine Homes Design Center on Oleander Drive in Wilmington, North Carolina. Entertained by Pantastic Steel, fueled by food and legal libations, and glued to the spot by near- continuous giveaways, including the big booty, a gorgeous blue topaz David Yurman ring, a great time was had by all. Stevens Fine Homes, with neighborhoods under development in Wilmington and Leland, now has a central facility at 5710 Oleander Drive, space formerly occupied by Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty.

Land of Abundance Group Shot

Check out this shot of the staff and agents of the Leland, North Carolina office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty wearing our L.A. hats. L.A. stands for Land of Abundance and we welcome you to give us a call or stop by at 1018 Grandiflora Drive, Suite E in front of Magnolia Greens.

New Home Community Show at Coastline Convention Center

Today at Wilmington's Coastline Convention Center, the Home Builders Association Sales and Marketing Council put on a new home community show. We went in the morning during the REALTORS(tm)-only hours to see the booths, to visit with friends (and meet new people), and to check out the booths.

The most dramatic booth was easily the one put up by Ashton Place a development in Leland. The theme was "Come see what's POPPIN' at Ashton Place" and on-site rep Brad Hunter was getting ready to rev up a popcorn maker when we left.




Meg Taiclet of Blue Ridge Companies was doing double duty
at the show, representing two condominium communities: Bellingham Park in Wilmington and Topsail Landing in Surf City.



K.C. Billings who formerly was on the sales staff of Waterford of the Carolinas, was working at the Compass Pointe booth when we stopped by. Compass Pointe opened a sales center at 108 Market Street in Downtown Wilmington this week, but the development itself, which will eventually consist of 4,000+ homes on approximately 2,200 acres, is located in Leland off Routes 74-76, just past the Industrial Park and the Leland branch of Brunswick Community College.

We chatted for a while with H. Thomas Davis III of South Eastern Real Estate, who was working at the booth for Marmalade at City Block, urban condos located at 814 North 4th Street in Wilmington. Located in the center of the Brooklyn Arts District, Marmalade's spread includes one and two bedroom condos ranging in size from 709 to 1492 square feet and in price from $184,340 t0o $432,680.

Palmetto Creek's Chris Dedrick didn't pose for the photo, but she was there talking about the finished amenities in the Supply, North Carolina community.

Laura Heal was at the impressive Signature Homes booth, with literature and information about SeaBrooke in Leland, NC off Lanvale Road and Stones Edge in northern Wilmington.

Community Specialist Jason James worked the Waterford of the Carolinas booth.

Jo Anne Britt was at the Wedgewood at Lanvale table, with literature for four builders: Liberty Homes, Logan Homes, Savannah Home Builders, and Veranda Homes. Located off Lanvale Road in Leland, Wedgewood at Lanvale has patio homes from the $150s, garden homes from the $190s, and brick homes starting around $235,000.

Where Would We Be Without Free Event Food?

This blog entry is really about a ribbon-cutting at a local bank, but it's lunchtime so I'm thinking about food. Yesterday they had great food at the ribbon-cutting of the new Leland branch of East Carolina Bank. I've worked in several professions, including teaching, counseling, high-tech freelance writing, and now real estate. One thing all those fields have in common is plenty of good food at hand, either because someone likes to bake cookies, or the office manager decides it's time for some calorie-fueled staff bonding, or, the best ever, when food is involved with public relations events. In the high tech journalism world fancy meals and parties abound, and we kept our journalistic integrity by eating with everyone, not singling out just one vendor. Real estate agents also have lots of food around - do you really think the cookies at open houses are for visitors? I've witnessed open houses with only three visitors where 2 dozen chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies disappeared (and yes, I do prefer home-made, but store bought are generally fine, too). OK, so anyway, with the final comment that therapist office food is usually pretty sparse (as I recall we'd get all worked up over a box of donuts!) and make sure you feel some sympathy for radio jocks, because radio stations have nothing to offer but very old, very thick, but still hot, black sludgy coffee.

Recently, however, I've found a whole new way to indulge my urges for carbs, protein, and fat (it's called the Equal Opportunity Eating Diet). Attending ribbon-cuttings and Business After Hours events held by members of the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce is a great excuse to sample homemade and restaurant food in abundance, and yesterday's ECB ribbon-cutting, catered by Charlie Macgrooder's restaurant in Leland, was no exception.

But enough about food! Here's the serious business announcement. Local notables and ECB executives and staff were on hand for the official ribbon-cutting of East Carolina's newest branch. The Leland location is ECB's the 24th office - not bad for a bank that started in a former barber shop in Engelhard, NC.

The nicest thing about the ribbon cutting was that the ribbon was stuck with $20 bills that after the ceremony were donated to Lynn Carlson, Executive Director of Hope Harbor Home Domestic Violence Shelter in Brunswick County. This charitable gesture is a super tradition with ECB, so hat's off to whoever started it and to those who continue the generosity. (I counted 32 $20 bills in the photo, but there may be a few more, so that's a bunch of bucks!).

Here's the lineup of the cast of characters in the photo above (not counting two or three people whose faces we can't see but were probably just getting in position to be the first at the buffet table anyway). From left to right: Miriam Lee, ECB Teller; Victor Pearsall, North Brunswick Chamber VP, and banker with Security Savings Bank; Jerry Brett, Regional Honcho and all-round good guy with ECB; Lynn Carlson, Executive Director, Hope Harbor Home; Debra Gill-Mason, Volunter Extraordinaire, NBCC; Susan Cruse, Branch Manager, ECB; Tony Vlach, Nationwide Insurance; Art Keeney, ECB President and CEO; Dorson White, ECB Executive VP and CFO; Brian Hartzell, ECB Business Banking; and Ashley Sander, ECB Senior Teller.

Staying true to their roots, ECB has a great name for their Automatic Teller Machines. They don't even point it out to people, so they must take it for granted, but I think it's hilarious that they call their outside ATM machines their "Outer Banker".

Leland's growing fast and it's great to have businesses that have a sense of giving and community support, that have a sense of humor, and also that serve great food at P.R. events.

Grayson Park Clubhouse and Pool, Leland, NC

In 1968 Burt Lancaster starred in The Swimmer, a movie in which his character travels through a suburb by swimming through residents' pools. I was reminded of the movie concept Wednesday afternoon when I re-visited the new clubhouse and pool at Grayson Park. This fine community, developed by Stevens Fine Homes, is located off US Route 87 north of US Highway 17 is in Leland, North Carolina, about 8 miles west of Downtown Wilmington. (Note to movie producers and other film industry folks: if you decide to do a re-make of The Swimmer based on someone swimming his or her way across a country via subdivision pools, you heard it here first, and I'm NOT the Bruce Brown who made The Endless Summer, the original surfing flick, also in the 1960s.)

Grayson Park has existing and pre-sale homes and townhomes for sale, but whenever I visit this fine neighborhood lately I'm drawn to the clubhouse and more particularly to the pool. I'm not actually much of a swimmer, but my wife Marge is. Marge loves to swim and I like to sit by the pool and read - sometimes my total exercise-oriented activity for the day is counting laps as Marge churns the water back and forth. Grayson Park's pool is, in a word, gorgeous. There are six swimming lanes plus a blocked off shallow area for non-lane swimmers. There's also an adjacent spa and plenty of undercover space at the back of the clubhouse for people who'd rather sit out of the sun but still enjoy the pool area.

The clubhouse itself has a full kitchen, a comfortable seating/lounging members area, shower facilities, and two offices currently used by the Grayson Park sales staff. A new section of homes called Parkside will soon be open with what sounds like an appealing combination of high-end features and aggressive pricing. If you're in the market for a new home and haven't yet seen Grayson Park, and would like to, give me a call at 910-297-8753 or e-mail BruceBrown@SeaCoastRealty.com. I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised at how much you can get for your money by traveling a few minutes west of Wilmington. I'd be very happy to show you Grayson Park and other communities in the Leland and Wilmington areas. In the meantime, I may talk to Marge about doing our own version of The Swimmer - if we can convince the neighborhood people to let us do it, she'll test the lap swimming and I'll practice counting.

SeaBrooke in Leland, North Carolina

Because I'm a REALTOR, and particulary because my office is in Leland, NC, I try to keep up with newly developing neighborhoods in the area. It's part of my job, which is cool, because I also think it's a lot of fun. My main purpose is to stay current with area neighborhoods so I can assist potential buyers in our area. I may spin off this content into a separate blog dedicated solely to neighborhoods I visit in Leland and Wilmington, but for now will keep the content in this, my primary blog.

Yesterday afternoon I took a ride to two of our newer local Leland neighborhoods. The first is SeaBrooke. The following reads a bit like a press release, I realize, but, hey, I was a journalist for 18 years and many of my best friends still are in public relations, so a little of what they do rubbed off. The following isn't a product review like the 1000's I wrote for PC Magazine (Google "PC Magazine Bruce Brown" if reading old computer and printer reviews is your thing) and it isn't an ad. The neighborhood info isn't an endorsement, either, but I did attempt to succinctly capture the major features and the builder/developer conceptual goals.

SeaBrooke, a new community opening in Leland, North Carolina, combines NAHB Green Building Program standards and an intentional "village" feel. Single story garden homes and two-story village homes in SeaBrooke are priced in the mid to high $200s and include a long list of energy-saving and environmentally-friendly attributes. Homes in SeaBrooke include many "must-have", check-list features such as hardwood floors, 42" kitchen cabinets, solid surface countertops, stainless steel appliances, and ceramic tile baths. In addition to the garden homes and village homes SeaBrooke will also have a section of townhomes with prices starting in the $180s.


Located off Lanvale Road in Leland, across Route 17 from the newly rising Villages of Brunswick Forest retail and office complex, SeaBrooke's 200 acre site is within natural forests and with ponds, fountains, and walking trails. Neighborhood amenities will include a pool, playground, and community pavilion.

If you're from the Leland/Wilmington area you'll know that SeaBrooke is close to the fast-growing "New Leland" area and about a 10-minute drive to downtown Wilmington's riverfront and historic district. If you're not local, SeaBrooke is about 45 minutes from North Myrtle Beach, and within 20-30 minutes of a great selection of North Carolina's beautiful beaches and yet is still conveniently located for shopping, entertainment, health services, commuting to major employers, and of course within minutes of golf courses (which pretty much applies to all of Southeastern North Carolina).

If you're interested in more information about SeaBrooke, just give me a call at 910-297-8753 or e-mail me at BruceBrown@SeaCoastRealty.com. I'd be honored to assist you.

Compass Pointe Sales Office Grand Opening Today at 108 Market Street

This morning I was the first to show up for coffee and bagels at the grand opening of the brand new sales office for the Compass Pointe neighborhood in Leland. The sales center, at 108 Market Street in downtown Wilmington, will be open today (October 14th) from 10am-8pm for REALTORs and others who'd like a sneak preview of this exciting new community.

Located off routes 74-76 on 2,200 acres of what are described as the highest point in Brunswick Country, North Carolina, Compass Pointe is a huge undertaking that, like Brunswick Forest, Waterford of the Carolinas, and Magnolia Greens will be developed over 10+ years. First phases will include townhomes, patio homes, tropical-style homes, and custom home lots with townhome prices starting in the $150's and home and land prices starting in the $200's.

Planned amenities, in addition to a village-style shopping area, will eventually include a 27-hole golf course, a tennis complex, swimming pools, fitness center, canoe and kayak launch, soccer field, many walking trails, a dog park, and an amphitheater. Compass Pointe has aready been named an Audubon International Gold Signature Community and will have at least two Audubon bird sanctuaries. Golf cart lanes on both sides of community roads will encourage alternative transportation use.

Community sales representatives will be on hand all day during the grand opening and will include some familiar faces, including K.C. Billings (pictured with the community map), Todd Garrett, John Matoska, and John Avera.