Yeah, everyone wants to be in or close to downtown again...
January 30, 2006
New buyers sold on old neighborhoods
By Julie Arrington
Montgomery Advertiser
Holly and Jim Wrye wanted character and history when they were house shopping three years ago. They found it on Cloverdale Road.
The Cloverdale area, with its tree-lined streets and quaint homes, is what real estate agents see as the hot spot in Montgomery for singles and families. Its resurgence mirrors a trend across the country of old neighborhoods getting new life.
"It's what they call a 'back-to-the-city' movement, and Montgomery minus four or five years has started getting on the bandwagon," said Sandra Nickel, whose real estate office is in the middle of Cloverdale.
Nickel attributes the area's newfound popularity somewhat to a growing disenchantment with subdivisions.
"I think part of it has to do with the fact that people are tired of the concept of commuting, and I don't think they're particularly enamored anymore of shopping centers," she said. "They're looking for a walkable experience, and that's what areas like Cloverdale/Idlewild and the Garden District offer."
Buyers also are getting more house for less money in the older neighborhoods, Nickel said, and some simply are moving back to where they grew up.
"They just don't want any part of the suburbs," she said. "They want to come home."
The Wryes considered other areas of town, but settled on Cloverdale Road because of what it looks like -- lots of trees -- and who lives there -- families with young children.
Holly Wrye stays home with Jack, 2, and 6-month-old Max, while Jim Wrye heads off to the Alabama Education Association, just a short drive away.
"We did look out east, but when it came down to it, all the houses that we ended up liking were on this side of town, so it was kind of a done deal for my husband and I," explained Holly Wrye.
The Wryes bought a house in move-in condition.
"He wanted a fixer-upper; it had already been fixed, God bless the couple before us," said Holly Wrye of her husband, who is AEA's public relations director. "So he just had minor things to do. He got to dabble in it, but I got to live in it."
Bars and restaurants, a coffee shop and the Capri Theatre, which shows mostly art-house and independent films, bring a mix of people to Cloverdale. They come for a night out, and they come to make their home.
"I like to say young, old, gay, straight, rich, poor, black, white, a ring through the nose to the most arch-conservative, they're all here together," Nickel said. "It's the melting pot of the city."
Like the Wryes, Amy and David Berry looked at houses all over Montgomery but kept going back to the Cloverdale/Idlewild neighborhood, where David grew up.
"I thought it had so much more charm over here, and a lot of our friends are moving back to the neighborhood, too," Amy Berry said. "There was a lot more character I thought, and I like that real eclectic, 'cottagey'-type style, and I like all the mature trees that we have."
Berry also loves being close to the bars and restaurants. She goes to Café Louisa for a cup of coffee and a granola bar every day after dropping her 2-year-old daughter off at school.
"I also love just walking up to Sinclair's (restaurant)," she said.
Connie Colvin has lived in Cloverdale/Idlewild since 1974 and is delighted to see the neighborhood making a comeback.
"For about 10 years we had a lot of older people and most of them are gone," she said. "They've either passed away, or they're in assisted living."
Besides families like the Berrys, singles are snapping up homes in Cloverdale/Idlewild. Colvin has four new neighbors, all single women in their mid-30s to mid-40s. Each bought a home, and one completely redid hers.
"It's really nice to see that the young people are coming in," she said.
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Thoraudio, your condo plans may become a reality sooner than you think.
