I have received a number of emails and comments on social media regarding media stories pertaining to the possible redevelopment of the Cary Town Hall property. I have mailed a letter to folks in my council district to provide you with factual information and my perspective so that you are informed on what is or isn’t happening and why. I am also posting a blog friendly version of that letter here.
Yes, the town is considering the potential redevelopment of town hall campus as we need additional space to better serve existing and future residents - especially in regards to police, fire and parks. That said, the site does also present an opportunity for some private development so the town is exploring that possibility. The key word is considering.
I am sure that by now many of you have seen the conceptual drawings that illustrated 10-15 story buildings on the site.
Please know that the artist’s renderings are purely conceptual in nature. They illustrate what could occur over time - like 20-30 years’ time - if the town were to allow private development on site. Yes, the concept drawings are bold - too bold in my opinion. They were the artist’s best attempt to demonstrate the maximum potential of the site as to not limit creativity from interested parties. Should town hall campus redevelop however - and that is a question that has yet to be determined - I see scope and scale more in line with what we are currently seeing downtown. The town could also decide not to partner with a private developer and simply add space for additional employees, or some combination of the two.I apologize for the manner in which the town has begun this exploratory process. Cary citizens should have been informed of the town’s plans by the town - not learn about it through the media. Residents should have also been given the opportunity to provide input on the front end so that whatever vision the town pursues best reflects our community’s values and wishes. Please know that while there was always going to be opportunity for citizen feedback, the timeline in which that were to occur was wrong. We will not make this mistake again and we will be rolling out a community input process in the near future so stay tuned.
I know many of you have questions. I want to speak to those I have received thus far.
Regardless of any redevelopment of the town hall site, a multi-modal transit facility will be built. This will better serve existing and future residents with increased bus and rail service. It will also be constructed in a manner so that the trains do not block the roads when they stop. Thank goodness.
The Page Walker Hotel and associated gardens must absolutely be preserved and continue to remain a focal point of town hall campus. Should anything develop in close proximity to the Page Walker, it MUST be context sensitive and compliment the hotel – not detract from it.
The Herb Young Community Center - or a new and improved version - must remain on site to have my support. Any elimination of such is a non-starter for me. The existing facility has aged to a point where it is becoming a maintenance problem and no longer adequately serves the surrounding community. Regardless of what happens on town hall campus, I support redeveloping the center to a more modern facility with increased offerings for our citizens. It must also remain The Herb Young Community Center to continue to honor Mr. Young's many contributions to our community.
There must also be meaningful, open public and green spaces. People, not buildings, are what make places special. The site must create a sense of place. No, we don’t want to create another Fenton. We have Fenton for Fenton. The media is who used the word Fenton to describe what might occur at town hall – not the town.
Traffic will be addressed as best we possibly can. Road improvements are coming to Chapel Hill Road/54 for example but we cannot move buildings to widen Chatham Street nor would we want to. Four lane + roads do not promote pedestrian safety or walkability. Most traffic downtown is caused by those who are driving through downtown to go to work, run errands etc... They will naturally choose an alternative route to avoid delay if traffic becomes too bad for them. We want people to drive TO downtown – not THROUGH it. Additional sidewalks, a pedestrian bridge over the RR tracks and increased bicycle facilities will continue to be a priority.
Affordable/workforce housing would absolutely be a component should any private development occur on the site. We have been very successful as of late in encouraging private developers to include such in their projects. The town would far exceed private sector efforts in this regard.
Cary’s annual growth rate is roughly 2-3%. Some of that growth is from residents who have moved here over the years and some of it is caused by expanding families. My wife and I have six children and seven grandchildren for example – all born and raised here in Cary. My family and every family in Cary are part of the growth problem.
To put things in perspective, if we could build a wall around Cary and not allow anyone new in, we will still need a lot more housing and services for all of our children who were born here – that is if we want them to stay in Cary and remain close to family. I sure do.
That said, developing in Cary isn’t easy nor should it be. We have the strictest development standards allowed by state law to ensure that what does get built is of the highest quality possible and best protects the environment. Most proposals fail before they ever make it to council for consideration as they do not, or are not willing to, meet our community’s high standards.
Cary is one of the greatest communities to live in America. We are consistently ranked one of the safest cities. We have great schools, amenities, parks and greenways and most importantly, economic opportunity. There are jobs here. People can talk about quality of life all they want, but the reality is that quality of life begins with a good paying job so folks can take care of their families. The bottom line is that the only way to slow or stop growth in Cary is to make Cary a less desirable place to live, and nobody wants to do that. I sure don't.
During my time on the council, I have tried to balance the town and citizen’s desires to revitalize and redevelop parts of downtown while protecting that which makes Cary special. I was successful in convincing my council colleagues to preserve the look and feel of South Academy Street by prohibiting tall buildings there. We are leaving the old library site green space. We repurposed/redeveloped old Cary Elementary into the Arts Center to preserve that magnificent piece of Cary's history and provide a wonderful amenity for our citizens, and I successfully fought to keep the town from allowing the majority of the downtown park site to be developed.
There are pros and cons to all of it, but I remember not too long ago that at 5:00 pm they rolled the sidewalks up and everyone went home. Downtown became a ghost town. For a lot of folks, the only reason to come downtown was to hit the post office, get your car fixed or grab a soda and hotdog at Ashworth’s. Now our downtown is alive with people out and about and places to go. It has become a place where people and business want to be and that is a good thing. I remember when our kids were growing up, they couldn't wait to get out of "boring Cary". Now they love it here and thankfully chose to stay and raise their families here.
I get that all of the changes downtown seem like a lot at one time. They are. That said, many of the projects under construction today have been in the works for quite some time. The Jordan/First Baptist project for example has been planned for over ten years. The Downtown Park is 20 years in the making and will finish soon. The Academy Street Improvement Project seemed like it went on forever and no one was happy about it but look at it now. It is absolutely beautiful and everyone loves it. That said, we understand the inconvenience(s) and have already talked about doing a better job of spacing future projects out to reduce the burden on our citizens. We can and will do better.
I hope this helps answer any questions you may have. If you have any further questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me at don.frantz@carync.gov or on my cell at (919) 612-6870. I am always happy to talk town business and my door is always open.
In your service,
Don Frantz
Mayor Pro Tem and District B Representative
Town of Cary, North Carolina
