State and Local Updates - March 2020

NATIONAL

• The Residential Building Permit Trend Report for the Southeast can be found here.

REGIONAL

• Hub RTP will be the new face of Research Triangle Park: a bustling town center nestled between I-40 near Davis Drive and Highway 54. This 43-acre, $1.5 billion project will be an attractive project for people who want to live, play, and shop where they work. The hub will feature 1 million square feet of office space, with buildings up to 20 stories tall.

ORANGE COUNTY

• The Orange County Five-Year Consolidated Plan, Annual Action Plan, and Assessment of Fair Housing -- inform how funding is allocated from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to support community development and affordable housing initiatives.  Take the survey or learn more here.

WAKE COUNTY

• The Wake County Board of Commissioners and Raleigh City Council agree: Both have approved the use of tourism taxes to fund construction of a multi-use, indoor sports complex at Cary Towne Center. It would be part of a total overhaul of the old mall property, which would include office space, residential space and hotel rooms.  “The hospitality tax would provide about $35 million of the project’s estimated $193 million cost,” said Wake County Commissioner Susan Evans. Plans for the Cary indoor sports complex include: 
  • 25,000 square feet of multi-purpose space, 
  • 12 full-sized basketball courts, which could convert to 20 full-sized volleyball courts, and
  • Arena seating for 4,000.  
  • More about the amenities here.
    
    
• The Wake County Board of Commissioners approved a construction contract for Procter Farm Preserve, a 571-acre property of forest and working farmland near Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon. The preserve, located between Doc Procter and Riley Hill roads, will primarily serve as an equestrian and hiking trail facility. The total cost of the project is $2.3 million. The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on February 17 to approve a contract in the amount of $2 million with McQueen Construction of Bahama, North Carolina. The county will pay for construction using funds identified in the parks, recreation, greenways, and open space capital improvement plan. Work should start in late March, and the preserve could open to the public by the end of 2020 or in early 2021. Proctor Farm Preserve, which will be the county’s third preserve, is the largest tract of land owned by Wake County for parks, recreation, and open space.

APEX

• The Town will hold a public hearing for these text amendments on March 17 at 6:00 PM.

CHAPEL HILL

• The Chapel Hill Town Council has announced a vacancy on the Council resulting from the resignation of former Council Member Rachel Schaevitz on February 19. To apply, individuals must complete an application form that includes name, residence address, relevant experience and the signature of the applicant.  Applications can be submitted by mail, online, email or in-person to the Town Clerk. The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, March 27, at 5 p.m. The Town Clerk’s office is located on the 2nd floor of Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.

• The Council approved new massing standards that aim to increase pedestrian connections, increase visual permeability, and reduce the visual impact of taller buildings.  The recommendations were based on economic analysis done by Noell Consulting, primary urban design evaluation done by Civitech Inc., and an additional assessment by the Town’s urban designer.

• The Council amended the Land Use Management Ordinance to allow additional uses as part of conditional zoning and to make changes to concept plans related to conditional zoning requests. Current concept plan procedures for conditional zoning are inconsistent with concept plan procedures for special use permits. At the time of concept plan, applicants may not know whether they will submit future applications as a special use permit or conditional zoning.  Different concept plan thresholds create confusion for both the applicant and the community. The text amendment seeks to make the thresholds for both application types the same.

DURHAM (CITY)

• Durham’s Northgate Mall has struggled in recent years. Now, a developer is revealing plans to transform it. Developer Jeff Furman envisions the mall being a place people can work, live and play. He wants the Durham community to be part of the conversation. Furman, a developer from Northwood Ravin, presented plans before Durham’s Inter-Neighborhood Council to revive Northgate Mall. Community engagement sessions will begin in the next few months.

• Updates to the ENGAGE Durham, their Comprehensive Plan in the making, can be found here.

HOLLY SPRINGS

• During the Town Council retreat, elected officials discussed the latest news involving planned road construction on some key thoroughfares, including the expansion of Holly Springs Road to reduce congestion, the realignment of Avent Ferry Road east of Highway 55, the addition of a right turn lane on Main Street onto Holly Springs Road and the addition of a right turn lane on NC 55. These projects are all being funded through the Transportation Bond approved by voters in 2018. To supplement those funds, the Town of Holly Springs applied for NCDOT grants and announced today the town is receiving an additional $4.6 million in State money for the Holly Springs Road and Avent Ferry projects.

• A greenway connecting Holly Springs Road to Sunset Lake Road and a future Town of Apex trail is one step closer to being completed. The council awarded a design contract for the Arbor Creek - Middle Creek Greenway extension, which aims to provide connectivity from Holly Springs Road to Sunset Lake Road. There, the trail would provide regional connectivity with Apex’s planned Middle Creek Greenway near the trailhead of the Arbor Creek Greenway.  The project would provide north-south connections between Sunset Lake Road and Arbor Creek, Bridgewater and Sunset Ridge North, as well as east-west connections between Holly Springs Road and Bridgewater, Windcrest and Sunset Ridge North.

RALEIGH

• The City of Raleigh has appointed an Affordable Housing Bond Advisory Committee, which continues to move forward on planning for a fall Housing Bond. All meetings of the group are open to the public. For more information on the Committee, and it’s meeting schedule, click here.