Earlier this week, ULI members gathered to discuss the impacts of school choice on real estate development. Dr. Bartley Danielsen of North Carolina State University shared his research showing the link between school choice and the value and attractiveness of homes in the school area.  Panelists Laurie Ford of Newland Real Estate Group and Karl Blackley of Preston Development shared their first-hand experiences behind developing school-driven communities.

What they’ve found is that the development of a school in a region has the potential to revitalize blighted areas and spark growth in residential and commercial construction.  Schools – public, private, charter or otherwise – spur a desire of local residents to move within proximity to the area. Furthermore, the more school options that exist, the quicker and greater that community grows, showing it is not the availability of good schools that encourage this growth, but good options.

Laurie Ford pointed out that in Briar Chapel, Woods Charter School has been a huge selling point for the neighborhood, although only 5% of school age children in Briar Chapel attend the charter school. In addition, the local public high school has shown dramatic increase in school test scores and attractiveness to the community. Thus, in her opinion, the addition of the charter school choice actually helped the public school improve.  Karl Blackley related how securing a school is the first step in developing a master-planned neighborhood.  Schools and open space with trails have become the new golf courses as top amenities.

For more information on this topic, check out Dr. Danielsen’s Ted X talk, or view his presentation from the program on our event page.