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"People are so afraid to come over the highway," said Doney. "Once people come over here and investigate, they're pretty surprised about the things going on and how nice it really is. I could live in dozens after dozens of homes over here and have a nice big yard and trees and good stable neighbors around me, and just have to do a little bit of painting."
NORTH EAST OF DOWNTOWN/NODA AREA
Shamrock Gardens (aka Plaza Hills, Plaza Gardens, Shamrock Acres)
This area is so new on the hip 'hood scene that investors, owners and real estate agents haven't settled on what to call it yet.
At present, the North Davidson Arts District (NoDa) area, particularly the well-known section around 36th Street, is a mixture of run down and newly renovated homes. The beauty of the Shamrock Gardens neighborhood, which is located just to the north of but not in NoDa, is that it never reached the state of decay the NoDa area did and is still cute and relatively well preserved in its original form, particularly the area around Anderson and McMillan streets. Throw in the central location about 12 minutes from downtown, the mature landscape and the big shade trees, and you've got an adorable neighborhood with a mix of contemporary and bungalow-style homes. An 1,100-square-foot house on McMillan Street that's cute on the outside, but in need of a coat of paint on the inside, is currently on the market for $109,000. The neighborhood is both safe and diverse, with residents of different races and ages and a few young professionals beginning to move in.
Ritch and Benard Avenue Area
This neighborhood doesn't even have a name, but it is seriously cool. Its cheerleaders, like Neighborhood Realty real estate agent Alex Horstman, describe it as a "NoDa satellite neighborhood." The area, which runs along the part of 36th Street that's across the railroad tracks from NoDa, officially began to become cool when Hart Witzen Gallery moved to 136 E. 36th Street a few years back. Just two years ago, bungalow-style houses were still selling below $80,000. You can still get them for a bargain, or you can add to the brand new stock of $325,000 homes that area aficionados are building for themselves.
Horstman can barely contain his excitement as he drives through the area around Ritch and Bernard avenues, giving CL the grand tour.
"There's real big turnover in here," he enthuses. At every third house, it seems, someone is out there with a hammer, pounding away on homes built in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. On Benard, a developer is moving old homes from the Elizabeth area, plopping them down and renovating them. The Ritch/Benard area also backs up to North Tryon Street, for easy access to downtown.
