The Town of Wake Forest, the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, and Resources for Seniors are partnering with Village of C.A.R.E. to offer a free Expressive Arts Series at the Northern Wake Senior Center, 235 E. Holding Ave., from 10 a.m.-noon on the following Saturdays in May and June: May 4, 11, 18 and June 1, 15, 22, and 29. Open to families and people of all ages, the intergenerational arts classes will encourage participants to discover how expressive arts can be therapeutic and foster meaningful connections by creating their own music, paintings, poetry, ceramics, quilting, dances, and more. Online registration is required at www.ohwci.com/events. For more information, call 919-714-3854. This event is part of the Town of Wake Forest’s “Focus on Mental Wellness” series. For more information about the Town’s commitment to mental wellness, visit https://bit.ly/FocusonMentalWellness or email Community Outreach Manager Andrew Brown, Jr. at abrown@wakeforestnc.gov.  The Town of Wake Forest, the Wake Forest

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