"I don't even notice who's there and who comes and goes," said Cheryl Blackwell, who lives across the street.
Blackwell goes to the Whole Foods grocery store at Waverly Place every other day. She said something needs to happen to the complex, and now it's in the works.
A development company, Zapolski and Rudd, bought Waverly Place two years ago. Lead developer Luis Rios said they plan to bulldoze half the existing buildings and pour $180 million into a brand-new complex.
"You really can't find 28 acres of land anywhere that are developable these days," Rios said.
Preliminary plans include an eight-story residential building, a six-story hotel, an enlarged Whole Foods store, shops, and restaurants, even a possible movie theater. It has the feel of a complex like Raleigh's North Hills, but it won't be as big.
"Ideally, we'll have a city within a city that lives 24 hours a day -- the live, work, play experience," Rios said.
Blackwell said she sees an upside and a downside to the project.
"It's a double-edged sword," she said. "Waverly needs something. But traffic in the area is so bad, I can't conceive a development like that and how it might change it."
The development company, Zapolski and Rudd, is ready for input. A public hearing is set for next month, and plans could be changed as Cary officials get involved.
Right now, the project calls for leaving most of the fast-food restaurants along Tryon Road.
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