RDU airport solicits ideas for developing a wooded section of a Wake County park
Raleigh-Durham International Airport will hold a public meeting Wednesday to hear ideas for redeveloping part of Lake Crabtree County Park.
RDU controls the 330 acres of land and water that make up the park and has leased it to Wake County for $1 a year since the 1980s.
But now the airport says it needs to make money from the property, just southeast of where Interstate 40 meets Aviation Parkway. Airport officials say 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.
RDU doesn’t want to eliminate the park altogether. Last summer, it began asking developers if they would be interested in developing the 136 acres closest to I-40, a forested section laced with hiking and cycling trails.
Now it wants to hear what everyone else thinks. The Airport Authority, RDU’s governing board, will listen to ideas starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the RDU Center, 1000 Trade Drive on the airport campus.
RDU has set some goals and guidelines. It says it wants to create “a unique and innovative entertainment destination” that could include restaurants, retail or a boutique hotel. It also says it should be “consistent and appropriate with the natural surroundings of the site.”
“One thing that certainly means is development that is compatible with and complementary to — and in no way incompatible with — Lake Crabtree County Park,” said Ellis Hankins, who heads the airport board and represents Wake County.
Hankins says development should also “perpetuate recreational uses like biking and hiking or walking.” He said last month that the airport would 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.
In addition to trails, Lake Crabtree County Park includes boat rentals, fishing, picnic areas, playgrounds and two volleyball courts in a section of the park not targeted for development.
RDU will likely hear from people who would like the park to remain as it is. Airport officials say that’s not possible under the FAA’s rules, but they insist they’re open to creative ideas.
In addition to Wednesday’s meeting, people can share their thoughts online by clicking “Submit a comment” at www.rdu.com/airport-authority/board/. To see the query RDU put out for developers last summer, go to www.rdu.com/do-business-with-rdu/business-opportunities/ and search for “Lake Crabtree.”
