Ascot Subdivision
Eastside neighbors, mostly newcomers, reach out to create a sense of community
Before she bought a Greenville Sc home and moved from Ontario, Canada, last year, Sue Lisson spent time on the Internet researching county schools. What she found led her present Greenville Sc home in the Ascot subdivision in Greenville's Eastside.
Lisson said her research showed Oakview as the county's No. 1 elementary school and Buena Vista No. 2.
She and her husband, Norm, considered buying a home in the school district served by Oakview, but those homes proved too expensive, she said. So they moved to Ascot, where prices begin in the $200,000 range. Now their two daughters are less than a mile from the Buena Vista school.
"We chose our school and bought in the neighborhood that would take us to that school," Lisson said.
Several of her neighbors gave the same reason for moving to Ascot, making it clear that schools are a key draw for its residents, mostly young professionals from outside the area who have children.
Huma Aftab said she used to live in the nearby Hudson Forest subdivision but moved to Ascot so her children could attend Buena Vista and Riverside middle and high schools.
Aftab said she didn't like Northwood, the middle school the school district assigns to residents who live at Hudson Forest.
"From people around here, and over the Internet, I learned that Riverside Middle and High are the best schools and Ascot is in the area that belongs to those schools," Aftab said.
Oby Lyles, spokesman for county schools, said Buena Vista and the Riverside schools are "at the top or near the top in all areas of student achievement."
Melinda Kocis, president of the Parent Teacher Association at Buena Vista, said a number of parents who live at Ascot are active in the PTA or serve on its board. She said Buena Vista "expects a great deal from the students, and the test scores show that."
The 105-lot Ascot, started in 1999, is located near the intersection of Batesville and Devenger roads, near the Sugar Creek and Sugar Mill subdivisions.
It is the only subdivision under development in Greenville SC by Pulte Homes. The national builder was developing seven subdivisions in the area before it largely pulled out of the market last year. So far, 65 houses are occupied. Another eight are under construction.
Elaine Dodd, sales manager at Ascot, said Pulte kept the property because "the location is gold."
"It's very difficult to buy land in the Thornblade area," she said. "It's very expensive. There's hardly any left. It's where everyone wants to be."
Houses at Ascot come in seven models - all brick or stucco - and range in size from 2,700 to 3,300 square feet. They're nestled close together, mostly on quarter-acre lots, along a half-mile main street and three side streets.
"In some people's eyes, the only negative is the lots are not large, because the land here is so extremely expensive," Dodd said. "But the homes are built in a way that you feel you have quite a nice yard."
Amenities include sidewalks, street lights, a swimming pool and seven acres set aside as a "nature preserve." Residents pay $700 a year for upkeep of amenities, and will do so until Ascot is built out, probably in a year, Dodd said. After that, a homeowners association will have responsibility for common property.
The closest shopping center is the Publix at Thornblade strip mall located at the corner of Batesville and The Parkway.
Most of Ascot's residents hail from outside the area, even outside the country, and many work for BMW, Michelin or General Electric.
Dodd said at least half of the houses have been sold to engineers who work for those three companies. Income levels fall between $80,000 and $100,000 a year, she said.
GeriAnn Bell, who moved to Ascot from Maryland 20 months ago, said she has neighbors who hail from Puerto Rico, India, China, France and Canada.
"The neighborhood has lots of international people, which makes it really fun, I think," Bell said.
Many residents acknowledge they'll likely stay in Ascot only until their next promotion. But the transience - instead of taking away from the community - can actually add to it, they said.
"Everybody's in the same boat," said Bill Purcell, a regional vice president with a securities firm who moved to Greenville from Colorado in May 2000. "There's a commonality - new house, new neighborhood. There's certainly a lot more to talk about because everybody has a story and nobody has really heard it before."
To foster community, residents gather at cul-de-sacs on weekend nights for barbecue and beer.
"I think there's a strong sense of community," said Bell, who moved to Ascot when her husband, David, took a job in human resources with Bi-Lo, the Mauldin-based grocery chain. "People trade kids back and forth. We keep each other's keys in case you get locked out, yard tools.
"There aren't very many of us who have family from the area, so your neighbors kind of become your extended family."
By Rudolph Bell STAFF WRITER the Greenville News
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