540 Kennedy Circle Open House and Staging Unveiling

Randy Larson of East Coast Staging and Re-Design and Leslie Morgan of the Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty Leland office are pleased and excited to unveil the winner of Randy's Biggest Winner home staging contest.

This great house, locate at 540 Kennedy Circle in Boiling Springs Lakes, NC will be open Sunday, February 28th from 1-4PM.






For more information, call Leslie at 910-599-0094 or email LeslieMorgan@SeaCoastRealty.com or Randy Larson at 910-619-1746 or rlarson@ecstaging.com

Leland Wins When Sea Coast Bowls for Charity - November 2009

Each Fall Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty holds a bowling event for charity at Cardinal Lanes in Wilmington on Shipyard Boulevard. Last night I bowled with the team from the Leland office and, while we didn't win the overall competition, we won in other ways, one in specific. But read on.

In the photo are Earl and Linda Cline, brokers at the Leland office. Linda bowled, very well in fact, and Earl cheered us on.

Doug Jackson, broker with the Leland after a particularly auspicious first ball leave.

Leland Office Manager Kari Essig was our powerhouse, scoring the highest of our group.


Our Managing Broker Denise Kinney (in the orange shirt) stopped by to give us words of encouragement. Denise was bowling with a team from the Southport office where she used to work. As you likely know, old bowling alliances are hard to totally walk away from. (And for people who know Denise, does she look like her daughter in this picture or what?)

Linda walking back trying not to gloat after a particularly good frame finish.

Here's a shot of some of the other folks from Sea Coast, notably super bowler Mike Rokoski from the Wilmington office and to his right with her hands on her hips looking up at the scoring displays, Sea Coast Academy's Sue Wehner, who each year organizes this event. Thanks again, Sue.

Okay, so here's how the Leland office won in this bowling competition. We shoulda won anyway for the most consistent scoring of any team. In the first game the spread between our lowest (that would be me at 103) and highest scores (Kari's 113) was only 10 points. Pretty cool if you ask me. So congrats, Leland for being consistent performers who show up for charity and for a good time.

Where Exactly Does the I-140 Extension Go Between 421 and 17?

I've recently answered inquiries from other REALTORs about where the next state of the I-140 extension (Outter Loop) will actually go. This matters immensely to real estate agents and more especially to buyers and sellers in the area, none of whom want surprises down the road (so to speak).

So here's the official map :


And if you can't read it, here's the link to the NCDOT Map the Brunswick County section of the Route 17 Bypass.

When you look at the map, the sections labelled B and A are what are important - the remainder of the bypass, the sections labelled CA, CB, and CC have already been completed.

Section A, which links the end of I-140 from Route 421 to 74-76, will be the first completed, breaking ground in 2009. The next section, Section B on the map will follow and connect I-140 from 74-76 to US 17 (as you can see it's just east of the intersection of 17S and 87 North).

There is one last section of I-140 that's not represented on this map. That section will (theoretically) extend from 17 to the proposed Skyway Bridge that is planned to cross the Cape Fear River to connect with Independence Boulevard in Wilmington. We'll keep our fingers crossed for the Skyway Bridge, but we won't hold our breath (it's not a mixed metaphor if you keep it in the same species, right?).

If you'd like more info on these road projects that effect southeastern North Carolina, especially the northern section of Brunswick County, feel free to e-mail me at brucerbrown@yahoo.com or call my cell phone at (910) 297-8753. If I can't answer your question I'll try to find out or at least point you in the right direction.

What's Right With This Picture?

I'm in a great mood this morning and wanted to share a fav pic from the past year. One Sunday in early Spring Marge and I went to preview some houses (that's what I do, gimme a break!) and then stopped by to see some friends and their new puppies. Puppies sure do bond quickly - and I don't think it's just because I had apple fritter crumbs on my sweater.

p.s. - If when you see this photo you try to figure out what kind of phone is on my belt, you pass the geek test, but just might want to check your priorities!

Countdown to the HoeDown - 7 Days to Go!

OK, folks, get yer costume ready, slap on some monster makeup, and party on the river on Halloween Eve. October 31st, Riverfront Wilmington, North Carolina. It's called the Halloween HoeDown and part of the Downtown Sundown Concert Series. Featured groups include The BarnRaisers with Woodwork Roadshow. Special guest appearances by the Cape Fear River, lots of cool folks, and you! So you've got to be there, we're counting on you.

Produced and sponsored by the Downtown Business Alliance with a lot of help from a bunch of other folks. Here's the official list:

Sponsors of the 2008 Downtown Sundown Concert Series: Part 2 include Coors Beer, Waterford of the Carolinas, Dish Network, MADD, 106.7 The Penguin, encore, 103.7 The Bone, The Star News, Slice of Life, Loose Lucy's, Wilmington Downtown, Inc., and Blu Zeus Interactive Marketing. Support services provided by the City of Wilmington.

Costume prizes, door prizes (which since there's no door might be hard to win), and the chance to be silly and have fun in public.

The usual rules apply: no outside booze or beverages, no coolers, no pets, no pets in coolers, like that. You can bet everything but coolers and pets will be available for purchase, so don't let that stop you.

Questions? Call Katie Lucas of DBA Wilmington at 910-343-4114 or e-mail
katie@dbawilmington.com .

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.

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.

What's Wrong with This Picture? Plus Two Great Local Event Websites

The photo on the left is the Leland office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty. There's nothing actually wrong with it, except there are no people in view. Well . . . that will change on November 4th from 5:30PM till who-knows-when the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce holds its monthly Business After Hours at and in front of our office. We'll publish a photo here of the event after that date, but wanted to go ahead and announce it now so you can make plans. Now, yes, we know it's Election Night, so we'll have a PC or two running with the election coverage in view.

I also "found" two great websites today. One is the Star News Online Visitors Guide site, which has gorgeous photography, loads of information, and a searchable events guide. It's a great way to keep up with the multiple events that happen in this festival-happy region.

Another nifty website is sponsored by the Wilmington Downtown Business Alliance . You can use that site to discover new places to dine, shop, or stay as well as things to do downtown. There's another events calendar on that site, plus you can sign up to have event announcements e-mailed to you. Getting yet more e-mail may sound like a drag, but the latest one announcing the bands playing at local (free) events was so dramatic and well done it lead me to the DBA website . . . and ultimately with sharing it here.

Contest #1 - Name the Hotel Chain

OK, so the name of this contest is . . . . "Name the Hotel Chain". If you can tell from the slick new slab in this photo which hotel chain is going to pop out of the ground in the next 12 months or so, and if you're the first one to comment on this blog with the correct answer . . . . than bada bing! You win a prize! The prize could be lunch in the restaurant that may or may not be built beside the hotel, but that's pushing it out too far. So . . . the prize is an autographed copy of the Eleventh Editon of the Insider's Guide to North Carolina's Southern Coast and Wilmington.

Now, granted, it will be autographed by me, so that part has no value, and it's not exactly the latest edition (2004) but it is a cool guide loaded with many interesting tidbits about our area.

While you're at it, and on my blog, please feel free to click the Follow link on the right side column to have blog updates sent to you automatically.

Why Being Last on This List Saves You Money!!

OK, Wilmington and Leland, we're used to being among the first, best, most, or fastest on lots of lists compiled by various regional, national, and even international entities. So here's a list on which North Carolina scores last among all 50 states - and it's a good thing! Why is that?

The list in question is the cost of real estate closings. North Carolina scores the 50th spot in the country according to this report published on MSN. Meaning that, on average, buyers and sellers pay less in this state for a closing than in ANY OTHER STATE! So how cool is that?

This isn't the place to get into the whole Title vs. Attorney closing issue, but many do argue that closing costs are less in states where closings are not performed by the same entity that issues the title insurance. North Carolina is an Attorney state and our ranking on this list may be evidence of it being a good thing!

Events Around Town (Wilmington and Leland)

Yesterday afternoon, rather than eat at home before the VP candidate debate, Marge and I attended 3 local events. We missed a REALTOR event at Parkside at Mayfaire, but did attend a ribbon-cutting in downtown Wilmington, and two REALTOR-only events in Leland, one at Waterford and the other at Brunswick Forest. Along the way we stopped at a new gallery in Leland.

Sharon Bryant was the hostess at the ribbon-cutting at Commercial Interior Resources at 228 N. Front St in Wilmington. This well-attended event (actually two ribbon cuttings, 3PM for the North Brunwick Chamber of Commerce and 4PM for Brunswick Chamber - not sure if/when Wilmington Chamber has one) had plenty of food and liquid refreshments - my personal fav was the fresh salsa.

Landon Morrison was one of the hosts at Waterford of the Carolinas yesterday afternoon. Just a few of the garden homes are left near the front entrance to Waterford, convenient to the fast rising retail commercial section that's right on 17. Catering at this event was by Joe Caldropoli's Coastal Catering & Events - the shrimp was outstanding! The 3 bedroom, 2 bath garden homes start at about $260K and include 2 car garages and fenced back yards - nice.

After leaving Waterford we went to Brunswick Forest for a tropics themed party by the outdoor pool at the community's new Wellness Center. Lots of excellent food, a martini bar for martini fans, and live music. The weather was beautiful, the Wellness Center is, of course, top shelf, and eventually quite a good-sized group gathered. We sat at a table with a bunch of Leland Office Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty agents. The Brunswick Forest Wellness Center has indoor and outdoor pools, weight and resistance rooms, a huge aerobics room, six lighted tennis courts, and a whole lot more.

Attention artists and fine local craftspeople! Mary Anne Sauer, aka The Frame Lady, is starting an exciting new venture in Leland at Cross Creek Commons (directly across 17 from the entrance to Magnolia Greens). Mary Anne's frame business, Accent on Framing is in the building at 1107 New Pointe Blvd. and now an additional 1,500 square feet previously used by Montage Gallery is available for Mary Anne's new venture, The Raspberry Cat Art & Gifts. Mary Anne's concept is to provide shared open gallery space for up to 20 select artists and craftspeople to display and sell their work. There are several enticing aspects of her venture, such as no commission on sales, personal web site pages, full point of sales services, and a buncha other cool stuff. Getting to the point here - if you're an artist or crafts person looking for a reasonably priced display/sales location or an additional location to one you already have, in the new center of the fastest developing commercial region in the state, call Mary Anne today at 910-383-1343.