Clients

Wired Living

With a myriad of home-based businesses, "being wired" is essential to Harry and Jane Belcastro. When the Savannah resident eyed relocating to the Atlanta area, a friend suggested SummerGrove.

This master-planned community in Newman, just south of Atlanta, offers blazing fast Internet access, built-in structured wiring for every home, and an interactive community Intranet. While the development provides inviting exterior spaces, stately trees, and small-town architectural details, what appealed most to the Belcastros was technology. "A lot of our dreams for a technological home have come true," says Jane.

And the Belcastros are one wired family. Their business includes Tekhaus, an embroidery digitizing company; and 2ndNature Productions, the business Harry manages with his 24-year-old son, Brett, an award winning deejay and syndicated radio host.

A state-of-the-art studio is wired with an array of music equipment. Jane designs CD covers and logos for musicians. On the side, Harry, a certified Apple developer and computer guru, fixes computers and provides training and technical support.

The Wired Pooch

Even their dog is wired. AIBO, the Belcastros' rare, irresistible Sony robotic dog (purchased on the Internet) whirs and bats his ball around, his eyes alternatively flashing red and green. "You never know exactly what he's going to do," laughs Jane.

There's little reason to leave home. "The high speed connection here makes everything we do easier and faster," Harry says, noting that he and Jane complete about 90% of their shopping online. (SummerGrove's fiber optic cable modem technology, powered by Newman Utilities, is about 50 times faster than the average dial-up phone connection).

Also important to the Belcastros is their "OnQ" home-wiring system, a standard feature in all SummerGrove homes. Harry and Jane have customized the wiring extensively to customize their needs, so virtually every room in their home features cable Internet and TV connections and up to four phone lines along with other wiring upgrades.

SummerGrove also appeals to families just beginning to explore the benefits of living wired. Take Jerry and Ellie Van Patten and their daughters, Katherine and Elizabeth. A military family on the move, the Van Pattens relocated to Newman from Augusta. The location is ideal as Jerry, a U.S. Army colonel in the Signal Corps, recently assumed a high-position at Fort McPherson to the north.

Since they're among the first 150 families to live at SummerGrove (expansion allows for 2,000 in the next eight years), the Van Pattens are excited about being pioneers- especially on the community's Intranet.

New Front Porch

Like an electronic version of the old front porch, the Intranet is designed to help residents meet their neighbors, plan social activities, and visit. People can form their own social and hobby groups, swap recipes, or chat with their neighbors on-line. There's an online resident directory to search people with similar interest, a community calendar, bulletin boards, and even a kid's club.

And Katherine Van Patten, 15, is among the first kid to take the plunge, by launching an on-line babysitting club. "I hope it helps me meet more families with kids," says Katherine. "When my sister comes home from college, it will also help her."

"I'd like to advertise on the Intranet," adds Ellie, describing her pen-and-ink sketches. "Hopefully I'll meet some other musicians to play violin with too."

The Van Pattens are also investigating other wired possibilities. "We're going to connect Katherine's computer to our home-office computer so we can swap files back and forth and share one printer," Jerry notes. Also in the works: two-way video phone calls over the Internet between the Van Pattens and Elizabeth, a computer science major at North Carolina State in Raleigh.

The Meeks' Adventure

The possibilities seem endless. The Meeks- Gary, Shirley, and 13-year-old Michelle-also find SummerGrove extremely family-friendly. Michelle dashes to a steady stream of babysitting jobs thanks to her ads on the Intranet. She and her mother also took free Intranet classes offered to SummerGrove residents. "For all the years I've been on-line, I still picked up some new information," notes Shirley.

Gary, a financial manager for Milliken Carpet in LaGrange, says the family moved here by looking ahead. "Any time we buy, we always think about resale value, so the technology here is a tremendous asset," he says.

The Meeks point out that the advanced wiring at SummerGrove is an added plus. "We like the fact that it's all built in," says Shirley. "We don't have to pay for an extra phone line or experience a constant busy signal. There's one box where the Internet modem goes. It' like a central hub for all the wiring, and it's easy to add the technology options we may want in the future."

Shirley serves on SummerGrove's advisory board with 11 representatives from different neighborhoods to address community issues." We all want to do what's best for SummerGrove," she says. "The connectivity here makes you feel more of a part of a community rather than a collection of people who live in proximity to each other."

Wray Russell, who is chief operating officer of Pathway Communities (SummerGrove's developer), says the technology is helping people change the way they live. "There's a lot of discussion in Atlanta about traffic and environmental issues," he explains, "but we're focused on solutions.

Adds Wray, "In many ways, SummerGrove represents everything we love about the South. It' inspired by all the warmth and charm of the quintessential small Southern town- with a technology twist."