A Garner North Hills or Fenton? See developer’s plans for apartments, retail off US-70
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- Developer McAdams seeks a special use permit for 300 apartments and 95,000+ sq ft retail.
- Chartwell Property Group plans a $105 million investment, suggested it secured a grocer.
- Council continued hearing to June 16 to draft anti-“Blue Ridge Housing” loophole language.
Garner could soon see a project that the developer’s attorney says will provide a place for people to eat, play and shop, comparing it to Raleigh’s North Hills or Cary’s Fenton.
Raleigh-based developer McAdams wants to build 300 apartments and over 95,000 square feet of nine retail buildings across from White Oak Shopping Center at the corner of U.S. 70 East and Timber Drive East.
Attorney Toby Coleman told the Garner Town Council that Chartwell Property Group plans to spend $105 million on the 43-acre project. The mixed-use development plus the WakeMed campus would create an estimated 1,250 jobs, he said.
“It’s going to be a high-quality development that the town can take pride in,” Coleman said. “A new destination Garner for experiential retail — the type that you see in North Hills or Fenton — with local restaurants, retailers, a new grocery store, and, as you heard, 300 apartment units.”
The project is part of Garner’s plan to develop 225 acres of land into a mixed-use destination called E District. A 150-bed WakeMed Mental Health Campus in the White Oak Crossing area broke ground in November 2025, WRAL reported. McAdams needs a special use permit because it is planning to build more than 200 multifamily units.
Town planner Joseph Linsky said the project will include a grocery store and outparcels and a “Village Center” of single-story retail with a gathering space. The apartments will be no taller than four stories and have a pool, bocce courts and a courtyard. Coleman said there are no considerations currently for dedicated affordable housing units.
Chartwell Property Group managing partner Jack Dunn suggested the project has already secured its grocer but declined to say who it is, citing confidentiality and a desire not “to steal their thunder.” The current timeline is for a grocery store to open by the fall of 2028.
Most council members were positive about the project but wanted assurances that future owners of the apartment complex could not exploit the so-called Blue Ridge Housing loophole, a way for investors to partner with nonprofits to secure property tax exemptions that cost Wake County $4 million in property tax revenue in 2026, The News & Observer reported in April.
Mayor Pro Tempore Demian Dellinger said he was concerned about the four-story limit for the project’s apartment complex, pointing to the town’s comprehensive plan which allows for six to eight stories in the E District.
“The E District with WakeMed is an economic development project,” Dellinger said. “It is an engine for the future of Garner. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at [Interstate] 40 and [Highway] 70 to generate revenue for the town. We’ve provided incentives for it. A grocer would like nothing more than to build more density right next to them at a high value and at a high level.”
What’s next
The council unanimously voted to continue the public hearing on the mixed-use project on June 16 to give town staff time to draft language to prevent the use of the “Blue Ridge” loophole and require the apartments to have elevators regardless of how tall the buildings are.
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