Contents
Amberley video
Are you trying to decide where you will want to live when you move to the Triangle?
If you think Cary may be a possibility it’s time to start investigating neighborhoods.
One of the best selling neighborhoods during the past year has been Amberly.
The history of Amberly
Cary was a pioneer with master planned developments in the 1990’s. It was 1995 when Amberly was master planned. Cary Park had recently been recorded. West Cary was total country back then. The vision for the neighborhood was a community where people could work, shop, go to school, walk on greenways surrounding a park and 16 acre lake. It was hard to imagine back then because there were little houses with goats and cows in the yards along side tobacco fields
Development of Amberly didn’t really get going until the mid 2000’s. Just as the neighborhood was looking good the economy in the Triangle stalled. Amberly started to look like it would never make it. Plots of land with weeds growing and streets developing potholes. I wondered if were back to the goats and cows. But, as the economy turned around so did Amberly. The land was just too valuable and the time was finally right.
What is the Amberly PUD?
How many houses are now in Amberly? 2500 townhomes and single family homes.
Amberly is a big neighborhood, with over 1100 acres of planned development consisting of a possible 5155 homes (residential units),Town Center of around 75 acres for commercial and office space. Additional acreage was added to the PUD to build the recently completed North West Cary UNC Wellness Center. .
There are now about 2500 completed and occupied homes in Amberly so it is only half built out. The Town Center doesn’t have the commercial or office space built yet. The Wellness Center is the only non residential building in Amberly other than the Residents Club.
Recently the owners of the Amberly PUD petitioned the town to change the Town Center zoning to apartments but that application was denied because it wasn’t in keeping with the intent of the approved PUD.
6 Reasons Amberly is so popular~What my clients say
- The amenities
- Location
- New homes priced from the low 300’s
- Schools
- Wide roads with landscaping and sidewalks
- Mix of housing
6 Drawbacks of Amberly~What my clients say
- Small lots
- Capped schools
- Some phases aren’t as close to amenities
- Only 50% built out
- Partially in the Chatham County School District
- Not walkable to shops at this time
The location~ close to RDU Airport and RTP
It’s a big deal
Amberly is located in West Cary. It’s probably the most convenient location in the Triangle. RDU Airport is only a 12 minute drive. You will need extra time to park and get in to your terminal but it’s amazing how fast NC540 makes the trip. It’s about the same time to RTP (actually Amberly is just a mile from the border of RTP). Downtown Raleigh is 25 minutes, Chapel Hill 20 minutes and Downtown Durham or Duke is 20 minutes. The three universities, UNC, NC State and Duke are all within 20 minutes. Traffic can make a difference so check for the best route before you leave.
Shopping
Convenience to shopping is important and Amberly has that too. The closest shopping is a mile and half from the Residents Center in Amberly. The basics are there including a Harris Teeter (with Starbucks!), CVS, a bank, Montessori Store, Mcdonalds and Los Tres Magueyes Mexican Restaurant. Real Estate is Hungry Work and if you like Mexican and decide to visit and look at houses with me you’ll have a chance to eat there, just like Mike and Beth from Long Island.
Just a couple of miles down O’Kelly Church Rd., Parkside Town Commons just opened. There is a new Target, Harris Teeter, Jersey Mikes and a few other stores open now and very soon the movie cinema, Petco and more restaurants will be open. I’m also excited to hear that just across NC540 at the same intersection Alston Town Commons is ready to go. It will have Whole Foods as an anchor.
Amenities
The Amenities in Amberly include a 16 acre lake, Residents Club, 2 pools, waterslides, fitness center, walking trails and gym. I’ll show you around the amenities in this video.
The Neighborhoods of Amberly
Amberly Glen-New Calatlantic Townhomes in Amberley (2018)
Calatlantics Designer Collection is under construction now. Advertised from $280,000 the spec homes are in the $350’s and should be typical of what you will spend on a presale because the most popular structural and design center options have been chosen.
Are you looking for a first floor master townhome? Calatlantic Signature collection will be available for presale in May and move late fall or winter. No pricing yet. You can sign up for info when it comes out on their website. I can represent you as your buyers agent during the building process, just let the on site agent know you will have a buyers agent. It won’t cost you more for representation.
Definitely worth checking out!
Arlington Park at Amberly
Arlington Park was one of the first phases of homes built in the neighborhood in the mid 2000’s. Arlington Park has single family detached homes built by KB Homes on lot sizes of around 1/4 acre. Prices are in the upper 200’s to lower 300’s.
Blackstone at Amberly
Blackstone at Amberly was built in 2006-2008. Home prices are in the upper 300’s to upper 400’s. The homes are 3000 sq ft to 4000 sq ft on 1/3 acre lots. That’s big for Amberly and West Cary!
Village Square at Amberly
The Peninsula is in Chatham County and Chatham County Schools. Even though the Chatham Schools are generally considered good they are on the other side of the 14,000 acre Jordan Lake so it’s a long way on a bus to school.
Carolina Preserve is a retirement community by Del Webb, a company specializing in retirement homes since 1960. Just completed in the past year, Carolina Preserveare has 100’s of homes and a huge residents center for the age 55 and older residents.
Schools in Amberly
Cary is in the Wake County NC School District. The base schools for the 2018-2019 school year are Hortons Creek, Mills Park Middle (capped) and Panther Creek High (capped). With capped schools children moving into the base school area are assigned to an overflow school and can’t go to the base school. One thing that bothers parents is that their children won’t go to the same school as many of their neighbors. More details on my capped schools page.
Right now the Mills Park overflow school is West Cary. The calendar option East Cary. It’s confusing because the schools are only 3 miles apart and West Cary isn’t considered West Cary any more as the Town moved farther West. There will be a new middle school opening near Amberley, Alston Ridge Middle and a new high school opening for West Cary so attendance areas and caps will be changed.
[spatialmatch_map id=7]