A Forgotten Treasure: The Raleigh Water Garden
I started out with only a Facebook status update and the vague directions “across from the Carmax on Glenwood” to go on. An hour and a half later, I found the Water Garden.
Walking along Glenwood Avenue after it leaves downtown Raleigh, one feels beyond doubt that this is not a place intended for human traffic. Furniture warehouses and car lots sit in misanthropic isolation off of a busy road with no sidewalk. You’re not supposed to walk around here, and if you do, you feel small and lost in a blinding, concrete commercial desert. On foot, you realize how far apart everything is, how much space there is that possibly no one has walked in years.
When I finally found the entrance to the Water Garden, I was surprised I had missed it. It looks like a sign for some vintage funland. Walking down the gravel path from the treeless light on the road, the light gains compassion, becomes photosynthetic, happily leafy. It was surreal, walking off of the hell of Glenwood into a place with such spiritual resonance. I had no idea what any of it meant. It was only after poking around for a while that I discovered:
- It was the home base of Richard Bell for over 50 years
- Richard Bell is one of Raleigh’s iconic landscape architects
I was able to meet with Kim Weiss, Bell’s biographer and close personal friend, and later with Bell himself, and this is what I learned.
Dick Bell in Pullen Park in the 1960s
Richard Bell is perhaps Raleigh’s most beloved landscape architect, although fewer and fewer people know who he is. Bell created landmarks like the Meredith Ampitheater, Pullen Park, and NCSU’s Brickyard, and the beautiful gardens surrounding the Legislative Building. In a real sense, Bell has shaped the ethos of Raleigh in a way all of its inhabitants experience. Bell, or Dick as he’s known to friends, left Manteo in the late 40′s to come to what was about to become Henry Kamphoefner‘s newly established School of Design. Kamphoefner’s vision was to not simply create a talented body of graduates versed in philosophy and the practice of design, but for those graduates to set up shop in North Carolina. Essentially, Kamphoefner dreamed of creating an infrastructure of modern design in North Carolina, not just a school of design in Raleigh. “We were orchestrated to work in North Carolina,” Bell told me. “Eighty-five percent of our graduates went on to work in North Carolina.” Bell told me that Kamphoefner insisted that his faculty not only lecture, but also practice their disciplines, and had distinguished individuals such as Frank Lloyd Wright come and talk to the students. Bell chuckled as he told me that Wright refused to lecture in the Design buildings because he thought they were so ugly. Bell met Wright under a tree near Holladay Hall. “It was an open ended school,” Bell reflected. “Kamphoefner had a master plan for development.”
Kamphoefner’s intense program of training worked, and in 1951, Bell won the Prix de Rome at the age of twenty. “It was- How would you say it?- totally weird,” remarked Bell. He was the youngest individual to ever receive the prize, and in a bold move, asked the committee to delay his acceptance of the prize until he was twenty-one. Surprisingly, they agreed, in part because they appreciated his desire to apprentice in a working landscape architecture office before going to Europe to study. He traveled to Italy and toured thirty countries in Europe, and remarkably for someone raised in the pre-civil rights South, often travelled on a Lambretta scooter with a black sculptor. He cited this experience as a major influence on all of his later work: “It gave me a broader perspective, and that was incredibly valuable.” He came home inspired, ready to start designing in North Carolina.
Image credit: Dick Bell
The Water Garden began when Dick stopped along a then-rural stretch of Highway 70, helped his new bride Mary Jo out of the car, and told her, “If we ever have a place, I want it to be like this.” He told me about showing the site to her that day: “It was so beautiful. The sky reflected in the water. It was way out in the boonies at that time… but there were wetlands, pines- It was a mini-environment of bog and plants.”
Image credit: Dick Bell
There was already a foundation for a building on the property, and with the help of architect John Evans of Florida, the Bells designed and built their modern home over it. The first building became known as the “Chicken Coop”. It was rough going. The Bells did much of the work themselves, and by that time the couple had two young children. “It was rough,” said Bell. “We had two kids, $7000, a plywood floor, and newspapers over the windows for insulation.” But gradually the buildings were completed. It took about 14 years to build the Water Garden, from their first house there to the ultimate office park, gallery, residence and gardens that spread over 11 acres. Finally, in 1963, the Bells held the first art show at their Garden Gallery. Even more than just being a breathtaking piece of modernist design, the Water Garden was crucial for Bells’ career and mission on two levels.
Image credit: Dick Bell
First, Bell used the Water Garden as a laboratory, constantly trying out new ideas and combinations of plants. “I didn’t feel like my clients ought to be guinea pigs,” Bell told me. Bell had inherited a love of plants from his father, Albert Bell, who helped design and build the Lost Colony Amphitheater. Bell grew up in his father’s and grandfather’s nurseries on Roanoke Island, and his green thumb combined with a creative mind produced some innovative ideas for gardening. It was Bell’s idea to create berms around pine trees up to eight feet high- previously, gardeners had assumed that a berm that high would kill pines. Nurseries would send Bell plants to experiment with, and Bell was the first person to take many local plants out of the forest and use them in residential design.
Image credit: Dick Bell
Secondly, and perhaps more crucially, Water Garden was critical in establishing the profession of landscape architecture in Raleigh. Bell built the Water Garden, not only as his home, but as a place that he could point to and say “There. That is landscape architecture.” In a real sense, the construction of the Water Garden was the foundation of Landscape Architecture in North Carolina as a whole. It was a showpiece that opened the door for Bell’s other projects, projects which have helped define Raleigh and the idea of landscape architecture.
It was so interesting to come as an unrecognized pracitioner of an unrecognized profession and say ‘This is what we should do for our city.’ It all came about as a kind of mystical relationship between me and my clients.
Bell’s goal in all of his projects was not simply to create beauty, but to establish landmarks to show what Landscape Architecture could do. ‘Water Garden’ was the first landmark.
Image credit: Dick Bell
Bell’s vision for the Water Garden was that it would be a mixed-use building, in which work, play, and the fabric of living were integrated through the beauty of its design. He saw it as a place not only for living, but in which living and art and design were side by side. The Coop housed a gallery, and the first art opening was held there in 1963. “Mary Jo was in charge of the gallery,” he told me. “We had a sculptor and a painter for the first exhibit.” The Water Garden soon became the cultural center of Raleigh. I work with an older lady who has lived in Raleigh for over fifty years, and she told me that she used to go out to the Water Garden on occasion. Kim Weiss told me how Raleigh’s arts scene in the 60′s and 70′s had its epicenter in Water Garden: “People would tramp out there in the rain. It didn’t matter- they just wore boots.”
As the decades passed, Bell remained prolific in his work but the arts scene moved downtown and development along Glenwood Avenue/Highway 70 West began to encroach on his and his wife’s oasis. Water Garden was no longer the haven it had been before Raleigh began its spastic sprawl: Cookie-cutter housing developments were being slapped together around the property, and at night, you could see the neon signs of a car dealership through the trees.
Bell knew it was time to leave. He assumed that the property would be passed to his children. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. Although his daughter and son-in-law were able to take over the design firm, taking over the care of the 11-acre property was simply too much.
“It was rough leaving,” Bell told me, staring into his cup of coffee. “We hadn’t created the proper background for our family to take over. It wasn’t a happy time.” Bell had thought that perhaps the city would buy the property, but Water Garden wasn’t old enough to attain historic status, and Bell ended up selling the property and buildings to developers. “On one hand, he was glad to have [the hassle of taking care of the property] off of his back,” Kim told me. “On the other hand, he spent his life there. It was- and is- a huge loss.”
Unfulfilled Water Garden redevelopment plans, courtesy of Dick Bell
At the moment, no one is sure what will happen to Water Garden. Bell worked tirelessly, and on his own dime, to design beautiful building plans that would allow the developers to preserve the original buildings while incorporating them into larger development schemes, such as a shopping center and a senior care facility, to name a few.
Unfulfilled Water Garden redevelopment plans, courtesy of Dick Bell
“The senior living one was the best one,” said Bell. “I tried to present a plan of adaptive reuse.” The developers didn’t even thank him for his efforts.
Since the property was sold and vacated in 2007, the state of the buildings has grown steadily worse. The place looks like it’s been sacked by Vikings. Scrappers have gutted the walls, most of the windows have been shattered, and traces of paintball wars splatter the walls.
Since I began work on this article, gates have been put up to discourage local vandals from inflicting further damage, but much of the mutilation was a result of the sherriff’s office using the property for training. After a group of high-school students vandalized the property last year, Habitat for Humanity was allowed to salvage what they could.
No one is sure now what will happen to the property, but whether or not the buildings stand, Water Garden will remain a beautiful and central part of Raleigh’s history. “Dick always envisioned Water Garden as a place where people could live, work, play, and interact,” said Kim. “And for a while, it was. It does make me sad, but I know Dick has many monuments. They will live on.” On all of the occasions I talked with her, she didn’t seem to be at a point of resignation, but then neither am I. And perhaps for those who have experienced Water Garden, in any capacity, that resignation will be a long time coming. “OK, Water Garden will disappear. But all the other landmarks Dick designed… Those are still there.”
Many thanks to Kim Weiss for all of her help. Dick Bell’s first book “The Bridge Builders”, edited by Kim, comes out soon.
Unless otherwise noted, all images credit John Morris
More photos from the Water Garden
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07/06/2010
These are beautiful pictures. It’s such a shame that the place has gotten to this. I love the idea of turning the area into something new that incorporates the buildings and design that is currently there and it’s terrible that this will probably never happen.
07/06/2010
Great article Danielle! Your in-depth research has revealed a poignant story unknown to most citizens of Raleigh. How wonderful you were able to interview Dick Bell personally for your narrative! The photos he shared with you show the Water Garden in its hey-day as I remember it when I used to accompany my parents there in the late 1960s, and later when I would attend openings there on my own in the late ’70s. Thanks for documenting this hidden and forgotten treasure of Raleigh’s modernist architectural heritage.
07/06/2010
What a wonderful article. I have long wondered about this place and this is a sad and inspiring piece. I hope more people will take an interest in this property.
07/06/2010
I loved that place. I used to visit the art gallery just to experience the whole complex. The effect of the shake shingles on the outside, continuing inside windows and entry ways was really effective and blurring the lines between interior and exterior. The building that housed Dick’s office was designed by Ligon Flynn and was such a nice modernist building – and is now a ruin.
07/06/2010
I’ve seen the sign for the Water Garden so many times, and I assumed it was some kind of theme park. Thanks for the enlightening story.
07/06/2010
How can this property not have been considered historic enough by the city? Regardless of its age, it is an iconic part of Raleigh’s past and should have been recognized as such. It’s so distressing to see what has happened to it and know that it will never be restored.
07/07/2010
I’ve passed by the sign almost my whole life and just thought it was some sort of office park- who knew? Shame that a wonderful, peaceful place like that will more than likely become a strip mall or more of the cookie cutter houses like the ones that already surround it now. At least the memories and pictures are there so we can see what we lost. Yet another great article!!
07/07/2010
Great story and wonderful pictures to go along with it. When I moved to town in 1998, I was right down the road from the Water Garden and used to think about how I’d like to have some space there for my Video Production business. It’s a shame it’s future could be as a Brier Creek style development.
07/07/2010
Great post.
I have passed this place for years and had NO IDEA what it was. I even live right near it now and just thought it was an old store to go buy fishponds.
Going to have to go exploring over there!
07/07/2010
Is anyone interested in a group exploration of the location?
07/07/2010
Thanks for posting. Like Dan I have driven by for years–and I never paid attention. I remember seeing after viewing your pics of the sign. Will have to stop by sometime.
07/07/2010
Hi all, despite this article leaving me in less than the best manner, I appreciate the time taken to put it together and shed light on this gem of a property. Danielle, if you don’t mind I would like to retort to some of the items in this article. First and foremost, I take offense to the statement that I “didn’t even thank Mr. Bell”. That is completely untrue, and in fact at the time of sale Mr. Bell was sincerely thanking me for purchasing the property. It was also my idea to donate all of his old drawings to NC State as they were left on the property after he left and destined to be destroyed. Soon after I purchased the Water Garden, I was informed that I could not rent the office spaces out anymore because the buildings were not fully up to code. For banking and insurance reasons, we were required to leave the buildings vacant. We maintained the grounds and left the gates open for over a year allowing weekend picnicers and photography groups to come to the property. Then the trouble started and vagrants initially broke into the buildings and literally set up home. We had to have them removed and we then allowed the Sheriff’s department to run K9 training classes in the buildings BUT they did not destroy them. What destroyed them was a group of teens doing drugs and other undesirable things in the property from the surrounding neighborhoods. There just was not enough manpower to police the property and they utterly devastated anything that made a loud crash and was fun to destroy. Shortly thereafter I contacted Habitat and they came and removed any materials that they could salvage and THAT is when the property truly started to look derelict. After that I allowed the NC State paintball team to come out and a tactical laser tag group. The gates are up to defend the property against dumpers who decided why drive to the landfill when they can just fill the Water Garden. In the end, the legacy of Dick Bell ended over 3 years ago, but the property has had quite a few last hurrahs for many people and continues to live on, albeit not in the pristine manner is has in the past. There are big plans for the property and I can tell you 100% it will not be devastated by a huge mega-cookie-cutter-shopping-center. It will live on, and although due to confidentiality I can not tell you the exacts of how, I can tell you the NAME will live on too. SO before you pass judgment on this evil developer, I hope you can pause and see how hard I have tried to keep the Water Garden alive. It is not forgotten in one sense of the word. Dan London, you suggested a meeting at the property. Please understand you will be trespassing in this instance as is clearly posted BUT I am more than happy to open the place up to you all if you would like to visit. It has much to offer even in its current state. Regards to all
07/07/2010
Many thanks to Danielle and Goodnight, Raleigh for caring about this wonderful property. And to the current owner: We are all anxiously awaiting the future of the Water Garden, as I’m sure you are, too. Best of luck!
07/07/2010
Thanks, Danielle, for the article. Between you and John Morris, I can always count on excellent research.
It’s hard to see something you’ve loved die. For those new to Water Garden, it is hard to enjoy something you’ve just discovered because it is gone. We’re all in a bit of mourning, I suppose. I’ve spoken to the new owner, whose post is above. He’s very gracious about the property and understands what a place it has in Raleigh’s heart. It looks like we have a new Water Garden to look forward to – and maybe, just maybe, a young landscape architect will take it upon himself or herself to create their own Water Garden II somewhere in the Triangle.
07/07/2010
Hi again. Sorry I don’t mean to post twice but I wanted to make sure my email did not come off the wrong way, I was simply trying to interject some facts from the other side of the table. Danielle did an amazing job of researching and writing the article and is to be commended for that.
With that said, if anyone would like to come tour the property, I would be happy to host a weekend or weeknight ‘open house’ out there where you can come and explore and take pictures, etc. Any new development will not be starting until at least this winter and a very large portion of the beautiful fauna will be preserved (I mean it, not just saying that). With that said, obviously we will be demoing some areas and I will be happy to let you take plants, etc from there if you have a home for it! There are a lot of small Japanese Maples, Crepe Myrtles, Black Lacquers, Mondo Grass, and Azaleas that can be dug up and transported. If someone wants to coordinate a get-together, just contact me and I will be happy to meet you out there.
07/08/2010
I remember seeing that sign at the front of the property many times along Glenwood. Somehow it’s been burned into my subconscious from my Durham commute.
Very angular and memorable… and now I knew what was sitting behind it much sooner.
07/08/2010
I appreciate the comments from the current owner. It would be easy to develop this property to fit the surrounding development, and that would be a shame. I remember driving an architect friend out to see The Water Garden in the early 2000′s and he remarked on the surrounding developments: That’s one land use model – just rape it. I believe the inhabitants of those surrounding neighborhoods opposed many of Dick Bell’s redevelopment plans. I hope their teenage daughters are all pregnant from partying in the abandoned buildings.
07/08/2010
I live a couple of miles from here and truthfully have always wondered what this place was. Thank you for your post on this property – now I don’t have to wonder anymore – now I just have to go see it.
07/09/2010
I am one of Dick’s grand kids and leaving Water Gardens was very hard. Me and the rest of my family have spent a majority of our time there and it was hard to see it go.
07/09/2010
Dan- a group exploration might not be the best idea – I walked around the Water Garden just last week, and despite the broken wood, glass, and insulation everywhere, there were definitely multiple people inside one of the buildings (and no cars in sight). I felt like I was gonna walk into the heroin scene from Wet Hot American Summer so i hightailed it out of there. I do remember how awesome the main house was when I was a kid; it was definitely a shame to see it like this.
07/10/2010
i went in there a while ago with a friend and we found a rather large canvas portrait and a large landscape piece on canvas. There was also a rubber tie-off and a syringe. Nothing is better than gettin’ all schmacked up in an abandoned building with glass all over the floor. Just kidding! Trife life. Anyhow, this is another great example of how Raleigh lets great artistic endeavors slip by the wayside. I mean what a fantastic idea, and not one nod of assistance from the city. I mean, NOT UP TO CODE?, fuck that. If this was Pullen Park or any other treasured property Raleigh would find the dough to fix up whatever needed fixing. Even in this money-troubled time in our state’s history (not like we haven’t been hard up for money for a couple decades). Anyhow the paintball marks and the glass should be cleaned up on a set date and then MAYBE the owner should let people in. It’s just kinda getting sloppy. I might have just missed it, but did people actually LIVE in this place back in the day? Good Googlie-Mooglie, Raleigh… Oh and if i see ONE more cop surfing Facebook while commanding a police car i am gonna quit driving, period. (i saw one officer surfing facebook with his right hand, talking on his cell with his left and knee driving). Sorry for no relevance whatsoever
07/10/2010
I knew Bell’s daughter’s roomate back in the day and actually spent some time in this house one evening – it was fascinating. Actually I never put her last name with Richard Bell up until now. Sad to see the Park fall into such a state of disrepair.
As with almost everything I see on this site it makes me want to go do some exploring.
07/13/2010
Has anyone arranged a weekend tour? I have just recently found this site. I would love to see this amazing place in person!
07/19/2010
Thanks for the replies from the current owner and others. Shame that people are squatting there and treating the property so poorly. Thanks for the heads-up.
I even wonder if an exploration (with permission) would be a good idea.
07/21/2010
Thanks for a great article on a place in Raleigh that will certainly be missed. I too have driven by this location too many times to count over the years also not knowing what was located there. I would have loved to see it in it’s prime. It so sad how it looks like this place has deteriorated over the years. I appreciate the current owners feedback and comments on this page and his efforts to make something of this place again in the future.
07/26/2010
I believe Karl is going to set something up for the August 9th week. As for going out there on your own, I must reiterate that you will be trespassing and it is posted very clearly. I have to take a hard line on this for my insurance, etc plus there are potential dangers out there that you need to be careful of anyway. Anyone who does come visit will be required to sign a liability waiver (will just be a 1-pager that says you know you are in a potentially dangerous situation). With all of that said, besides a few vagrants here and there, so long as you are not running around and going crazy, it is a relatively safe place.
07/26/2010
Please keep us posted about the possibility to visit. It would be great to be able to come rescue a few of the beautful plants that would otherwise be destroyed as well.
08/24/2010
Hope I did not miss the trek out there! I would love to save some plants AND explore.
08/25/2010
Thank you for the story and pictures. I feel like I have lost another part of my youth, Horseshoe Acres at the top of Duraleigh Rd., J&H Stables on Ebenezer Church Rd., now the Water Garden where I worked in the early eighties. Like the stables, the Water Garden represented the easy, intimate and idyllic relationship which must have existed between human beings and the natural world before the onslought of the machine. These were places of contentment and escape, an edenic oases. Was it all a dream?
08/27/2010
Hi all, not sure if anyone is coming here anymore but for anyone interested in the future of the Water Garden, here is a press release from the people buying it from me. As you will see, they have high hopes for the place and it will be Energy Star and LEED certified!
Just to throw one more jab out there since 99% of the world is anti-developer… see, we are not all evil. :)
http://raleighnc.gov/home/content/PubAffairs/Articles/WaterGardenProject.html
09/07/2010
Did the visit to the Water Garden ever get set up? I was hoping to tour it and possibly save some plants before the sale occurs. Is that still a possibility?
09/07/2010
To Pullen Fan and others interested in visiting the Water Garden site — I am working with the Current Owner to set up some kind of arrangement for interested parties to go out there and collect plants and photograph the ruins. He tells me we have a window of a couple months, so I am hoping we can visit when the weather is a little cooler, but when plants would still be identifiable. When I was out there back in August, it was like a jungle, both figuratively and literally! I will contact those interested through direct email when a plan gels.
09/09/2010
Sounds great I look forward to it. Hopefully we can do it after the snakes have gone underground!
09/11/2010
I’m a neighbor on the other side of this lake. I am NOT happy to hear this property has been sold to someone who will be placing section 8 apartments here!! There are low income apartments straight down glenwood towards crabtree. AND, how did this Happen without a Hearing from all of us impacted?? What a total waste on wonderful land! Now I know why my value has gone from 375,000 to 335,000 in 60 days!!! Thanks for thinking of all of us that love this neighborhood!!!!
09/11/2010
Well as it turns out someone has purchased it, or attempting to, and wants to turn it into section 8 property and senior living. WTF, This beautiful landscape is my backyard and love every part of how peaveful it is. I am sure that when this was built by Bell he didn’t intend to put low income rift raft in it to destroy the neighborhood.
09/16/2010
This is a shame section 8 housing coming on that land.. This will increase alot of crime in long lake and nuisance. This needs to be stopped also we just keep destroying beauty and nature ;-(
Lets all petiion this crap idea of section 8 housing.
09/17/2010
RE: Section 8.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am not the developer, I am simply the land owner and after the sale I have nothing to do with the property… BUT… before you freak out about Section 8, why don’t you read into the facts about the development. People hear Section 8 and automatically assume there are going to be slums there. That is so very much not the case here. This is a government funded green-building project with a huge portion of it being for SENIORS in the form of senior living. This is for people like your parents who retired and don’t have enough to make it by in the worst economy in decades.
The Water Garden property has always been there and as much as you might like it as your own personal back yard, it isn’t yours. It has always been zoned TD (thoroughfare district) and the reason you couldn’t convene to contest the project is because it uses less than half of the allowed density (in this case less that 1/4!!!) so it does not require public approval. It is a done deal. In all honesty, you should be very thankful that you are getting what you are with a green development and emphasis on preserving the nature that is there because the alternatives are endless with that zoning. You could have had another clear-cut track-home builder, a huge hotel, a glow-in-the-dark car dealership that would have light shining through your windows all night, a strip mall, a gas station… I just have no remorse for anyone who is complaining on this based on the fact that it is ‘section 8′ because you don’t have all of your facts straight.
In the end, the development that will take place is going to be a wonderful addition to the area and TRULY PRESERVE the nature you like about the Water Garden.
09/18/2010
U really don’t have much of a clue, he won’t build a old folks home and it won’t be greener then the bulbs I put in my house. I would rather keep the beauty of the nature that is there, or turn it into a beautiful park to remember the real developer. Secton 8 or car dealership, u r taking another piece of history. Ps most of the people I’m long lake really care about the land, not the homes
09/18/2010
wow, I knew Bell and he was classy, the current owner sounds like a money desperate owner. He really wants us to think that because they are putting green stuff in this its suppose to be great. The whole green theory is no different then the atkins diet. It takes years to even see a penny difference in green appliances. What makes me feel better, is while I spend my entire paycheck on my mortgage, the people behind me will be able to live in this new community for a 1/4 of what I pay. To me that sounds like a Liberal society taking over. Maybe I should regress in my life and let the government support me. It seems to be the going trend, and it gets public sympathy.
09/18/2010
Ok, this will be my last post because I am clearly not going to win over any hardliners out there who think this is going to be some devil development. To those of you who keep saying developers are the bad guy and Dick Bell was so great and would never do this and kept the property so perfect READ THE PAPER AND THE PRESS RELEASES!!!
DICK BELL is part of the developers building the new project!!! If you think the guy is great, then you should be overjoyed to know he is an on-staff consultant!!! Why must everyone be so negative?
09/21/2010
To the current owner. Would u live near section 8 housing in your backyard? You guys are in for the money and dont give a damn about the folks who are gonna be hurt due to this. Preserve as a garden.
09/21/2010
As section 8 houseing might not all be bad, the proposed entrances to this development are in the middle of the long lake development, where those residents pay their dues to have it kept up. The streets, Mount Valley and Marvino lane are not meant for all the traffic it will bring in, especially Mount Valley. Has anyone thought that we all want to live in nice places and the place I live in is nice but I would like more and better for me but no one is giving me a break and letting me move to an area I can’t afford!!!
Long Lake residents will be paying a penality for it, if it isn’t the residents of the low income housing , it will be their children, grandchildren, the ones who you can’t do a background check on!
10/02/2010
The “Current Owners” are part of the Black Mountain Development LLC who originally intended to develop the Water Garden for Senior Living. (see website http://blackmountaindevelopment.com/). But [names redacted by editor] – the “current owners” live in a 900K home in [location redacted by editor], Cary. So… right you are, they don’t care if low income housing is in our back yards. As they quoted “we should be thankful” — that the lake will turn orange with development run off, that Hwy 70 between Pinecrest and Ebeneezer Church is not designed for this traffic, that we will now have a bus stop, that the cut through on Mt Valley Ln (currently a dead end) has homes built within 5 feet of the road, that the homes 100 feet behind the property were marketed by Pulte as high end luxury homes and that the property value will diminish, that cutting down the trees will now provide a clear view of the furniture & car dealer to residents across “Long Lake”. Yes, we do need senior and low income housing in Raleigh…but backing up to high end housing is not the best design. Thanks city of Raleigh for taking care of all of your tax paying residents.
10/06/2010
JRJD and others from the Long Lake HOA: While I can understand your apprehension and concerns about a development that may impact the value of your home, this is not the forum to address them.
This article was written with the intent of illustrating the history of a landscape architect and the area upon which his office was situated; not for debating Section 8 housing and speculating on what impact future development will have upon your home values.
I ask that you continue further discussion elsewhere and refrain from posting personal information on those involved with this project. It comes across as a threat and it will not be tolerated here.
10/12/2010
This is sad that this will be turned into something that will not help a good majority of the community, it has such great potential to be something to benefit the already crowded surrounding areas and could be kept beautiful, instead,more buildings, people, traffic, bus stops, and so on. It is a sad loss and possibly even, all we can do is sit back and see!
10/12/2010
I live next door and I can think of a whole lot of worse things that can go there, like another car dealership, another gas station, another furniture store. At least housing (low income or not) is not retail. I went to the meeting with DHIC there and they seem to believe in what they are doing. I went to see their other community in Wakefield and honestly it is pretty nice. So whatever, like I said I’m just glad it isn’t another car dealership or furniture store!
10/12/2010
I found out that the “current owners” paid close to $2 Million for the property. Why don’t we all pitch in $5,000 and just BUY IT FROM THEM! I can’t imagine their contract will be much more than $3M! Strength in numbers!
10/13/2010
I live in Long Lake and I do not think that this development is the worst thing that could go in that property. I found the history of Water Garden very interesting. I am glad that a residential development that preserves some of the landscape is going there instead of a strip mall or something else that changes the overall landscape of the area.
I also read some of the comments by the person who purchased the property from Bell. It sounds as if the Water Garden, since being vacant, has become a place for vandals, drug users, etc. People in my neighborhood who are concerned about crime should be concerned about this crime and less worried about crime in a developed area where police can patrol and people actually live.
Call me a “liberal” if you want to. I will take it as a compliment if that means that I am concerned about someone other than myself and that I see value in affordable housing in all areas of the city. I feel grateful every day that I am fortunate enough to be able to afford a home–not one of the most “high end” in Long Lake–and a car to get to my job–that I am also very grateful to have. I cannot and will not judge others who are not so fortunate. I know that some people who live in subsidized or low-income housing commit crimes, abuse the system, etc. However, I also know that some people who live in “high end” neighborhoods commit crimes, abuse the system, etc. too! Let’s have some perspective! Our neighborhood–which I like very much–is also partially responsible for the decline of the natural environment around Water Garden. There are many sides to any issue.
I would love to post this kind of opinion on my neighborhood email group, but I don’t feel like doing so because the one or two people who have tried to voice any kind of thoughts in this direction have been shut down quickly. I personally know a number of people in our neighborhood who agree with me.
Most importantly, let’s work to do the best we can keeping up our neighborhood. Watching out for crime from within our neighborhood or from outside is always important no matter what kind of development is nearby. Going back to the comments from the former owner about the vandals, he mentioned that these vandals were teenagers from nearby neighborhoods. I certainly hope that they were not from Long Lake.
I know that the moderator of our neighborhood group reads this. I just hope that in the future all of our views can be shared with each other. I felt I had to post my thoughts somewhere.
10/13/2010
I guess one thing I am trying to get across is that I don’t want to see people from Long Lake characterized unfairly–we are diverse in our opinions, politics, etc. I care very much about the neighborhood–as do most of us regardless of our feelings about this current issue. I feel that one of the worst things we can do if a new development comes in next door is to set up, from the beginning, an “us and them” attitude. People find themselves in need of affordable housing for many reasons that could happen to any of “us” or our loved ones. Living together respectfully can do a lot to deter the crime and other issues of concern to the neighborhood. Just a thought…
10/14/2010
While many of you think we only care about the section 8 that is coming in. You are quit wrong. There is nothing wrong with section 8 in my eyes. There are a few, and many of the section 8 haters that will post their thoughts. The true concern is the bondaries between properties and the foot traffic through the back yards of the townhome owners on Rhiannon and the Townes of Long Lake. Just to give you a little picture. Most of those homes are 2 stories. Well they want to put 3 stories 20 feet behind ours. So now you can look at my house from the front and see a towering building behind it 20 feet back. I invite you to come sit in my backyard and be shadowed by a huge building that once was a peaceful wooded lot. Not to mention, they want to make my drive way, aka Mt Valley their new entrance. Stroll down Mt Valley, its barely wide enough to get 2 cars. Plus its a parking lot, not a entrance to a neighborhood. So while you consider your emotions and thoughts that the majority of your neighbors are discriminatory towards section 8 . Read into other emotions of people losing their back yards, having their homes shadowed, and their privacy thrown apart. Come listen to DHIC as they dictate their rights to the community instead of seeking a neighborhood manner as they so preach. Don’t be quick to judge your fellow neighbors due to a small portion. Also, don’t be quick to raise up DHIC. In the 2 meetings we have had with them, we have seen 2 different stories in many areas, its very hard to trust a good neighbor that changes his story on you.
10/14/2010
I agree that there are many sides to this issue. I think the main thing that has disappointed me is the language used by some of our neighbors. While I totally understand the concern about over-development and the removal of our green spaces and privacy, I think the “fight” and the conflict should be about those things and not about terms like “riff raff,” etc. Such languages devalues people and is not productive toward finding a solution to this situation. It is my hope that if the understandable land use issues are really the concern that the same “fight” would be taking place if a business or a “high end” development went there. Perhaps I have been quick to judge, but the tone of some of the comments has been offensive. I agree that the irresponsible development of every square inch of Raleigh is an environmental and “quality of life” concern. Some people may be concerned mostly with this side of the issue, but others are focused on the nature of the potential residents in a way that seems very judgemental. I hope that a solution involving a more appropriate entrance, bettter use of the roads (this is a valid concern regardless of the type of development being built), etc. will be reached and will allow us all to live in this great community. Thank you for being respectful and clear in your response to my comment. That is the kind of discourse that will bring about a solution.
10/14/2010
Thanks ks. I agree that many comments left, especially the ones including phrases like “riff-raff”, have been offensive. I understand concerns residents may have about property values and other issues that have been addressed as being legitimate concerns, but the attitude of discrimination against poverty is exactly the opposite of what Dick Bell tried to achieve in his career.
10/15/2010
Tom/JR/KS and whoever else who thinks we can stop DHIC, it isn’t happening. What we CAN do and NEED to do is work with them and try our best to get them to at least understand our concerns and hopefully address them. I have a realtor friend who is very knowledgeable about this stuff and has actually contacted the city and DOT directly. The Marvino lane ‘extension’ has been planned since BEFORE Long Lake Subdivision was put in. If you look at the physical road it is cut and angled to continue through to Glenwood. She said the DOT has to put it in and is even apparently paying for it. The other side (the towns) apparently is not an entrance, we were told it will be chained off and used only for fire emergency purposes. We should clarify that. Either way, we can’t stop DHIC since they are funded by the city, the DOT, and the federal government. What we can do is try and force them to leave large tree buffers and preserve as much of our ‘back yards’ as possible.
One thing everyone seems to forget is that *we* don’t own the property. We never have, nor has Pulte. It went straight from Dick Bell to these current owners, to DHIC. So the views and the natural grounds there that we take for granted have never been ‘ours’, we’ve been borrowing them. So again, we need to try and get DHIC to leave as much buffer as we can!
Also, Rob- your idea of buying the property from the current owner is an interesting one, but also a no-go. They’ve been contacted multiple times by outside parties according to my realtor friend and apparently they want DHIC to get it because they believe they are doing what is best to preserve the land compared to other options.
Sad we scared the ‘current owner’ out of this forum because it sounds as if he or they were decent people and probably could have given us a lot of information. They have also rescinded any offers for people to come see the property in light of the issues being raised and took their email off of here (it was on here originally, I know I saw it).
Moral of the story, we can’t stop what is going to come, what we need to do is COME TOGETHER and talk with DHIC and make sure they understand our point of view!!!
10/18/2010
As the moderator of the Long Lake Message Board, I have reached out to the owners of this page to say exactly what many of you have said previously, that as a community of 847 families we all have different opinions, and those that were shared are not necessarily the ones of the HOA or the community at large. As I have stated in our group, I request that our community stop using this this page as a bully pulpit for personal feelings on the development, and please come back to the community page to carry on the discussion there. As I have stated time and again peoples rights to their opinions are guaranteed by me, and I will not tolerate defaming attacks by neighbors, if anyone wishes to post anonymously they know they can e-mail me and I will post in my name, but please can we stop airing our dirty laundry in a public forum? Danielle and the other owners and writers of this page, thank you for allowing people to use your site, and again I apoligize for some of our neighbors offensive comments
Rob Sullivan
On Behalf of the Long Lake HOA
11/02/2010
Hi there,
I’m with a web design/development book club, and we are reading a book this month about “wabi-sabi”, the beauty of impermanence. We would like to take a field trip to Water Garden to take photos and discuss the beauty in the destruction, so to speak, before it’s developed. How can I get in touch with the Current Owner to arrange this? We’d like to be above board and sign whatever waivers are required for this exploratory trip. Please help us make it happen!
Thank you!
12/08/2010
Offensive Comments?? What a mess they made of the place!! Shame on you Black Mountain Development!! I hope you don’t treat your home and kids they way this place was trashed. Paintball! Give me a break!! Grow up and buy things that you can make useful instead of trying to find some kind of profit off everything! You probably lost money in this deal anyway. Said you bought it for 1.6 mill eh? Such a price to pay for paintballing and now what you just throw it away for it not being “up to code”?? If you had 1.6 mill to spend why didn’t YOU make it up to code or make sure it was usable before buying it and messing it up!! I would be mad if I were Bell. I bet the money from this will be used for another play yard for them.
12/14/2010
ddmeadow5 – sounds like you have been doing a little trespassing lately, eh?
Well now that you got your rant out, perhaps you can take some time to understand how the ‘real world’ works. If you read the comments above before flame-posting you would see they DID TRY to do something and couldn’t get it together, so they sold it to what they believed was a good cause. Despite what you may think, the world does not revolve around you and your hopes for keeping everything pretty. IN addition, Bell made good money on the sale and from the people the owners have on the hook buying the property now, so likely are they going to make good money on it.
Take your hateful statements somewhere else. This story is about good, and you are clearly not that.
01/07/2011
I’ve spent the better part of an hour reading this thread. Mistakes have been made all around and it’s a shame that first, the city didn’t step in earlier and develop this into a park, second that Bells estate was not smarter in terming the deal of a sale, third that the current owners have not seen the value of the history and art but instead leased it for destructive uses without regard for preservation, fourth that the local community didn’t fight for the property in the proper forums before it reached this point.
What’s more disheartening is the blatant classist attitude held by some of the locals who devalue the humanity of addicts, the poor, and the old over their property values. They are people too and most of them are good people who have found their way into bad situations. I feel bad for anyone who opposes section 8 housing then finds themselves homeless.
I personally am not a fan of “developers” because, though they often claim big when pitching their ideas to zoning and planning boards for permits, follow through is usually lacking and the finished product never approaches the grandiosity of the ideas that got them their permits…product doesn’t match the sales pitch. Bottom line is that the developers numbers run on profit margins not quality of product or artistic and historic integrity.
It’s a shame to see this property go and maybe the developers will have the good sense to think long term and hire an architect to build the water garden back to its former glory while integrating it into the design plans for the property. Intangible and community value lasts longer than $$ value.
02/06/2011
That was a very liberal way of putting it. The residents had no chance to stop anything by the time the N&O reported it the city put on their duntz caps. Politician after politician laid down on it, deferring their comments to fair housing and their assistants since they did not do their homework. Defending it with the fair housing laws was the best way for a mute response. (fair housing laws have become so insane). How come I can’t buy a house I can’t afford, but someone else can live in a brand new government provided home that my tax payers dollars supports……….. I believe in charity, and helping people in need. However this is a new system the government has created to allow for people to live in government funded lifestyles throughout their lifetime. We wonder why school teachers are getting laid off, why there is no money in the cities budget to do things for others. Then we sit back and watch them donate this to less fortunate as we call it, of which I am sure will be good people with your average bag of bad apples. However, a high percentage will be that of who will live their life through this government system. Where does it end…. America is a funny place, have a job and you may not get bye in life but paycheck to paycheck. Don’t have a job, and those of us living paycheck to paycheck will see to it you live as comfortable as I do. Its strange how liberal and small hints of socialism have creeped into our lifestyles or even our backyards.
02/09/2011
Thanks for the article it is like someone dying with cancer a long slow death. So much of the past has been gobbled up in asphalt and cement…no where to breath or have a quite moment.
02/17/2011
The Water Garden was demolished this week. It was really beautiful once upon a time. So sad to see it go.
02/28/2011
They are still tearing it dow now, come sit in my house and listen to it. Apparently it takes 3 weeks to tear it down, even though they start at 6am. Oh I can’t wait till the construction kicks in and I am up every ay at 6am listening to this!!
03/19/2011
RIP WG
3/19/11 we are currently at water garden and it is no more.
03/19/2011
Thanks for the update Jennifer. The Water Garden will be long mourned by many. If you took some pics today, send them to us and we will post.
03/28/2011
I remember seeing this wonderful place for years, as far back as when it was a two lane road near the angus barn to get to RDU. I never knew there was so much more to it than what could be see from the street. Sad to see it in such ruin. It always seemed like a little oasis around the encroaching development. Let it live forever in old pictures and memories. Maybe at least the sign can be preserved.
04/13/2011
Mr. Sumner was the owner of that disaster…nobody was trespassing he let people paintball there and THEY told the story. ddmeadow5 was right and I don’t see where he was being “hateful”. The owner made money off paintballing too charging people to rent the property to destroy whatever they could so if they signed waivers to enter they were not trespassing. That’s why he has an aston martin and a 1.9 million dollar house. So all the money he has he couldn’t have done anything but paintball with the property??? I feel so bad for what was once a nice place to be treated in such a manner all of you supporting the owner should be a ashamed of yourselves.
RIP Water Garden.
04/13/2011
To “Jeff G” – Accusing someone of trespassing when there are pictures of the damage on this page is unbelievable. I just read all of these posts and it seems to me the owners have to defend themselves quite a bit. I guess you are probably one of them (since there is accusing going around)?? I did see the property before they owned it and yes, I saw it today and that is what prompted my searching the internet for details. I am shocked to learn what has become of this place and I hope that these developers really look into what they are buying BEFORE they buy. Even if Mr. Bell made money off the deal, it seems that all his hard work was flushed away and now will be forgotten and left only as a memory for those who were lucky enough to have experienced the property for what it was.
Water Garden will be missed. :(
04/13/2011
There is something that is called “FREEDOM OF SPEECH” – And I am soooo glad I came across this post!!!
Section 8 housing is what the ownwer of black mountain development’s child grew up in. Yes, that’s right!! Maybe it is his way of “giving back”….sad to know he is running around buying million dollar properties and riding around in nice cars while his son is forgotten in Maryland. Karma baby!! So much for free rides and maybe some of his profit can go back to Maryland for supporting his son all those years. And we wonder why the goverment is in such debt…dead beat dads running around hiding assets so the goverment can pay for their forgotten children. Give me a break!
04/13/2011
How funny – Doesn’t he own Redtail-Gatson too! They donated 50k to local charities….maybe they forgot Maryland in all that….
“Redtail Gaston LLC, developer of Eaton’s Crossing, a new, upscale community on Lake Gaston in Warren County, donated more than $50,000 to North Carolina charities during its first year of operation. The majority of these funds were given to charitable organizations in Warren County”
04/14/2011
If you suspect or know of an individual or company that is not complying with the tax laws, you may report this activity by completing Form 3949-A. You may fill out Form 3949-A online, print it and mail it to:
Internal Revenue Service
Fresno, CA 93888
04/20/2011
Matt sumner is listed as the registered agent for Black mountain development and redtail-gaston. He has had several llc’s opened and closed in the past few years. I wonder what kind of tax dollars are being hidden in all that mess. I wonder what all of the managing partners think of all this riff raff. The man needs to step up and take care of business like it should be. As for the child in maryland..if that is true, he should take responsibility and see his child and provide in the manner that he can support. Anyone who has the money to drive around in luxury cars should be able to drive to see his kid – period! In the end, it won’t be the mother’s or child’s judgement that he will face….hope he keeps that thought close to heart!
10/22/2011
I was browsing the internet when I came across this webpage “The forgotten treasures of Raleigh”. I been living in the triangle for over 50 years and I never knew this place existed in Raleigh and wish I had the opportunity to visit the place when it was open. I love art, sculptures, water gardens, water falls and over the years I have created the same kind of rolling landscapes, flowering plants,walking trails of my own design as Mr. Bell has done, but the architecture is not even close to the beautiful flow in construction and design that he has achieved at Water Gardens.
I am inspired with this article posted by Danielle Carr . I love reading this story and reading the entire thread to the end. I loved looking at all the posted pictures from Mr.Dick Bell, but near the end it was very sad and now the place is gone in three days, when it took 14 years to construct. This has been a real learning experience and I won’t forget it.
Thank-you for having this on the bit of history for all to see
God bless.
~~Daniel S.~~
10/22/2011
I forgot to add myself to your emails,
Daniel from Pittsboro NC
11/23/2011
I have been following this closely as I live in in Long Lake and I have currently lost EVERY TREE behind my house. DHIC says they want to be green and a good neighbor, I can tell you they are doing anything but that. Every tree has been removed from behind Long Lake and going to replace them with new ones, I am sure they will be short trees, that provide no privacy for the residents in Long Lake. Thanks for being green. Also they claim to be good neighbors, they work 7 days a week, starting at 7am Monday through Saturday and 8am on Sunday. As a resident , I understand this will happen, however the DHIC is not honest, they claimed they where building senior housing, which we all knew was a lie because they refused to show us a plan for it, guess what, they aren’t building one. The DHIC has been around for years but also claims to have no statistics on crime and property values, when in truth they don’t want to show you. The management company of the apartments doesn’t let in violent criminals, only ones with nonviolent crimes (like buglary-as they stated in one of their meetings), which is very comforting to the long lake residents. They are selfish and don’t want to work with Long Lake, they have not shown us anything to make us believe them.
This could have gone over much better if the DHIC would just be honest and disclose the information, we all know what it means but to deny it or pretend it doesn’t exist if just plain foolish.
I hope I am wrong and this will turn out to be nice, with trees and very little issues but the records so far don’t point that way.
11/29/2011
I’m with WRAL-TV, and I’m interested in talking with Long Lake residents about this project. If you’re willing to talk on-camera, please call me at 919-821-8503 or e-mail me at bshrader-at-wral.com. Thanks!
12/28/2011
Drove down 70 today and noticed that 90% of the trees are gone as well as all of the structures. All that is left is a giant pile of dirt.
12/29/2011
I moved to this area of Raleigh in ’69 and have seen the drastic change of urban sprawl. Water Garden for all intents and purpose was spoiled long ago. For those people in the Long Lake community of 850 residents, I HAVE NO SYMPATHY.
02/02/2012
Great pictures. I remember as a girl going to the water garden where my father (Ralph Graham) worked. Ralph was a partner of Dick Bell and Dan Sear in the 70′s. It was a beautiful place that was very fun to explore as a child. I am proud of the work my father did which included design work on many of the projects listed above. I will always try and remember it as it was back in its prime.