RDU to develop part of Lake Crabtree County Park, but will seek your ideas first
Raleigh-Durham International Airport plans to develop part of Lake Crabtree County Park and will soon ask the public for ideas about what to build there.
RDU owns the land and part of the lake that make up the park and has leased it to the county for $1 a year since the 1980s.
But changes in Federal Aviation Administration rules mean airports that received federal grants must get fair market value for property they lease to outside businesses and organizations, airport officials say.
The airport’s property covers about 330 acres just south of Interstate 40 and east of Aviation Parkway. Last summer, RDU began asking developers if they would be interested in developing 136 acres closest to I-40, a forested section of the park that contains a network of hiking and cycling trails.
RDU hasn’t settled on a development plan. But Ellis Hankins, who heads the Airport Authority board, said Thursday that it hopes whatever is built there is “not in any way incompatible” with the rest of the park, which in addition to trails includes boat rentals, fishing, picnic areas, playgrounds and two volleyball courts.
“Generally, we have in mind some combination of recreational uses, retail and other attractive amenities that would be complementary to the Lake Crabtree County Park,” Hankins said. “And I would add all designed in a way that is sort of rustic in appearance, open-air establishments where possible, preserving as many of the existing trees as possible, preserving trails that go through that area.”
Hankins said the airport would also like to improve the connection of the park to other bike and hiking trails in the area, including Cary’s Black Creek Greenway, William B. Umstead State Park and the mountain biking trails on 151 acres of forested land the county leases from RDU.
The board voted Thursday to hold a meeting in late January to hear what the public thinks should be developed on the Lake Crabtree park land. The date of the meeting has not yet been set.
David Kushner, who represents Wake County on the board, said the public shouldn’t expect the airport to leave the land as it is, given the FAA’s requirement that a lease produce income. But otherwise, Kushner said, people should “let their imagination roam.”
“We want to think big here,” he said. “This is really an opportunity to think what can we do that will be remarkable for the community with this space, that is compatible with Lake Crabtree park and that benefits the airport for the long term.”
The idea of rustic development that complements a public park echos a proposal made by cyclists and friends of nearby Umstead State Park several years ago. The RDU Forest Village concept called for the airport to lease land north of I-40 for restaurants and other businesses to serve hikers and cyclists using Lake Crabtree County Park and other forested airport land near Umstead.
The idea never caught on with RDU, which instead leased 105 acres of forest next to the state park to Wake Stone Corp. for a quarry. That decision has been met by years of protest and lawsuits from opponents.
Nina Szlosberg-Landis, who represents Raleigh on the board, said the Airport Authority recognizes the importance of public input on Lake Crabtree County Park.
“We really look forward to hearing from the public, getting their ideas and learning about what they might really want out of that property,” Szlosberg-Landis said. “I think we can do something very, very special that will really add to the community’s experience.”
