I wrote the following story about Hope Valley Farms for the Fonville Morisey “Faces of Fonville” blog and I’m republishing it here by permission. I love where I live and wanted to share that with them. What’s your favorite part of living in Hope Valley Farms? Do share in the comments below……
As a resident of Hope Valley Farms for the past 15+ years, I’m very pleased to call it “home”. Hope Valley Farms has been a wonderful place to raise my daughter, and I’ve never regretted moving there! Our neighborhood is very comfortable with a wide range of homes, from townhomes in the $140’s to detached homes up to $350,000. It is conveniently located in southwest Durham, very close to I-40, and less than 10 minutes from The Streets of Southpoint mall. From my house, I can be in the middle of the campuses at Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and North Carolina Central University easily in 10-15 minutes. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park and The Research Triangle Park are also about the same distance away, and the RDU Airport is 20 minutes at most.
At one end of Hope Valley Farms is access to the “American Tobacco Trail,” which extends from downtown Durham into Chatham County. At another end of Hope Valley Farms features the new “Third Fork Creek Trail,” which runs from the Elmira Avenue Park (where it connects to the American Tobacco Trail) to the Garrett Road Park near Jordan High School. It also connects to the trails of the Woodcroft subdivision.
A “new” feature of Hope Valley Farms that I’m excited about is the conversion of the “Hope Valley Farms Swim & Racquet Club” into a YMCA. Right now, construction is happening at the Clubhouse to convert it into wellness, group fitness, and exercise space, with the re-opening expected in January, 2013. There are 6 clay tennis courts on site, and the plan is to have a full-time tennis director. Of course, there is also a very nice outdoor pool – I’ve spent many summers there with my daughter before it was the YMCA! Another advantage is that this will be the 4th YMCA in Durham, and, if you join the Y, you get access to all 4 facilities. One of the facilities has an indoor swimming pool for year-round activity, another has racquetball courts, and one even has free bike rentals for the American Tobacco Trail!
When I first moved to Hope Valley Farms, there were relatively few amenities in the area, like restaurants and shopping. With the addition of The Streets at Southpoint Mall (now 10 years old, wow!), we have a myriad of restaurants and stores in the area, with retailers ranging from boutiques to “big box” stores and restaurants ranging from family-owned to nationally-known chains. If you’re looking for something in particular, there’s a good chance you’ll find it nearby.
You’ll almost always see people jogging and/or walking through the neighborhood. The friendliness is contagious! Even this weekend, two of the neighborhood kids (8 and 6 years old) organized a neighborhood “talent show” to raise money for a charity they believe in. They raised about $150! How cool is that?
I’ve often said that, unless life-changes dictate otherwise, I have no intention of moving away from Hope Valley Farms. Hope Valley Farms – another part of what makes Durham great!