Cary, N.C. — Crews are ready to convert two major intersections on Chatham Street in Cary into roundabouts – one at East Durham Road to the east of downtown and the other at Old Apex Road on the west side of downtown.

Officials say the roundabouts will create defined entry points to Cary's downtown, but the new traffic patterns aren't the only changes the area will see in 2013.

Construction crews are working on a downtown theater, set to open by the end of the year. A building at Academy and Park streets will be demolished, and a 45-room boutique hotel will rise on the town-owned site.

Across from the Cary Arts Center, a Larry's Beans coffeehouse will open in the historic Jones-Foy house. Also, plans are being drawn up for a downtown park as another way to draw people to the area.

Cary voters approved a a transportation bond and a parks bond in November, and money from those efforts will help pay for the new park and for downtown street improvements.

"We love the downtown. It's fantastic. There's no place like Ashworth Pharmacy, (but downtown) could use some more shops and restaurants," Cary resident Tammy Eldredge said Wednesday.

"(It's) coming along," Michael Eldredge said. "(We've) been here six years, and it's a lot better than when we first came."

Elizabeth Sullivan opened Elizabeth's Home & Garden Shop on Chatham Street less than two months ago. She said she was sold on downtown Cary as the right location for her store.

"It's small and it's quaint, and it's just the most charming downtown," Sullivan said. "I see wonderful things happening for downtown Cary, and I'm very excited to be a part of it."