Apartments, townhomes could replace Cary mobile home park, plans show
Hundreds of apartments and townhomes could replace one of Cary’s two mobile home parks, preliminary plans shared with the town show.
Two pre-application meetings were held last fall among the town, the owner of Chatham Estates Mobile Home Park and WithersRavenel, a Raleigh-based engineering firm.
A concept plan by WithersRavenel dated Oct. 2 showed 90 townhomes and 328 multi-family units on 27 acres at 607 Cedar St., which is the mobile home park’s address.
On Dogwood Street, the opposite side of the park, the plan shows a three-story building with 26 apartments on each floor with a pool and gathering space.
The preliminary plans come over a year after hundreds of residents in Chatham Estates first learned they faced displacement if the property were sold. More than 200 families have been renting lots there for $400 a month. Many are immigrants, seniors and working-class families who have lived there for years.
The mobile home park was put up for sale by Curtis Westbook of Cary’s Westbook & Associates, due to his age As of Friday, Westbrook still owns the property, according to Wake County property records.
The News & Observer reached out to Westbrook & Associates and WithersRavenel for comment on Friday.
What happened at the meetings?
Scot Berry, Cary’s assistant town manager, said the pre-application meetings were held Sept. 2 and Oct. 9.
The town requires such meetings before property owners submit development plans. A property does not need to be sold before a meeting can happen, Berry said in an email.
“Often, developers come in with a purchase agreement between the current owner and a potential new owner and may not close until after approval of a development plan,” Berry said.
During the meetings, town staff members review the preliminary plans, which can change before actual plans are submitted, Berry said in an email.
Berry said the uses and densities proposed for the property are allowed for the park. Chatham Estates Mobile Home Park shares a combined 40 acres with the Chatham Square business park where several multicultural restaurants and small businesses operate.
If developers choose to move forward, they submit development plans that Cary staff members review to make sure they meet town regulations.
“A project of this scope could take up to a year to complete,” Berry said.
Development plans also require neighborhood meetings, presentations to the Cary Town Council and public hearings.
Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said he has not seen any plans and did not know about the meetings, so he could only say “we will be waiting to see what’s proposed and ready to assist people.”
Town resources for displacement, housing needs
Local advocacy group ONE Wake has been working with Chatham Estates residents to organize and push the Cary Town Council to provide immediate resources if any sale happens.
The group helped get the council to approve Stable Homes Cary, a partnership between Cary-based nonprofit Dorcas Ministries and the town that provides emergency housing assistance, referrals and displacement support.
Over the next five years, the town will get $3.5 million from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cary residents have until Feb. 12 to recommend how the town should spend the first $700,000 through the town’s Housing Prioritization Survey on the town’s website at housing.carync.gov.