Alliance for Reedy Creek Trenton Corridor

While the Lenovo Center is not in the corridor, anyone who has experienced the surge and gridlock in traffic during the NC State Fair or Lenovo Center events can appreciate the impacts of new development near the corridor.

The requested rezoning would change 80.7 acres from Commercial Mixed Use–12 Stories with Conditions (CX-12_CU) to Planned Development (PD) with an associated Master Plan. The request proposes four different districts: Arena/Parking (existing arena and parking), Entertainment (shopping, tailgating, dining, music), Mixed-Use (retail, dining, hotel), and Live/Work (office, apartments).

The Raleigh Planning Commission has approved the rezoning and the final step before the project can begin is approval by the Raleigh City Council. Please plan to attend an upcoming Raleigh City Council meeting (tentative date is April 1, 2025) to show that neighbors are concerned and are requesting mitigation of the impacts of the Lenovo Center area expansion.

Concerns about the project include

• The building height change from 12 stories to 40 stories is a dramatic increase.
• Traffic gridlock is an area problem, and this development will make it worse. There are currently no plans to substantially change the existing road infrastructure.
• The required traffic analysis needs to consider the other developments being planned for the area and periodic events like concerts and the NC State Fair.
• Downstream flood control Richland Lake and associated dam are under review because of functionality concerns. The amount of sediment in Richland Lake continues to increase, especially from upstream construction projects.

A development containing 265 apartments and 61 town homes that will almost triple the number of households in the corridor and substantially increase traffic has been proposed for land on the Cary side of Trenton Road next to I-40.

In December 2023, the proposal was presented to the Cary Development Review Committee, who provided comments and requested a traffic study.

The 21.7 acres of land, which contains Roscoe Trail, is currently zoned for office and institutional use, and no re-zoning application can be submitted until completion of the traffic study. Maps and details are provided on the ARCTC site at About Us/Impacts to the Corridor/Trenton Road Proposed Development.

While not in the corridor, this development on Trinity Road has the potential to increase traffic in the corridor and negatively impact Richland Lake and associated streams. Developer ZOM Living has requested rezoning of a parcel of land that includes seven properties at the corner of Trinity and Chapel Hill Roads. Those parcels, which total a little over 16 acres, are currently zoned for single-family and the rezoning request is for a Planned Development District (PDD) that includes at least three apartment buildings, five-stories high (up to 60 feet tall) with up to 375 units. One building would contain 2000 to 5000 square feet of retail space.

Concerns about the project include

• Traffic (increased accidents at Trinity/Chapel Hill intersection and increased traffic of 600+ cars ingressing and egressing near the intersection)
• Quality of Life for existing homes (increased noise, crime, and light pollution, loss of natural recreational spaces, crowding, and increased parking of cars and traffic inside adjacent neighborhoods)
• Environmental (increased impervious surfaces creating runoff directly to streams and Reedy Creek, loss of wildlife habitat, and clear-cutting existing natural buffer for streams)