Four Briar Chapel Homes Named 2012 Parade of Homes Winners

- Saussy Burbank and David Weekly Homes Win Gold, Homes by Dickerson Wins Gold and Silver -

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Oct. 19, 2012 – Briar Chapel builders nabbed four wins during the 2012 Parade of Homes, presented by the Home Builder’s Association (HBA) of Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties. Homes by Saussy Burbank, David Weekly Homes and Homes by Dickerson received gold designations, and a second Homes By Dickerson model received a silver designation. 

“Being recognized as Parade of Homes winners is further proof that the builders of Briar Chapel by Newland Communities offer beautiful, well-constructed homes,” said Kristen Gucwa, regional marketing director, Newland Communities. “It is an honor to have Briar Chapel homes judged by our peers and to see Saussy Burbank, David Weekly Homes and Homes by Dickerson awarded with such a great distinction.”

Homes entered into the Parade are divided into categories based on price and judged by teams of builders and new home professionals. Submitted homes can be selected as gold, silver or bronze winners and are judged prior to the start of the event on criteria including quality workmanship, floor plan and curb appeal.

The award winners were announced Oct. 2 at the annual Parade Banquet hosted by the HBA of Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties. Briar Chapel’s winning homes are located at the following addresses:

• Gold Award Winner, Saussy Burbank for its 39 Pokeberry Bend entry
• Gold Award Winner, David Weekly Homes for its 139 N. Serenity Hill Circle entry
• Gold Award Winner, Homes by Dickerson for its 371 Tobacco Farm Way entry
• Silver Award Winner, Homes by Dickerson for its 351 Dark Forest Drive entry

The Parade of Homes is a free, self-guided event welcoming the public to view homes throughout the area that started the last weekend of September and continues Oct. 12-14, from 12 to 5 p.m. The event features the newest trends in home technology, innovative styles and quality products.  

“We are proud that Briar Chapel builders have again been recognized for the latest and most innovative environmentally-friendly trends, building designs and technology,” ­­­­said Keith Hurand, senior vice president and division manager, Newland Communities. “As the area’s largest green community, we are excited to share the community’s passion for sustainable living with Parade of Homes participants and to show our homes built by large, recognizable builders as well as custom home builders.”

About Briar Chapel by Newland Communities®

Briar Chapel, a new-home community just outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has been intentionally designed to inhabit the land without inhibiting its true nature. Newland Communities is a privately owned company that creates residential and urban mixed-use communities from coast to coast. Newland believes it has a responsibility to create enduring, healthier communities so people may live life in ways that matter most to them. At Briar Chapel, that means diverse neighborhoods, parks, schools, acres of open space, miles of nature trails and healthy homes constructed with green building principles. Newland and its affiliated companies are currently developing or managing nearly 40 communities in 14 states.

 --Proceeds to Benefit Local Nonprofit, The Abundance Foundation--

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – April 18, 2012 – Briar Chapel by Newland Communities, the area’s largest green community, will celebrate Earth Day this year with a full day of festivities, themed “A Celebration of All Things Local.” The event will be held on Saturday, April 21, with all proceeds benefitting The Abundance Foundation, an organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of sustainable energy usage and local food consumption.

To encourage a healthy lifestyle and physical activity – the core of Briar Chapel’s mission – the day will kick off with the Fourth Annual Briar Chapel 5K from 9 to 11 a.m. Later in the day, participants will have the chance to watch a performance by local BMX stunt crew, King BMX.

Showcasing the importance of supporting local food consumption, food truck vendors – including BaguetteAboutIt, Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Will & Pop’s and The Parlour – will be onsite from 3 to 6 p.m., donating 10 percent of proceeds to The Abundance Foundation. During this time, local vendors will also offer educational demonstrations on topics, such as how to build your own container garden. Linda Watson of Cook for Good and author of “Wildly Affordable Organic” will offer a lesson on how to shop for affordable organic produce.

Chapel Hill’s Lizzy Ross Band and Tom Maxwell will provide musical entertainment for the afternoon. Vendors such as Carolina Brewery, Fullsteam Brewery, YardSprout and representatives from Central Carolina Community College green programs will also be onsite.

“We’re excited to partner with Briar Chapel and share in the idea that the smallest change can make a world of difference,” said Tami Schwerin, executive director, The Abundance Foundation. “Whether it’s a cooking lesson with Linda Watson or a stroll through one of Briar Chapel’s green homes, we hope Earth Day participants will learn something new about sustainable living and the importance of buying local.”

As the day winds down, there will be an evening “Screening on the Green,” as the community shares a highlight reel of videos submitted for the Best Buddy Contest, Briar Chapel’s social media challenge. The winner of the grand prize, a Buddy Scooter, will be announced at this time, followed by a showing of Disney-Pixar’s Wall-E.

“Our goal is to educate the public and challenge people to live more sustainably each and every day – not just on Earth Day,” said Kristy Yule, regional vice president of marketing, Newland Communities. “Briar Chapel looks forward to once again hosting local businesses and organizations that share our passion for making our community a better place to live.”

For more information about Briar Chapel’s Earth Day festivities, visit www.briarchapelnc.com/earthday.

With more than a month left before year end, 2011 net home sales in active Newland communities across the country have surpassed the total annual home sales achieved in those same communities in 2010.

“It’s not all bad news for the housing industry,” said Bob McLeod, Newland’s chairman and chief executive officer. “In fact, our sales are up about 9 percent over this time last year.”

Newland is developing mixed-use master-planned communities in 22 markets and 14 states across the country, making it the largest and most diversified developer of new-home communities in the nation, with a correspondingly large database of customer sentiment to draw upon. As the country experienced the great housing recession, Newland quietly took the time to develop and implement a customer relationship management system, tracking significant detail about its customers’ home and community preferences across the nation.

“I believe we have the largest database of home shoppers in America who have told us what they want in their next new home and community,” McLeod said.

One statistic in particular seems to indicate future optimism: 61 percent of Newland’s home shoppers indicate they plan to make their next new home purchase within the next 12 months, and almost 17 percent say they plan to move in the next three months. Newland has spent the past few years mining the data, re-tooling its communities to offer a more diversified product mix and community amenities to meet the needs of those buyers who say they plan on spending more time visiting with friends and neighbors in their communities, and less time doing things like eating out.

NEWS RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jim Burbank, Jim_Burbank@SaussyBurbank.com, 704.945.2389

Al McNeill, Al.McNeill@McNeillBurbank.com, 919.781.5225

Kathy Rowan, kathy@rowancommunications.com 704.591.8945

Saussy Burbank Unites Brand Name

Same People, Same Products under One Trusted Name 

Charlotte, N.C (Oct. 10, 2011) -  Longtime locally owned Carolinas homebuilder Saussy Burbank and McNeill Burbank, which have been building homes as one company since 2001, are combining the two brands under one name to better serve customers across the Carolinas.

          The companies will be united on Oct. 12 under the Saussy Burbank brand, which has been building award-winning homes across the Carolinas for 22 years. The change is primarily a marketing initiative to help customers of Charlotte-based Saussy Burbank and the former McNeill Burbank more easily find information as they search for homes in The Triangle, Charlotte and Charleston, S.C., areas.

          “There are no personnel or ownership changes,” said Al McNeill, partner. “As we compete for attention of the Web, it is more efficient to promote one consistent brand. With thousands of homes sold over the years in the Carolinas, the Saussy Burbank name gives us a powerful brand on which to focus our marketing efforts.”

          The combined companies, which won the 2011 Guildmaster Award for outstanding customer satisfaction, can now be found at www.saussyburbank.com.

          “We want all of our customers, past, present and future, to know that nothing is going to change other than our two companies uniting under the Saussy Burbank name,” said Jim Burbank, partner. “Our commitment to building quality, affordable homes and communities will never change. We just wanted to make it easier for our customers to find us, and for us to communicate with them.”

           Saussy Burbank is known for experience and versatility. The company has built more than 6,000 homes - everything from affordable housing to faculty housing at Duke University and Davidson College, to upscale single-family homes, to award-winning New Urban communities like Baxter Village in Fort Mill, S.C.  Saussy Burbank has built communities in the Garden District of Uptown Charlotte, in Briar Chapel in Chapel Hill, N.C., and in Watermark in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

About Saussy Burbank

Saussy Burbank is a builder of affordable, high-quality homes in smart and sustainable developments throughout the Carolinas for more than 22 years. Having built some of the most distinctive neighborhoods in the Carolinas, Saussy Burbank’s homes can be found in cities including Raleigh and Charlotte to small towns like Davidson, Chapel Hill, Fort Mill, Summerville and Mt. Pleasant. Saussy Burbank is a sponsor of the Urban Land Institute. For additional information, visit http://www.saussyburbank.com/.

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Kate Payne, 336.707.4623     
k@clairemontcommunications.com                                        

-- Athletes of All Levels Are Asked to Bring Their Best; Then Enjoy Pepper Festival --

Chapel Hill, N.C. - September 28, 2011 - Briar Chapel by Newland Communities, the area's largest green community, is calling all backyard athletes, armchair athletes and canine athletes to come out and show their best skills by participating in fun competitions during its OktoberBEST celebration on Sunday, Oct. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m.

OktoberBEST participants can win a variety of prizes throughout the day, including tickets to the Fourth Annual Pittsboro Pepper Festival, with proceeds benefitting The Abundance Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to educating the community about local food and renewable energy. The Pepper Festival will be held in Briar Chapel's new Briar Commons Park immediately following the OktoberBEST festivities.

The schedule of activities is designed to be a day of old-fashion, all-American fun for visitors to the community and Briar Chapel residents, while offering a preview of the new neighborhood, park and model homes. It is as follows:

• 1 - 2 p.m. Canine Athletics at the Pooch Park
• 1 - 3 p.m. Armchair Athlete Competition in model homes
• 2 - 3 p.m. Pepper Jelly Contest and tasting at the Briar Patch, the community garden
• 2 - 4 p.m. Best Backyard Athlete Competition at the clubhouse
• 4 - 7 p.m. Exciting prizes, food and fun at the Fourth Annual Pittsboro Pepper Festival

"The Briar Chapel community has a reputation for being playful, outdoorsy, environmentally friendly and supportive of its surrounding community, which is why we chose a day of fun leading up to our hosting of the Pepper Festival, in support of The Abundance Foundation," said Kristy Yule, regional vice president of marketing, Newland Communities. "We believe that Briar Chapel is the best place to live with homes that are built by the best builders, and we invite the community to come out and show us their best skills during our OktoberBEST celebration."

More information about the event can be found at http://briarchapelnc.com/best. To register to compete, please contact Heather Campbell at hcampbell@newlandco.com.

About Briar Chapel by Newland Communities®
Briar Chapel, a new-home community just outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has been intentionally designed to inhabit the land without inhibiting its true nature. Newland Communities is a privately owned company that creates residential and urban mixed-use communities from coast to coast. Newland believes it has a responsibility to create enduring, healthier communities so people may live life in ways that matter most to them. At Briar Chapel, that means diverse neighborhoods, parks, schools, acres of open space, miles of nature trails and healthy homes constructed with green building principles. Newland and its affiliated companies are currently developing or managing nearly 40 communities in 14 states.

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North Carolina uses the "ABCs of Public Education" model of tracking yearly progress in the schools as well as the federal "No Child Left Behind" Adequate Yearly Progress" model.

From the press release put out by the Chatham County school system:

 

In the 2010-2011 school year, all Chatham County schools achieved growth based on the ABCs model. All schools achieved expected growth while eight schools also obtained high growth status. The seven schools that earned School of Distinction status were: Bennett, Bonlee, Chatham Central High School, Margaret B. Pollard, Northwood High School, Perry Harrison, and Silk Hope. The nine schools that earned School of Progress status were: Chatham Middle, Horton, J.S. Waters, Jordan-Matthews High School, Moncure, North Chatham, Pittsboro Elementary, Siler City Elementary, and Virginia Cross Elementary. It should also be noted that SAGE Academy, the district's alternative school, is judged on a different model than traditional schools, but achieved expected growth.

 

"We are excited to report that for the first time in the 14-year history of the North Carolina ABCs of Public Education all of our schools made expected growth or high growth. This achievement is a credit to the excellent teachers, administrators, and staff who work with our students every day. It should be noted that this accomplishment has occurred in a climate of state budget cuts and diminishing resources. The Board of Education and administration are committed to providing the highest educational opportunities possible for the students of Chatham County. Congratulations to staff and students," said Superintendent Robert Logan.

You can track all of the schools in the Chatham County school system. And Briar Chapel also has a Triangle-wide comparison listed on our website.