APEX, N.C. — Wake County development eats up one acre of land an hour. Now, there are plans for more growth in Apex, which was recently named one of the best places to live in America.
The town council recently approved a major, 170-acre, mixed-use development in the heart of downtown. It will include as many as 1,000 homes and 80,000 square feet of retail space. The development would be located across from town hall and span all the way to U.S. 64.
Town leaders said they have given a lot of thought to the project, which has been in the works as a concept plan for 15 years. It will not include cookie-cutter homes, they said.
Twelve different builders are on board so that the houses, second-floor condos and businesses will look different, while still fitting in with the flavor of downtown.
“We can incorporate the new style of planning mixed-use and still maintain the kind of town that all of us came to live there to start with,” Mayor Keith Weatherly said.
Some residents are concerned that the charm of the quaint town will be gone when the new development is created. It will bring in too many people and will be too close to downtown, some say.
“It’s going to bring more traffic and just more headaches,” said resident Peggy Zionts.
But town leaders said they are confident about the town’s newest addition.
In the past year, they developed a new wastewater treatment facility that is under construction, the Williams Creek Pump Station, which will help with water concerns.
The town is also putting $3.5 million in a transportation bond to develop a roadway to go over the train tracks. It will be called the Apex Peakway, which leaders say should help with the traffic concerns.
Developers plan to break ground in early fall on the newest development. Next Wednesday, they'll release more details, including which stores have already signed on.
The first development to be built will be 170 acres and will include townhouses, brownstones and second-floor condominiums above businesses.
Money Magazine recently named Apex one of the best small towns in the country in which to live. Apex ranked the highest of any North Carolina town, coming in at No. 14. Residents say affordable housing and low crime contribute to a high quality of life.
