Foxcroft has all the amenities

Fred Hobby was seeking a neighborhood that fed into excellent schools.

Ken and Chirinjev Peterson were looking for a neighborhood that had large homes, a swim team and a swimming pool.

These families said they found exactly what they were looking for and much more in Foxcroft, a more than 30-year-old Eastside community hidden behind Pelham, Hudson and Devenger roads.

"It has big, mature trees everywhere and older brick homes that are all unique, but it feels like a new neighborhood in that it has its own big pool, a soccer field, a playground and very quiet, safe neighborhood streets that are enclosed," said Kress, 36, a stay-at-home mom.

"Kids can go biking and you feel they're going to be OK because cars off the busy street won't be racing through," she said.

Fred Hobby, diversity officer for the Greenville Hospital System, said Foxcroft has some of the best constructed houses on the Eastside.

He loves their high ceilings and spacious rooms. And he loves the fact that the homes are built on the large lots.

Hobby also likes to brag about his neighbors.

They've mowed his lawn when he was out of town and have taken care of his dog and children while he and his wife, Patricia, were away.

"This truly is a real neighborhood and not a collection of houses in a subdivision. We know the people who live on our streets and around us for blocks," Hobby said.

"There are lots of activities here to bring residents together."

When Foxcroft was built in the early 1970s, it was "the" neighborhood, residents said, though at the time, it was situated in what was considered a rural area. Today, Foxcroft is in the midst of the Eastside's vast and ongoing development, with new places to shop, eat, live and receive health care.

Thus, Kress and other residents boast about the location, which is "unreal," she said. "We're minutes from (Interstate) 385, I-85, from the airport. I feel like I can be anywhere in Greenville in just a few minutes," Kress said.

Foxcroft is, again, becoming "the" neighborhood.

Michael Mino, Foxcroft's homeowners association president, said houses in the neighborhood don't stay on the market for long. Most are sold before the group can advertise them in its monthly newsletter.

The neighborhood, which opens into Merrifield Park and has outlets onto several areas of Pelham, Hudson and Devenger roads, thrives with families with children of all ages.

Mino said many people who grew up in Foxcroft are returning to the neighborhood to settle. Foxcroft also has residents who moved there during the community's development.

It's that mix of generations that many residents cite as a key attraction to Foxcroft.

Lewis Tollison, who retired from owning a funeral business, and his wife, Nancy, have lived in Foxcroft for 32 years. And if he had it to do all over again, Tollison said, he'd still choose Foxcroft.

The recreation, the families, the schools and the road patterns are still great, he said. "It's just a great place."

Opportunities for residents to get to know their neighbors abound, thanks in part to Kim Reed, the community's social director. Reed is responsible for planning at least eight neighborhood celebrations each year - one for each major holiday.

Those who can't attend the parties can get acquainted with their neighbors at Foxcroft's Olympic-size swimming pool, at the tennis courts or on the soccer fields.

The beautiful landscaping and mature trees were a draw to Caroline Lloyd, a Master Gardener, who was in high school as Foxcroft was being developed.

When she and her husband, Don, who works for the American Red Cross, returned to Greenville after 13 years in Alabama, they knew Foxcroft was the place their spirits would nestle.

"We love everything about this neighborhood ... the quiet peaceful streets and people waving at each other even though they may not know each other," she said. "It's just so shady, and peaceful and friendly. And the location is ideal."

Lloyd, the incoming president of Foxcroft's garden club, initiated the new Yard of the Month award, giving neighbors another incentive to make their pretty green yards even prettier.

Chirinjev Peterson, a professor at Greenville Technical College whose husband is a professor at Furman University, said Foxcroft is a nice neighborhood, but it's not fancy and that's one reason she likes it. The houses are a good value for the money, she said.

Her home, a brick Dutch Colonial, has five bedrooms and four baths, which is great for those times when family members from India come for a lengthy stay.

And, she said, her home has a large playroom, which makes it easy for her young daughters to invite friends for sleepovers. "We could never do this unless we had the great big den for them to hang out in," Peterson said.