Changes in store for site of former Cary mall as Epic plans new HQ
The developer of the popular Fortnite video game has started to reveal its plans for its new headquarters on the site of the former Cary Towne Center mall.
Epic Games, which bought the moribund mall property a year ago, is set to ask the Cary Town Council on Thursday to rezone the site to accommodate millions of square feet of office space, a hotel and retail shops.
"This is the start of the public process," Scot Berry, Cary's chief development officer, said Wednesday.
The preliminary development plan Epic submitted to the town shows its 1 million-square-foot headquarters where the mall stands now, near the former Belk store.
Fencing now surrounds the shuttered mall before bulldozers move in to tear down the structure.
The first phase of the project, slated for completion in 2024, also includes an outdoor recreational area and parking. A 200-room hotel, retail and another 1.7 million square feet of office space are planned for later phases.
"Looking at that in a place we want to have density, it aligns pretty well" with Cary's goals, Berry said.
Epic wants to move a planned greenway from along Ivy Lane, on the east side of the site, and route it along Cary Towne Boulevard, Maynard Avenue and Walnut Street.
"The detour they’re proposing is twice as long, and it puts greenway users along the side of some very busy streets," said Cary resident Owen Evans, who said he frequently uses local greenways.
"They want a fortress-like campus," with no one being able to cross it, he said.
The site plan doesn't include any cross streets, only a loop road along the edge of the property, Berry said.
Evans said he's also concerned about the traffic the headquarters will create.
"That’s a lot of office – a lot of people coming in at 9 in the morning, [and] a lot of people leaving at 5 in the afternoon," he said.
A traffic study shows that, when complete, the site would have more than twice as many vehicles in and out in the mornings compared with when the mall was operating. But the study also predicts less traffic than the mall in the evening.
"They studied 20 intersections, and they’re offering improvements on those six intersections that are adjacent or coming out of the site," Berry said of Epic.
The rezoning also would require Epic to widen part of Cary Towne Boulevard and Walnut Street and provide rights-of-way for future intersection improvements around the property, he said.
Evans said he wants a greenway that's comfortable, safe and direct, and he has created a website to urge the Town Council to "Protect our Future Greenway."
"This is the time during a rezoning process when the town can ask for concessions," he said.
