Update March 14, 20118
Northern Wake Senior Center Architect Matt Hale sent the following update on Tuesday, March 13: A Request for Contractor Qualifications (RFQ) was advertised by the WakeForest Purchasing Department, with a deadline of February 21. Our intent was to review qualification statements from general contractors who were interested in this project and narrow the applicants down to a qualified bidders List. At that point, the four-week bid period would begin. We only received packets from four interested contractors by the February 21 deadline. We attribute the low response to the fact the construction industry is in a boom period and everyone is very busy. We were concerned four responses would not be enough, because we need at least three qualified bids on bid day just to be able to open them.
After discussion with purchasing and the concurrence of other town staff, we extended the RFQ deadline until March 8. By March 8 we received five additional packets and we are now confident that we will have enough qualified bidders be able to open at least three bids on bid day, which should be approximately 5 1/2 weeks from now (the week beginning April 23).
We are currently evaluating nine sets of contractor qualifications, checking references, and tabulating the results to develop a bidders list.
We are in the last stages of approval for the site plans. Site plan review involved three governmental agencies (Town of Wake Forest Planning & Inspections, City of Raleigh Utilities, and NC Department of Environmental Quality). It also involved neighboring property owners with whom the town must negotiate construction and drainage easements. We have prepared easement documents and are working on obtaining the signatures we will need to proceed.
We should have approved site plans in time for the bidding period. The intent is to not have any changes (or cost increases) to deal with during the bid process.
Last week, the senior center building plans were submitted electronically to Wake Forest Inspections. It is very exciting that the senior center will be one of the first large projects to be reviewed electronically. After testing for several months, Wake Forest Inspections Department has gone paperless and begun electronic document review. This will not only streamline the permit review process, but applicants will be better able to track their project. This reflects our town manager’s focus on improving customer service.
Building permit review will be running run concurrently with the bidding process, which means any plan review issues should already be resolved by the time the town has selected a general contractor. Once an agreement is signed with the successful bidder, they should be able to pick up the permits and begin work immediately.
The estimated cost is $3.1 million which will be paid from the general obligation bonds the voters approved in 2014.
Here is a DropBox link to a Black & White version of the most up-to-date exterior design: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9jma0gkhf107pm2/CoverSheet rendering.jpg?dl=0
Streets, Roads, Greenways and Transportation
*Preliminary work by the contractor, Fred Smith Company, began March 5 on the Stadium Drive Complete Street project. The town board approved the $6,789,876 contract with the Fred Smith Company in December. Utilities have been moved. The project should be complete in the fall of 2019.
The project includes resurfacing North Avenue. There will be a roundabout at the intersection of Stadium, North Avenue and Wingate Street. A center turn lane will be added to Stadium along with turn lanes at intersections and driveways and bump-outs for buses. From Glencoe Drive to the Richland Creek bridge there will be a 10-foot multi-use path on the south and a 5-foot sidewalk on the north. From the bridge to Wingate Street there will be sidewalks on both sides.
*Ligon Mill Road Operational Improvements is also listed as being in construction but Director of Engineering Eric Keravuori said this week he needs to update the website and “. . . just been busy with getting the bid package together. We hope to put it out for bid this spring. Duke/Progress is still relocating some utilities.”
The project for the section of Ligon Mill Road west from South Main Street to a new section built for an apartment project will provide a center turn lane and turn lanes for driveways and entrances. Acquiring the right-of-way from several owners has been one reason the project has appeared to be stalled at times.
Public Facilities
*Wake Forest Community Library is undergoing a major renovation as everyone can see along East Holding Avenue. The work will expand the library from 5,500 square feet to 9,000. Mark Forestieri, the director of Wake County Facilities Design & Construction, said in an email on Feb. 13, “Assuming all goes reasonably well, we anticipate opening the library in late September of this year.”
*Renaissance Centre Renovations Phase 2 is underway. Rochelle said in January, “Demolition is complete and they are in the process of rebuilding.” The town has estimated the cost at $1.2 million, and Wake County has given the town a grant of $296,975 for the work.
The grand hall and the second story will be renovated by removing the ceiling, installing new audio equipment and theatrical lighting, extending the stage and adding a family restroom. A new canopy over the main entrance has already been added and there will be new signage.
*Operations Center Expansion is really going to be relocating the current center on Friendship Chapel Road to a site with between 22 and 31 acres. The feasibility study found that the present site is too small and cannot be expanded. The search for the land is underway. The estimated cost is $27.4 million.
*Holding Park Aquatic Center will be the name for the three-pool center for children and adults. The 1975 pool, which was deteriorated, was demolished and removed late last year. After the construction contract of $2,929,000 was awarded to Harrod & Associates, construction began on Dec. 4. The opening date for the pool center is May 15.
The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department wants funding in the Capital Improvements Plan for 2019-2020 to improve the playground, make it more accessible and improve the drainage system.
*Joyner Park Community Center is in the design stage and the cost has gone from $11.1 million to $13.5 million. The 32,000 square foot, two-story building will have a full size gum with an elevated walking track along with a multi-purpose room, restrooms, a classroom, a studio, offices and storage space. Construction should take 13 months after its planned start on April 2 of this year.
Private businesses opening
*Wake County ABC Store on Royal Cotton Road – the short access road on the east side of Capital between Caveness Farm Avenue and Wakepoint shopping center – will open in March if the rains allow the contractor to pave the parking lot, Joel Keith, general manager for the ABC Board, said in early February.
Commercial plans under review by the Planning Department/January
*Wake Union Place at the intersection of Wake Union Church Road and Capital Boulevard. All it says is commercial greater than 100,000 sf.
*Fairfield Inn is a hotel planned for 1251 Retail Drive.
*Heritage Professional Park West an office building planned at 3125 Rogers Road, a lot on the north side of the street which has stood vacant since its clearing several years ago. The property is owned by H&C Holdings LLC of Raleigh and they built and own the Wake Forest Drug and an office building next door.
*Forestville Development Building at 1704 South Main Street will replace the large gray house which has stood there for years which will be razed and replaced by an 8,000-square-foot building that could hold four businesses, including a small restaurant or catering service.
In the 1930s and 1940s the house was called Forest Heights with a gas station, hence the closeness to the road, and a small store and very small bar which sold beer to Wake Forest College students. The 1909 town charter banned the sale of beer, wine and liquor inside town limits and for a mile outside. Forest Heights to the south joined two other establishments – a store to the west that was demolished several years ago and what is now called Bud’s Tavern or something like that to the north, all just over the one-mile mark. The business to the west has disappeared or never existed.
The Forest Heights owner, R.L. Harris, paid to have a town electric line extended to his store during the 1940s and his neighbors repaid him as they connected to the line. The town eventually bought it back in 1950. He and some others were also responsible for extending a town water line down what was sometimes called Powell Road and also Raleigh Road, meaning that the Forestville area and sometime town had two essential Wake Forest town services well before annexation in the late 1980s.
*Wake Forest Crossing Outparcel 10 at 1005 Stadium Drive will be a Tru Hotel, part of the Hilton chain.
*Heritage Branch Daycare at 3200 Rogers Road, 1.5 acres in the southeast corner where Heritage Branch Road meets Rogers Road, is owned by R E D P LLC, a Wake Forest. It will sit in front of another daycare.
*Heritage Junction at 1821 South Main Street will be a small commercial strip building.
*425 and 435 Wait Avenue is planned for mixed use.
*PHD Self Storage will be somewhere along Wake Union Church Road.
*Tryon Amenity Center on Copper Beech Lane will service the subdivision under construction.
*Lily’s Garden at 9606 Ligon Mill Road will be a recreation facility.
*Northern Wake Senior Center at 235 East Holding Avenue will be expanded and renovated after the plans are approved and the contract is let later this spring.
*Char-Grill Restaurant will be on 2.43 acres at the intersection of Harris Road and Capital Boulevard. It is one of the outparcels for the Harris Crossing shopping center and will be just south of the new SunTrust Bank due to open April 13. The land is now owned by Ricky and Jane Wright of Wake Forest.
*Wake Forest Crossing Retail Addition at 12646 Capital Boulevard may be the retail store the shopping center owners wanted to build that was turned down by the town board in January.
*Kitchin Farms Amenity Center on Sir William Way (new street) will service the subdivision under construction.
*Joyner Park Community Center is at 701 Harris Road. For information about its construction see another section of The Growth Rate.
*Power House Row stretching along South White Street from its intersection with Elm Avenue is planned to have two buildings, each with retail on the first floor and living – apartments and lofts – above. Its name reflects the town’s original power house – electricity provided by a Westinghouse generator sometimes fueled by sawdust from a lumber yard on the east side of the railroad. You can still see, very faintly, the words POWER and LIGHT on the small brick building that is now a crematorium associated with Bright Funeral Home. The dentist’s office across Elm was originally the water plant, treated water from Smith Creek. Also, Wake Forest has its own power system.
*Heritage Veterinary Clinic will be built at 3240 Rogers Road, a 2.11-acre lot north of Capital Creek Apartments and near the new daycare listed above.
*Harris Teeter Fuel Center will be at 3638 Rogers Road.
*Showmars Restaurant is part of the chain of Charlotte-based restaurants founded by Greek immigrant George Couchell, a Duke graduate and Navy officer. The restaurants feature a mixture of Greek and American cuisine, including gyros, souvlaki, pita burgers, fresh salads and the World’s Best Fresh Fish Fillet Sandwich, according to the website. It is planned for 1009 Stadium Drive on an outparcel for Wake Forest Crossing shopping center.
*Richland Creek Community Church Parking Lot at 3329 Burlington Mills Road.
*LIDL’s Parking Lot Expansion is at 1120 South Main Street.
*Texas Roadhouse Addition at 11440 Capital Boulevard.
*Gateway Commons Lot 11 where an office building is planned. 907 Gateway Commons Circle.
*Chick-Fil-A Order Canopy at 11730 Retail Drive.
Residential plans under review by the Planning Department/January
*Reynolds Mill Phase 3 along Gracechurch Street and adjacent street for 55 single-family house lots. The master plan has been approved.
*Stonemill Falls Phases 2-3 on Rogers Road for 71 single-family house lots. The master plan has been approved.
*Kitchin Farms Phase 2 on Burlington Mills and Ligon Mill roads for 123 single-family lots. The master plan has been approved.
*Willows at Traditions for 97 townhouses on Royal Mill Avenue and Traditions Grande Boulevard. The master plan has been approved.
*Holding Corners for 95 townhouses on East Holding Avenue and South White Street. There has not been a public hearing for this.
*Glen Oaks for 225 single-family lots and 73 townhouses on land along US 1 (Capital Boulevard) south of Holden Road. There has not been a public hearing for this.
*Wake Union Place Phase 3 for 84 townhouses and 288 apartments on Wake Union Church Road, Kearney Road and Capital Boulevard. This was not recommended by the planning board but it is now being “substantially” changed and would need another public hearing and planning board and town board approval.
*Reserve at Richland Creek for 112 single-family lots along Pine View Road in Franklin County. The master plan has been approved.
*Townes at Gateway Commons for 70 townhouses on Gateway Commons Circle was approved in October of 2017.
*Forestville Towns for 96 units on the deadend section of Forestville Road behind the Real McCoys sports bar is being changed and will be on the planning board’s agenda soon.
*Radford Glen was proposed for 176 single-family lots on about 100 acres owned by former mayor George Mackie and Mackie family trusts, and was reviewed by the technical review board last December. The January monthly report by the planning department says the plan is for 72 single-family lots on Wait Avenue. The plan and variations have been proposed and then have quietly disappeared since August of 2014.
*Townhomes on Main is for 40 units on a lot on the west side of North Main Street where a dilapidated house now stands.
*Wake Forest Goldston is for 76 single-family lots along Traditions Grande Boulevard.
*Austin Creek Phase 5B is for 13 single-family lots. The master plan has been approved.
*Del Webb at Traditions Phase 3 along Gilcrest Farm Road is for four single-family lots.
*Caddell Street Subdivison on Caddell Street for six single-family lots was approved in January 2018 and is now named Hargrove’s Corner. The town owns the land and is selling the lots to Habitat for Humanity of Wake County.
*Del Webb at Traditions Phases 4 and 5 is for 215 lots on Gilcrest Farm Road. The master plan has been approved.
*Regency at Heritage is for 67 single-family lots on Forestville Road. It was approved in January 2014. It will be linked to Heritage South by a bridge over Sanford Creek that will extend Marshall Farm Road.
*Austin Creek Phases 6 and 7 on Wait Avenue are for 67 single-family lots. The master plan has been approved.
