Union County Real Estate Talk

Happy Thanksgiving Indian Trail NC

An Indian Trail NC citizen has given town residents a Thanksgiving gift in the form of a folk art turkey made from hay bales.  You can see it here in the photo to the right.  You might think that Indian Trail has gone completely suburban when driving Old Monroe Road/Old Charlotte Highway from Matthews NC to Monroe NC.  You pass neighborhood after neighborhood built since the 1990s identified by their distinctive entry monuments of brick and stone.  You find community shopping centers with offices and grocery stores and restaurants.

You can even find a Starbucks!

But guess what?  You can still find a little country in Indian Trail NC. At this homestead, you can enjoy a white farmhouse with wrap-around porch set among the farm fields and woods.  And you can definitely enjoy the folk art in the front yard.  Not only is there a large turkey wishing passersby a Happy Thanksgiving, there is also a giant fellow waving and wishing everyone well.  As you can see from the photo below, he’s also made of hay and he towers over the power lines.  He’ll remain in place all winter.  The next time you travel along this route, take a look and enjoy a little bit of country in Indian Trail NC.

Learn more about living in Indian Trail NC.  Indian Trail NC Voted Best for Relocation.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Happy Thanksgiving Indian Trail NC*

Indian Trail NC Hosts Family Fun Day on October 10th

Indian Trail NC families can join the fun from 11am-5pm at the Indian Trail Elementary School this Saturday.  Music will fill the air and kids of all ages can enjoy carnival rides, food, and crafts booths.  The Indian Trail Family Fun Day will include a variety of contests from pie baking to pumpkin decorating to a bike decorating contest and then parade of bikes.  A free door prize raffle will allow a lucky family to win season passes to Carowinds.

Learn more about Indian Trail NC, one of Charlotte North Carolina's best small towns.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Real Estate.  *Indian Trail NC Hosts Family Fun Day on October 10th*

Indian Trail NC Kids Love Saturday Mornings at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse.

When the new Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse opened last October in Indian Trail NC, it was a hit with the residents of this small town who no longer had to drive to Monroe or Matthews to buy products for their homes and gardens.  But who knew that Lowe's would become such a popular destination for Indian Trail NC kids on Saturday mornings?  You'll find 30 to 50 children with their parents eagerly building projects at the store on two Saturdays a month.  They're participating in the Lowe's Build & Grow clinics for kids.

How do I know that the Lowe's Build & Grow kids clinics are so popular?  See that Lowe's employee with the red vest in the photo?  That's my husband, Jon.  He and his assistant, Beth, run the clinics and they have had to order extra project kits to accommodate the number of Indian Trail NC families who want to bring their children to the store.  How do the clinics work?  Parents register their children for the clinic at the Lowe's Build & Grow web site.  Kid-height tables are set up in one section of the store.  Each child receives goggles, a Lowe's red apron, a name tag for the apron and a project kit.  When the projects are complete, a project badge for the apron and a certificate of completion are given to each participant.

The Lowe's Build & Grow clinics feature a different project kit every time.  This morning, the kids built race cars.  According to the Build & Grow web site, the next two projects will be a school bus and a drum.  These clinics are especially popular around Mothers Day and Fathers Day when the children make items they can give as presents.  If you have a youngster who would enjoy a building project, check out the Lowe's Build and Grow clinics at the Indian Trail NC store or any of the Lowe's Home Improvement stores.  Just remember to register at the Build & Grow in advance.  If you do, Jon and Beth will be ready to help your junior builder with his or her own special project.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Indian Trail NC Kids Love Saturday Mornings at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse*

McClain's Farm Produce in Indian Trail NC

Union County NC has been the fastest growing county in North Carolina for the last five or six years.  You might think that all the new subdivisions, shopping centers, and roads would have pushed old-fashioned farm produce stands right out of the county or at least deep into its rural corners, but you will be surprised to learn that McClain's Farm Produce in Indian Trail NC is just five minutes from the intersection of I-485 and Idlewild Road.  After exiting the highway and traveling past a gas station, a bank, a grocery store, a pharmacy and several restaurants, you'll arrive at the McClain's farm where they grow the summer produce we've come to love.

As we say here in the South, McClain's Farm Produce in Indian Trail NC "isn't much to look at".  But the friendly family members are happy to welcome you to the produce stand and explain which of the vegetables were fresh picked that morning.  On Saturday, my husband and I stopped to find fresh vegetables for the coming week's meals.  We left with freshly picked green beans, a bag of freshly shelled lima beans, a bag of freshly shelled field peas (you may know them as "black-eyed" peas) and about 3 pounds of tomatoes that the McClain's call their common garden tomatoes.  They grow heirloom tomatoes too, but were out of them.  McClain's also carries sweet corn, peppers, potatoes, peaches and other staples of the southern summer garden.

So how good is the produce at McClain's Farm Produce in Indian Trail NC?  It's wonderful!  We've had the green beans with some of the tomatoes, the lima beans with corn and more of the tomatoes, and the tomatoes themselves on sandwiches.  Each dish was delicious and a reminder that it pays to shop for fresh vegetables at the local produce stand rather than at the grocery store.  And in Indian Trail NC, you don't have to drive very far to find the great produce at McClain's Farm Produce.

 Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  *McClain's Farm Produce in Indian Trail NC*

Bonterra Cafe and Market in Indian Trail NC.

The Bonterra Cafe and Market opened this summer in the heart of Bonterra, an Indian Trail NC swim club community.  The cafe is already a hit with neighborhood residents and children, who stop in for gourmet coffees and sweet treats after spending time at the neighborhood swimming pool across the street.  On the weekends, you'll find the outdoor patio filled until late with people who are enjoying meeting and conversing with their neighbors.  The Bonterra Cafe and Market is also stocked with everyday items that neighborhood residents might need in a pinch, such as paper towels or dishwashing liquid.  Wouldn't it be great to have a place within walking distance of your home to buy a forgotten household item on short notice?

What is unique about the Bonterra Cafe and Market in Indian Trail NC?  This small business is located within a typical Indian Trail NC neighborhood that has a clubhouse and swimming pool.  Usually, a neighborhood like Bonterra will not include businesses within its boundaries.  But Bonterra was developed with a section of structures called Live/Work Units.  These three-story attached buildings have a main level for a retail or small business use with a two-story townhouse for residential use above the first floor business.  Located across from a neighborhood green with gazebo and the neighborhood swim club, the Bonterra Live/Work Units are in the perfect location to provide services for neighborhood residents.

The owner of the Bonterra Cafe and Market is the first Bonterra resident to take advantage of living above her business.  Imagine the types of small businesses and business owners that could be accommodated within these live/work units:  a nail salon, a dog grooming business, or any small business that needs some office space for customers.  The residential units each have two bedrooms and two and a half baths.  The heated living area of each is approximately 1728 sq.ft.  Pricing for each three story structure ranges from $219,900 to $249,990 to $285,000.

When you are in the area, please stop by the Bonterra Cafe and Market for an ice cream or a coffee.  And think about how nice it would be to live above your own small business.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  *Bonterra Cafe and Market in Indian Trail NC*

Although the weather is making everyone think of spring, Indian Trail NC residents can enjoy winter's cold year round.  All they have to do is drop by the Extreme Ice Center on Indian Trail-Fairview Road.  This facility has two National Hockey League sized ice rinks and a small rink for the youngest skaters called The Puddle plus much more. 

This Indian Trail NC 87,000 sq.ft. center houses a large variety of programs for all ages as well as the Pro Shop with equipment for hockey players and figure skaters, the Center Ice Tavern sports bar overlooking the rinks, and a Fitness/Wellness Center.  Some of the many programs offered at Extreme Ice Center are listed below.

• Official Practice Facility of the Charlotte Checkers, Charlotte's ECHL team
• Learn to Play Hockey classes for 4-6 year olds and 6-13 year olds
• Youth and Adult Hockey Leagues
• X-Ice Skating School for all ages
• Private Figure Skating classes
• Public skating
• Summer camp
• Birthday parties

The Extreme Ice Center also bills itself as the only rink in Indian Trail NC and the region with bumper cars on ice.

Click here to learn more about Indian Trail NC community amenities and neighborhoods.

About the author:  Carol Fox of Allen Tate Realtors is a veteran agent who has helped people find the right home and neighborhood in Indian Trail NC for over twenty years.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  All rights reserved.  *Indian Trail NC Has New Center for Hockey and Ice Skating*