Wake County wants to unload Crooked Creek – and Fuquay-Varina is happy to take it

A property with a controversial history soon could belong to Fuquay-Varina.

Town leaders voted unanimously Tuesday night to begin negotiations with Wake County to receive the 143-acre property that once was Crooked Creek Golf Course. A day earlier, Wake County commissioners voted unanimously to offer it to the town.

Wake County bought the land last summer for about $4 million. But soon after new board members were elected in November, the property was listed as surplus in January.

Fuquay-Varina Mayor John Byrne called the offer extremely generous. It would be the largest land transfer between the county and the town, he said.

“We appreciate a $4 million gift to the town,” Byrne said. “This is a big deal for Fuquay-Varina.”

It took less than 20 minutes for Town Manager Adam Mitchell to explain the offer and for the town board of commissioners to decide to seek the property.

The next step is for the town and the county to hammer out an agreement to transfer ownership of the land. Mitchell said he hoped the details could be worked out within a month. If a deal can be finalized, it first would go to the county commissioners March 18 for approval and then to the town commissioners the next day.

The town would like to receive the entire 143 acres. It would preserve it for open space and public use, including a school. There could also be a community center or a fire station on the property, Mitchell said.

The property, which is off Hilltop Needmore Road, is not in the town limits but is surrounded by the town.

Byrne made the point that reaching out to the Crooked Creek Homeowners’ Association was important.

“I think it is a good idea to let them know what we’re trying to do in the long term,” Byrne said. “This is not something we can just strike up and do. It will take a while to plan.”

Opportunities like this don’t happen very often, Fuquay-Varina commissioner Marilyn Gardner said.

“I think we have to be mindful of the open space because it’s disappearing quickly with the growth we’ve enjoyed,” Gardner said.

The move makes sense because the town can protect the property from falling into hands that would develop it, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said residents should not expect to use the property immediately even though it was envisioned as a park by Wake County leaders last fall.

“When the town is ready, it will go through a master planning process,” he said.

It could take six or more years for that to happen, he said. The town already has other projects in the works and this property is one it wants to get right, Mitchell said.

The town recently spent $5 million on Fleming Loop Park.

This story was originally published February 19, 2019 at 9:57 PM.