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Atkinson Properties Group
Atkinson Properties Group is a team of professionals dedicated to helping the public learn about land. We have published this informational website as a means of achieving that goal, however, there is no substitute for talking with Bob "The Land Man" if you really want to learn about land.
Bob Atkinson has worked in real estate all over Wake, Chatham, Durham, Harnett and Lee Counties for over thirty years, and has seen all the ups and downs of the real estate market. He has earned many professional real estate designations through constant continuing education. Bob has assembled a team of professionals in order to offer one of the most comprehensive computer information systems and marketing systems in the country today.
Bob is easy to work with, but he is also a tough, experienced negotiator.
Bob knows land first hand.
It's great that Bob knows first hand what it takes to improve land. Bob doesn't just sit in a fancy office somewhere and tell people why they should invest in land. He gets out there and works the land.
Bob has been through all the ups and downs of land investment, so he can tell you what it takes to buy and sell land, and what to expect in that process, from his own personal experience.
Bob also loves to talk about land. Just ask anybody that knows him! Why not give him a call and find out if land investment is for you? His phone number is 919-362-6999.
Bob has been in many investment groups and has taught the most advanced real estate courses ever at Wake Technical College. Experience is what you get when you talk to Bob Atkinson and it is a proven fact that experience is invaluable. It costs nothing to talk to an experienced real estate professional—but it could cost you a lot if you don’t.
Bob can handle any of your real estate needs whether it involves selling a home, a business, a large or small tract of land or any type of commercial property. Whether it's a purchase to own or a purchase for investment purposes only, Bob can help. His wealth of hands-on experience shows one thing: Bob knows land, and what distinguishes him from others is that Bob practices what he teaches.
Bob is a major investor in land, has developed raw land, and actively participates in building upscale hobby farms.
Buying land is the best investment anyone can make, but only a small percentage of the buying public is financially capable.
Probably the most valuable service is to let Bob listen to you and then give you his educated opinion as to what might be best for you.
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Western Wake Partners Pipeline Request
February 21, 2011
By Brian Bock, Chatham County Commissioner
Like most decisions that the board of commissioners has to make, this one was not as straight forward as it might first appear. The decision to allow the Western Wake Partnerships to route the pipeline that will carry clean water from the New Hill treatment facility was made after careful consideration and deliberation.
I realize many disagree with my vote. The answer for me came down to the fact that I believe this is best for the affected landowners and Chatham County as a whole. I further believe that this is compatible with two of my key goals as a commissioner;
1) Aggressively Protect property rights, and
2) Create an environment that will foster job growth in Chatham County.
I'll explain in detail below but first I would like to address the question of whether or not there were other possible routes for the pipeline. I, along with others, met with the Chairman of the Environmental Management Commission (EMC), Progress Energy, The Asst. Secretary of the Department of Environmental & Natural resources, the Division of Water Quality, the Division of Water Resources, the Chair of the EMC water allocation committee, and others.
Based on these discussions, I'm convinced that other routes and other discharge points were explored but rejected by one state agency/department or another. It's important that I make decisions based on the world we live in rather than the world we would like to live in. In other words, I wish there were another viable discharge point that would lead to a different route for the pipeline.
Unfortunately, the reality is the State has mandated this discharge point and endorsed the route. We listened to the citizens and negotiated for those items that were most valued by the largest number of citizens. While some expressed that we should just say no, most made it clear that if we said yes we needed to protect the interest of Chatham citizens.
A careful review of the comments and suggestions I received boil down to just a few concerns;
1) No involuntary annexation by Cary or Apex,
2) Protect property rights,
3) Ensure the affected landowners are treated fairly, and
4) Ensure the Moncure community is treated fairly.
By saying Yes we were able to obtain very important concessions from the partners to address these concerns. The first is the long sought after agreement to introduce a bill into the legislature preventing Cary or Apex from ever annexing into Chatham County without a property owner requesting it. To strengthen this position, we also required each of the towns to pass a local agreement restricting their ability to annex into Chatham that will be binding for a 20 year period (Under NC statute 160A-58.21).
That may be like wearing a belt with suspenders but we wanted to ensure that involuntary annexation can't happen. The bill and agreements aggressively protect property rights of every landowner in eastern Chatham County. Nobody will ever have to worry about becoming part of Cary or Apex against their will.
These requirements also address the concerns of other residents about losing control of the land within our county. The next major point is fair compensation to the Moncure community. The partners will compensate the county in the amount of $500,000 to offset the negative impacts of routing the pipeline through Chatham. We plan to use this money to renovate the existing youth center in Moncure.
The goal is to have a facility that can be enjoyed by everyone. Additionally, the affected property owners will be in a better position to negotiate fair compensation for the easements on their land than would have been the case if we had said no and forced the partners to expend more time and money to get approval from the State legislature. Longer term benefits include future economic develop possibilities as we finalize our land use plan on the eastern side of Jordan Lake.
The economic develop corporation passed a resolution supporting the pipeline as an economic benefit to all of Chatham. This agreement and a sound land use plan east of the Jordan lake will further our goal of creating an environment that will create jobs in Chatham County. Finally, and very importantly, we have strengthened our working relationship with two important neighbors. Everyone acknowledges the critical need to work cooperatively in a regional way with surrounding counties and municipalities. These relationships will benefit Chatham County as we struggle with regional issues such as; water quality, water usage, transportation, infrastructure needs, and economic development.
A yes vote means that we will continue to work with the Partners on these issues as well as others that might arise to ensure the least amount of disruption to the property owners. If we had said no, the WWP would have had to go to plan B. They would have needed to get a bill introduced into the State Legislature requesting that the statute be changed in such a way that would not require our approval to run the pipeline through Chatham. The statute in question is 153A and does not include all NC counties. It was originally passed as a way to prevent a municipality from buying land in another county for the purpose of building a landfill. The legislature could remove Chatham County from the list of counties in NC 153A without vacating the entire statute.
Many will disagree with me, but I strongly believe they would have been able to get this bill passed quickly. Even if they could not have done it quickly, eventually they would have gotten approval. I say that because of the number of North Carolina citizens who would have been negatively impacted by not having a waste water treatment facility. Cary, Apex, Morrisville, New Hill, Durham, several research triangle businesses, and Fayetteville are all on record as supporting the need for the plant. The state 
agencies have dictated the discharge point and said the proposed route is the best path. These communities can demonstrate that over 400,000 residents are directly affected and they can make a public health argument in support. The partners have already spent over $100 million on the project and the 8 miles of pipeline routed through Chatham was not going to stop the project.
Our odds of stopping decreased drastically when New Hill dropped it's opposition to building the plant in their community. During the public hearing in Moncure, the Secretary of Commerce sent 
a representative to tell us that they support the pipeline. That sent a pretty clear message that the rest of the State will support the partners if needed.
The UNC School of Government recently pointed out to me that while we look at a map of NC with county lines, state agencies dealing with water quality and water allocation do not. The chart on the left shows how we look at the state and the the other chart on the shows how these agencies look at the map. When you take that, as well as these other considerations into account, you can see why I believe we would have ended up with a pipeline regardless of our vote.
The difference would have been a hostile working environment with our neighbors for the foreseeable future, our landowners in a weakened negotiated position, no protection from Cary annexing into Chatham unfettered, and no community center in Moncure.
Article Courtesy Raleigh News&Observer 12-22-2011
BY DAVID BRACKEN - BY DAVID BRACKEN The News and Observer
Tags: Interstate 540 | housing | Triangle | Apex | Holly Springs | new home construction | traffic
When officials gather this morning to open the first section of the new Interstate 540 extension in western Wake County, they will surely describe the project as being crucial to the Triangle's future growth.
Perhaps the best evidence of the road's power is that it is already helping spur an activity that has been in short supply in recent years: new home construction.Through the first 10 months of the year, the number of new single-family building permits issued in Apex and Holly Springs - the two municipalities likely to benefit the most from the extension - are up sharply.
Apex issued 209 permits through October, up 67 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Wake County data. Holly Springs issued 255 permits, a 60 percent increase over last year.Those increases are all the more striking given that new permits for all of Wake County are down 6 percent through October.
Permits are down 10 percent in Cary and 22 percent in Raleigh."I think clearly the 540 extension is driving some of this," said Tim Minton, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County. "These are two places where we're actually building some roads right now."The 18.8-mile toll road, the state's first, is expected to be completed by December 2012.
The first section, a 3.7-mile stretch called the Triangle Parkway, opens to traffic today and will be toll-free until Jan. 3.Once finished, the road will connect Holly Springs to the region's biggest jobs center, Research Triangle Park, meaning homebuilders along the extension now have a much more attractive sales pitch to buyers worried about their commute.
"When we're talking to potential buyers we show them where 540 is coming into the 55 location," said David Mason, general manager for 12 Oaks, a residential development just west of the N.C. 55 Bypass in Holly Springs.A court-appointed receiver took over 12 Oaks in 2009 after its developer, L.M. Sandler & Sons of Virginia Beach, Va., ran into trouble.
The project, which has nearly 1,400 home sites, also includes a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus' design firm.Mason said that of the 144 homes that have sold in the community, 101 sold this year. Full build-out of the project is likely to take eight to 10 years if the project is able to average 150 sales a year.
"It's been really great and it's in spite of the economy and of other things," Mason said of the recent sales activity.Excitement over the development possibilities being created by the new road extension isn't limited to the residential sector.
Kite Realty has plans to build a 550,000-square-foot retail center near the N.C. 55 Bypass, where the extension of I-540 will connect by next December. The project, called New Hill Place, is to be anchored by a Target and will include 10 large stores, 29 smaller stores, a movie theater and a bowling alley.
Article Courtesy Raleigh News&Observer 12-22-2011
BY DAVID BRACKEN - Staff Writer, The News and Observer
Tags: Wake County | Apex | office space | manufacturing | homes | real estate
When developer Tom Hendrickson unveiled plans for his massively ambitious real estate project Veridea in mid-2009, it seemed only natural to wonder whether he'd been living in a cave.After all, what Hendrickson's firm, Lookout Ventures, was proposing to build in Apex was exactly the sort of project that the economic downturn and the accompanying credit crunch was supposed to have made obsolete.
Veridea, as envisioned by its developer, would cover more than 1,000 acres and include up to 10 million square feet of offices, 3.5 million square feet of shops, 2 million square feet of manufacturing and 8,000 homes. "A next-generation version of the world-renowned Research Triangle Park," as Hendrickson described it at the time. Two and half years later, Veridea still faces a host of challenges.
But it's also true that Hendrickson's timing is starting to look a whole lot better.Last week, Lookout paid $8.2 million for 114 acres of Progress Energy land along Old Holly Springs Apex Road."This puts us over 1,100 acres," he said, referring to the amount of land his group has purchased or put under contract.
"This gets us about what we need."It also gives the project something even more valuable: land around where a future Western Wake Expressway interchange could be built.The Progress Energy tract was originally 136 acres, but 22 acres of it was condemned to make way for the turnpike.
A 3.7-mile section of the toll road opened earlier this month, and the entire 18.8-mile extension is expected to be completed by December 2012. "That's something that our timing has been designed to dovetail with," Hendrickson said.The road is already spurring new home construction in both Apex and Holly Springs, where new building permits are up 63 percent through the first 10 months of the year.
When the turnpike is complete, it will have 11 interchanges. Adding one eventually at Old Holly Springs Apex Road is under discussion, though it's unclear when it might get built or who would pay for it.The developers behind Wendell Falls, another massive development proposed in Eastern Wake County, paid $25.5 million for an interchange to be built off the U.S. 64 Bypass.
The interchange opened in November 2009, but the project has since gone bankrupt. Lenders are now trying to find a buyer for all the land the developers assembled.Veridea's land-use plan was approved by Apex officials in May. The area has remained largely undeveloped until now because of its soil and topography. Its soil makes it unsuitable for well and septic systems And because the land drains away from Apex, it is costly to extend water and sewer service into the area.
'We're very different'Hendrickson is adamant that Veridea will be unlike anything that has come before it."We're very different than the traditional suburban-scale [planned unit developments] that people are used to seeing," he said.
The development will have its own form-based zoning code, which regulates exterior appearance rather than potential uses for a piece of property. Many municipalities have been turning to such an approach in an attempt to combat sprawl and make their cities more walkable.Hendrickson said Lookout's intention is to develop the commercial component first. What area of the Veridea gets developed first will likely depend on where Lookout decides to place the pump stations that will be required to bring water and sewer service to Veridea.
Hendrickson said Lookout is now in discussions with potential occupants for the commercial areas. Given the project's size, it will be crucial to get a few major retailers or employers to sign on in order to create momentum.And even though it is expected to take 15 to 20 years to build out, Veridea needs the economy to improve significantly. Projections call for Veridea to add 20,000 new residents, 30,000 jobs and $6 billion in tax revenues to Apex's coffers.
At the moment, it's hard to see where the demand will come from given that few companies are hiring, consumer spending is down, demand for new homes is at near historic lows and bank financing remains hard to get.By now, Hendrickson is used to people thinking he was crazy to have launched Veridea when he did.
But he said Lookout, which has already spent tens of millions of dollars acquiring the land for Veridea, doesn't have to worry about its lenders getting impatient. The land is debt-free, having been purchased with money from investors.
"Things are coming around," he said. "We've got great and patient partners on it, so we're making sure that the first step is the right step."
Apex - the place to be in 2012!
Apex is Unique and though growth slowed significantly in 2009 and 2010 it continued despite what was occurring throughout the country.
In 2011 Apex continued to grow with the 540 toll road on target to open in 2012!
Those who recognize that NOW is the time to buy land will later realize they made a wise investment decision!
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