By Carol Pelosi
I am thinking about two facts – it is a fact that the Town of Wake Forest has invested heavily in the downtown area and continues to do so to encourage people to come downtown to shop and attend events.
It is also a fact that there are announced plans for apartments and townhouses in and near downtown that could (and probably will) add a conservative 4,000-plus town residents in a small area. Think the 100-plus apartments that could be added when the commercial/residential building is complete on the former CCB/Suntrust site. The 65 apartments in the second phase of Powerhouse Row. The 230 townhouses proposed for the Reserve at Dunn Creek on this week’s agenda for the town board. Look at The Growth Rate and start adding up the different projects that are in and near downtown.
Quite aside from the additional water, sewer, electrical use, traffic, parking problems, additional students in local schools, that population burst should also drive a need for more restaurants, doctors, shops catering to different tastes and entertainment.
They will want to do more than walk their dogs.
A social district has been proposed for Wake Forest and discarded by a three-to-two vote of the town commissioners. Meanwhile, in other Wake County towns social districts are being approved: Wendell and Fuquay-Varina have joined Raleigh in planning their social districts. There may be more but Google isn’t up-to-date with small-town news.
A social district downtown is one of the recommendations in the newly approved Community Plan that had input from a diverse and large group of residents.
A survey of Wake Forest downtown business owners showed that a majority wanted to have a social district here. They could foresee it would increase their foot traffic and bottom line.
They can also see that currently there are too many empty lots on side streets, vacant houses, vacant shops and vacant commercial buildings – because of owners who reportedly do not want to build now or sell now or ask too much rent for their shops.
Yes, there are projects coming to downtown like the food hall, the mixed uses in the former warehouse and – eventually – the new parking deck and the CCB/Suntrust project. But these are buildings, not a way for people to interact and enjoy themselves in downtown. And there has been the suggestion that the construction for a commercial area on the NC 98 Bypass, part of the Wegman’s/Grove 98 complex, will be large enough to vie with downtown as a shopping center.
The possible savior for downtown is on the horizon with all the new residents, many of whom would enjoy a social district and might go to Wendell or Raleigh for entertainment if there is none here because town commissioners had little forethought.
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September 16, 2024
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9 Responses
I’ve gone back & forth on the issue. Taking the future closure of Elm, holding, & brick Ave into consideration I can understand why some of the commissioners are approaching the issue with caution. I find it Interesting that the NC retailers association are the ones who pushed for the idea yet most retailers in our downtown area are not open late enough to greatly benefit from the social district hours. As a mom of young children this does bring up some concerns. I do not take my children to FNOW due to concerns with folks drinking & driving. I am also adamantly against folks walking around downtown with open containers during family friendly festivals like Meet in the Street & the Holiday Kickoff.
I also can understand Commissioner Shackleford’s & Commissioner Wright’s desires to implement the social district if for no other reason then FNOW. Right now Norse, white street & the wine place are the only places that benefit from the sales during FNOW. I applaud Norse for being supportive of the district to even the playing field for all the ABC permitted businesses downtown. This speaks volumes about their character. I am not against drinking, & believe most people are capable of knowing their limits.
To gain more insight on the issue I plan on visiting Franklinton social district & seeing what the atmosphere is like. Talking to local law enforcement in both Franklinton’s social district & Raleigh’s social district may provide more insight as well. One issue no one has talked about is what the district would mean for the town of Wake Forest employees. Will staff who does not currently work on weekends now have to work on weekends? If so how do they feel about it? Will there be greater compensation for those who work on the weekends & miss out on time with their families? Will this cause problems with recruiting & retaining staff?
The “old” WF has long been in the rear view mirror, for good or bad. I remember when the town had a population of 6k. Now we have 55k. Progress? Maybe, maybe not, but that is a fact that won’t go away.
Norse has great food!
The physical limits for the proposed social district doesn’t look well thought out. Otherwise, why would Norse Brewing be left out of the district but White Street included?
I interpreted the map the same way you did. Apparently the wrong map was in the packet. I approached the staff & asked about a number of businesses I thought were left out. Turns out Norse & several others were included. For Norse I think you had to exit the front door to be in compliance of the district.
If it comes up again please reach out to the staff & provide feedback. If the residents have trouble interpreting the map there’s a good chance someone from out of town will struggle also.
Grow or die — those are the only 2 options. A Social District is growth.
It doesn’t seem like there are many places to sit down and eat downtown. There are several places to drink alcohol, but no food to go with that alcohol. Is that because of the grease trap issue that goes way back? Does the town need to address the grease trap issue in order to attract some eating establishments?
The town has addressed the grease trap problem. I can not remember the exact percentage they will help with, but if you reach out to the planning staff they can tell you.
I too wanted to know why bars were popping up everywhere downtown but very few restaurants. Turns out the profit margin is much higher for a bar then a restaurant. Bars average around 70-80% & restaurants 3-5%.
Wake Forest won’t t be Wake Forest anymore with all those new residents .ly