It’s a Beautiful Day in This Neighborhood.

	On May 20, the timbers of a Circa 1760 New World Dutch Barn will be raised in Whittier Heights, adding another social venue to this timeless neighborhood.

For over 30 years, the late Fred Rogers had a profound impact on American families through his long-running children’s television program. As many fondly remember, the mild mannered Mr. Rogers began each show by singing his enduring anthem, while changing his shoes and donning his iconic cardigan sweater. Who could forget those treasured opening lines, “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor”. Or, his equally memorable close, “Please won’t you be my neighbor”?

Rogers said he hoped children who watched “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” would take into adulthood its lessons about friendship, joy, acceptance, and other foundational elements of everyday life. “We all long to be lovable and capable of loving,” Rogers once remarked. “And whatever we can do through the Neighborhood or anything else to reflect that and to encourage people to be in touch with that, then I think that’s our ministry.”

Colleyville developer David Bagwell believes his “neighborhoods” can have a similar positive impact. “Where we live has a powerful influence on the quality of our lives,” he says. “Rather than just providing building sites, we seek to create picturesque communities with venues that foster social interaction and enjoyment of natural and man-made beauty.

Like Rogers’, Bagwell’s vision may seem idealistic. He asserts, however, “There’s no denying that human beings are essentially social and that each longs for fulfilling relationships and enriching experiences. Perhaps the best measure of our business success is the extent to which our neighborhoods are ennobling in these ways.”

But, can such intention and forethought in the design of luxury home developments actually foster old-fashioned neighborliness? You bet! In fact, as much as architectural distinction, natural beauty, and value appreciation are a part of David Bagwell Company neighborhoods, so too are camaraderie and joy found in the surroundings.

“By preserving and embellishing open space areas, we encourage residents to get out of doors where they casually meet, share experiences, and discover things they have in common with one another,” Bagwell explains. “These enhancements range from grand to subtle. For example, we’ve built a pedestrian trail that encircles our Westmont, Old Grove and Whittier Heights neighborhoods. It passes through native woods and beside three lakes and two running creeks. Along the trail we have planted several thousand trees. It's called “The Solidago Trail” after the scientific name of the fall blooming goldenrod that is native to Colleyville. Each year, as part of our ‘Wild About Colleyville’ initiative, we sow seed of goldenrod and other wildflowers along this trail to supplement Mother Nature’s largesse. To further enrich the experience of those using The Solidago Trail, we’ve constructed an overarching stone and steel pergola and trained fragrant flowering vines on it.

“Where Westmont and Old Grove adjoin, a three-acre hilltop and five acres of undisturbed Eastern Cross Timbers have been preserved for residents’ enjoyment. On the hilltop, we erected a belvedere from which one may enjoy a scenic view of the neighborhood and eastern Colleyville beyond. And, in Whittier Heights, we are restoring a 250-year-old New World Dutch Barn and providing it a large lakeside terrace for formal and informal gatherings.

“In these neighborhoods, one also finds fountains; quiet seating areas; artfully designed and crafted fences, gates, and light fixtures; even sculpture. Furthermore, we are planting thousands more trees along streets, in yards, and throughout common areas for seasonal interest and the aspect of dappled shade that is so appealing in the country’s timeless old neighborhoods.

The Solidago Trail, overarched here by the Reverchon Pergola, affords ample opportunity to exercise and enjoy the bounty of nature.

“While much of this embellishment permits solitary experience, it primarily promotes social relations among neighbors on ‘a beautiful day in the neighborhood’. Whether out to see wildflowers in bloom along The Solidago Trail in Old Grove, the changing light colors at night on the Whittier Heights entry spire, migratory ducks landing on the Westmont pond, or simply to take in the view from the terrace of our circa 1760 Dutch Barn, neighbors have so much to enjoy and share. It’s times like these that we like to think Fred Rogers had in mind in the delightfully transposed lyrics of the second verse of his theme song, ‘It’s a neighborly day in this beauty wood.’”

For further information, contact Susan Folkert at 214/673-6754 or click here.

<< Back.