Work on an NCDOT Bridge Preservation Project will continue to require overnight closures along Dr. Calvin Jones Highway/NC 98 Bypass through October. American Contracting & Services, Inc., a private contractor working on behalf of NCDOT, is alternately closing all lanes along eastbound and westbound Dr. Calvin Jones Highway/NC 98 Bypass from Ligon Mill Road to Galaxy Drive weeknights and (some) weekends from 9 p.m.-5 a.m. The lane closures are necessary to allow crews to preserve the bridge over Richland Creek. Detour signage will be in place each evening to manage traffic flow and safely direct traffic around the work area. Delays are expected, so motorists are encouraged to avoid the area if possible and plan an alternate route. The bridge rehabilitation project consists of milling and repaving the bridge approaches, repairing the concrete deck, substructure, railing, and bridge joint, epoxy coating the concrete girder ends, and treating the bridge deck. The

The number of Wake Forest Gazette advertisers has dwindled to two — Bright Funeral Home and Wake Electric — and the editor is encouraging local businesses to consider advertising with this online newspaper. (The Wake Forest Historical Museum and the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce were added by the editor years ago because they are important parts of the town; Redwood Productions set up the current Gazette website.) The Wake Forest Gazette has been a reliable source of information about the town of Wake Forest since 2003. The free online weekly newspaper is always available at www.wakeforestgazette.com. The Gazette is the only Wake Forest newspaper consistently offering news about the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners and Planning Board, events in town, calendar, obituaries and a list of community organizations and meeting times. There are also articles about town history, opinion from readers and once in a while we even print

We are getting into summer and our vegetable garden is thriving. The local housing market hanging in there and is tracking about the same as it has for the last many months.   The local numbers are in for May 2024 and here is what is happening: The average price of single-family homes continues to increase and available homes for sale remains low. The mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed is not changing much, staying above 7%. Consequently, current homeowners holding mortgages with significantly lower interest rates have been reluctant to sell.   I do not expect significant home price decreases as long as listing inventory remains low. Here is an update for the end of May: A year ago, the average sale price of a single-family home in the Triangle was           $518,575 and increased $ 17,798 to $ 536,373 by the end of May.

The Wake Forest Inspections Department issues a monthly report about all new building permits and new businesses. The department issued permits for 40 single-family houses, 51 townhouses, 14 multi-family dwellings, and one swimming pool. There were five fit-up inspections and 11 pre-occupancy inspections. Fit-ups: UPS Store at 12520 Capital Boulevard, 401 Sweets Boxing Gym, 1839 S. Main Street, 374 Mavis Tires & Brakes (old NTB), 2200 S. Main Street Wake Forest Plastic Surgery, 3319 Heritage Trade Drive, 201 Five Guys Restaurant, 535 NC 98 Bypass, 110 Preoccupancy: Katie Dunn Massage Therapy, 10520 LIGON Mill Road, 112 Cook Out (for power only), 11690 Northpark Drive Divine Holistic Wellness, 500 Wait Avenue, 02 Flora Fauna WF, 12247 Capital Boulevard Myra’s Angels Foundation, 12339 Wake Union Church Road, 103

Based on the March 2024 Monthly Development Report, WF Planning Updated May 29, 2024 Hooray! The March 2024 Monthly Development Report is available on the Wake Forest Planning Department page — and it is a bit of a disappointment. Only one new project — the special use permit for a Whataburger on the NC 98 Bypass in the Wegman’s project — and one deletion — the Christ Our Hope church under construction on North White Street. The updated Wake Forest population as of July 1, 2023 was 56,681. That figure included the new homes which were approved for occupancy. When all the currently approved apartments, townhouses and single-family homes are built the population will rise to 69,956. The town keeps a running tally of approved projects with counts of those completed. The best inspections current estimate is that between seven and eight people move to town each day, moving into