Morrisville Board Votes For Zoning Change

Morrisville, N.C. — The town Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 Monday evening in favor of a zoning change needed for a retail-and-residential development that has raised objections in the town and in neighboring Cary.

Casto Lifestyle Properties, based in Columbus, Ohio, and 1st Carolina Properties, a retail developer from Cary, are the proponents of the plan to tear down a now-vacant Bristol-Myers Squibb pharmaceutical plant and replace it with Park West Village.

Their plans call for shops, offices, 350 apartments, a hotel and a 3,000-seat movie theater on the 95-acre site at the corner of N.C. Highway 54 and Cary Parkway.

Opinions about the development have been mixed.

“I think this offers more of an evening out kind of place, where you go to a nice restaurant, you have a nice theater, you have upscale stores,” supporter Michael Roberts said.

Park West Village could generate $800,000 in annual tax revenue for Morrisville. Because the proposed development is close to Cary, however, many residents there have been against it.

The development is a mile and a half away from the northeast corner of the High House and Davis Drive intersection. Shops, restaurants, office space and more than 300 multifamily units are planned for the area.

Cary resident Lindsey Chester said she is opposed to the High House and Davis Drive project, as well as the Park West Village development.

Chester has worried “that it was going to be bringing so many people from outside the area to that corner, and that corner currently has horrific traffic that I'm in every morning and every evening.”

Traffic studies showed the Park West Village development would generate more than 20,000 car trips a day. Part of residents' concern is that the area's population has tripled over the past seven years, and traffic is congested already.

Opponents in Morrisville and Cary have signed an online petition against Park West Village. Supporters have circulated a petition, too.

Morrisville's Planning and Zoning Board voted 3-2 not to recommend the commissioners approve Park West.

48 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 48 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

I wonder how opposed Cary would be if it benefited their town?...they aren't realy protesting..I'm sure Cary will annex it as soon as the area is finally developed

likemenow
January 29, 2008 4:57 p.m.

"One question: WHERE WILL THEY GET THE WATER FOR THIS NEW DEVELOPMENT???"

From Jordan lake, which has something like 380 days worth of water left at last check. This is due to the fact that Cary, Apex and Morrisville have conserved all along, in addition to procuring water resources in advance of them actually being at full capacity, unlike Raleigh.

SheriffTruman
January 29, 2008 3:46 p.m.

All the relocated Yankees in Cary could always...

PaulRevere
January 29, 2008 3:40 p.m.

One question: WHERE WILL THEY GET THE WATER FOR THIS NEW DEVELOPMENT???

WagonQueenFamilyTruckster
January 29, 2008 2:33 p.m.

I'm all for progress and reasonable development but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE widen the road FIRST instead of last. Every single workday traffic literally inches its way along on 54 between Weston Parkway and Cary Parkway because it's only 1 lane until the left turn lane begins.