'Extreme' excitement winding down

Mordecai neighborhood catches its breath, gets back on the sidewalks after TV crews depart

RALEIGH -- In the Mordecai neighborhood Saturday morning, a resident raked his leaves.

A spandex-clad jogger ran the streets. A young woman rushed to work.

"Everything's getting back to normal," said Wayne King while standing on his front porch. The past week, King said, was "like the circus."

The quiet community just north of the capital city's downtown was transformed last week by ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Thousands of people -- volunteers, vendors, builders and gawkers -- descended on Mordecai as one house was razed and another was built in a made-for-TV spectacle of largess.

Linda and William Riggins and their three children got a new home twice as large as their old one, complete with fully stocked cupboards, an elevator, new appliances and furniture.

The production, though, transcended one family and one block on one street. It was a big occasion in the life of the community, one that might have lasting effects.

"It was absolutely wonderful," said Tyson Warren, 37, who lives a street over from the site of the home. "This will put Mordecai on the map."

The neighborhood, which traces its roots to the early 20th century, has gone through a revival in recent years. Wealthier professionals have moved in and remodeled old homes. Developers have come, too, building upscale residences near what had been a run-down housing project.

The community comes together at ice cream socials, pig pickings, picnics and other gatherings. Many residents chat while walking their dogs.

"Everybody seems like me," said Warren, who moved in about five years ago. "They get here and they like to stay."

Many in the area know the Riggins family. Linda Riggins, who has severe arthritis, works in the community at Building Together Ministries. Her husband, William, is legally blind.

Because of the benefits to the family, neighbors were willing to endure inconveniences as the project took shape. They lost sleep and lost street access as crews worked around the clock to reconstruct the Riggins home.

Some, though, have expressed concern that the new structure looks out of place. The 3,100-square-foot English cottage-style home doesn't fit with older and more modest bungalows and Cape Cod-style homes that typify the community.

It's similar, though, to the $400,000 homes rising at the Village at Pilot Mill around the corner.

"I didn't think it was going to be quite that extravagant," King said. "But it blends with the new development."

The new Riggins home could boost property values because of the buzz generated by the show.

After the street was reopened Saturday, a steady stream of cars drove by, with people looking at the program's handiwork. "Extreme Makeover" crew said the public curiosity will dwindle soon but will likely pick up again after the Riggins episode airs Jan. 21.

"I'm amazed at all the traffic," said Joyce Kohn, who lives nearby, as she held tightly to her two sons as they walked along Poplar Street on Saturday.

"We're relieved that it's over," she said, then adding a common refrain in the neighborhood: "But it's a good thing for a family in need."