Raleigh News & Observer Logo

Fuquay-Varina loosens development rule | Raleigh News & Observer

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Sponsorships
    • Stay connected
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Social Media Directory
    • N&O Store
    • Buy Photos
    • Databases
    • Archives
    • Newsletters

    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Health
    • Local
    • North Carolina
    • Nation/World
    • Science
    • Thumbs Up
    • Traffic
    • Weather
    • Weird News
    • All News
    • Counties
    • Durham County
    • Johnston County
    • Orange County
    • Wake County
    • All Sports
    • Baseball
    • Canes
    • College
    • Columns & Blogs
    • High Schools
    • NASCAR & Auto Racing
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • NHL
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Panthers
    • Soccer
    • Schools
    • Duke
    • East Carolina
    • NC State
    • North Carolina
    • All Politics
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • State Politics
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • PolitiFact
    • PolitiFact NC
    • Rob Christensen
    • Under the Dome
    • All Business
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Health Care
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Shop Talk
    • Stocks Center
    • Technology
    • All Living
    • Video Now
    • Best-Kept Secrets
    • Blogs
    • Celebrations
    • Comics
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fitness
    • Food
    • Games and Puzzles
    • Home and Garden
    • Horoscopes
    • Mouthful
    • Past Times
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Video Now
    • Arts News
    • ArtsNow
    • Books
    • Contests
    • Dining
    • Entertainment
    • Games
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Television
    • On the Beat
    • Happiness is a Warm TV
    • All Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Dwane Powell
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Letters
    • Opinion Shop Blog
    • Other Views
    • Submit a Letter
  • Obituaries

    • Advertise with us
    • Place Ad
    • Apartments
    • Cars
    • Homes
    • Jobs
    • Legals
    • Obits/In Memoriams
    • Weddings
    • Today's Daily Deal
    • Special Sections
    • Today's Circulars
    • Rewards
    • Photo Store
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Legals

Southwest Wake News

Fuquay-Varina loosens development rule

By Will Doran

wdoran@newsobserver.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

April 10, 2015 04:34 PM

FUQUAY-VARINA

Spurred on by a struggling property on Main Street, Fuquay-Varina officials voted Monday to approve a developer-friendly amendment to town rules.

Mixed-use projects will now be able to modify their plans without having to go before the town’s elected officials to ask permission. The board unanimously approved allowing developers to modify plans with staff approval.

A relatively new mixed-use development, the Village at Marquee Station, was built in February 2014 next to Fuquay-Varina Elementary School. The 265 luxury apartments – with rent ranging from $925 to $1,320 a month – reached steady occupancy within half a year.

But the retail that the property owners hoped would fill in the outer parcels closer to Main Street never materialized. An ABC store opened up there almost immediately, but nothing more has come in the past year.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Michael Eubanks, a representative for Blue Heron Asset Management, the Durham-based developer of Marquee Station, told the Fuquay-Varina Board of Commissioners that it’s been two years since a company has expressed interest in joining the space.

Eubanks said Blue Heron now wants to turn some of the land that had been planned for stores into more apartments.

“It just seems like it could be a very long time before we ever get to completing that commercial (portion),” Eubanks said.

The town has required mixed-use developments to be a maximum of 75 percent residential or commercial, to keep a balance between the two. But the developer’s change would make Marquee Station about 80 percent residential, which hasn’t been allowed under the town’s rules.

Eubanks, with the backing of Fuquay-Varina Planning Director Mike Sorenson, asked for an amendment to the town’s development rules.

The 75-25 ratio would still remain the standard, but developers would be able to increase the balance to 80-20 with staff approval.

Growing towns in the area have sometimes found themselves constrained by their own development rules, finding them too strict once applied to the real world.

“I won’t say that they’re growing pains, but we’re probably going to see more things like this in the future,” Mayor John Byrne said.

Several commissioners expressed concern initially about going down a slippery slope of making concessions to developers. But after some discussion, the full board approved the changes.

No one attended the meeting to speak against the proposal.

“It gives the administration some latitude to promote good relations with the development community,” Commissioner William Harris said.

Sorenson said adding some wiggle room into the rules is something that cities and towns all over Wake County, and the entire country, have done for years.

Blake Massengill, a commissioner who works in the home building industry, said a developer wouldn’t propose a mixed-use project but then change it to either a fully residential or fully commercial project.

“The intent of the project’s still in there,” he said. “We’re only talking 5 percent.”

Doran: 919-460-2604; Twitter: @will_doran

  Comments  

Videos

Theater production tells the story of this Wake County town, from slavery to suburbs

Get your Ash Wednesday ashes to go at this Apex drive-thru service

View More Video

Trending Stories

Hurricane Florence killed millions of chickens and turkeys. Now farmers are putting them to use.

February 16, 2019 08:29 AM

What to Watch on Sunday: An all-star tribute to Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special

February 17, 2019 07:00 AM

Bunch of jerks? Not the Hurricanes having fun

February 17, 2019 09:55 AM

Why UNC freshman Nassir Little did not return in the second half against Wake Forest

February 16, 2019 11:55 AM

‘Casino Night’ fundraiser at NC Museum of History canceled after legal questions

February 16, 2019 03:32 PM

Read Next

A historic-district church in Cary gets relief from 21st-century planning, for now

Local

A historic-district church in Cary gets relief from 21st-century planning, for now

By Scott Bolejack

    ORDER REPRINT →

August 16, 2018 09:40 AM

Green Level Baptist Church won’t have to fork over a $356,000 check, and it won’t have to remove the stoop leading to its historic sanctuary, the Cary Town Council said after a hearing on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE SOUTHWEST WAKE NEWS

2,000-student charter school won’t open in Cary, where neighbors pushed back

Education

2,000-student charter school won’t open in Cary, where neighbors pushed back

August 14, 2018 11:11 AM
Something was in these gummies, Cary police say. But was it illegal?

Local

Something was in these gummies, Cary police say. But was it illegal?

August 06, 2018 03:57 PM
Traffic delays likely in Cary starting this week. Here’s where.

Local

Traffic delays likely in Cary starting this week. Here’s where.

July 29, 2018 10:46 AM
Want to learn how to pilot a drone? Cary can help with that.

Local

Want to learn how to pilot a drone? Cary can help with that.

July 11, 2018 04:31 PM

Southwest Wake: Obituaries

Debra Louise "Deb" Fleming

September 16, 2017 08:00 PM
Timothy S. Adams

Southwest Wake: Obituaries

Timothy S. Adams

August 01, 2017 02:02 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Raleigh News & Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Triangletoday.com
  • Legal Notices
Advertising
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Our Ads
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • N&O Store
  • N&O Photos
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Report News
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use


Back to Story