Raleigh developer buys the WF Plaza

Raleigh developer Craig Briner has purchased Wake Forest's first shopping center, the Wake Forest Plaza on Elm Avenue, from its original owners, Charles Bass and Sue Holding.

Expect some changes, but Briner says they will be "evolutionary, not revolutionary."

He already has planners working on ideas to change the look of the 25-year-old plaza -- he calls it "changing the skin" -- in addition to changing the name. "I'm trying to come up with something that will brand the center and the surrounding area."

Briner has purchased a total of 14 acres. The tract extends from South White Street east to Brooks, encompasses the center and its parking lot and a narrow strip that runs to Franklin Street.

In the spring, it was Briner and two other Raleigh developers, Eric Tillett and Thomas Beebe, who took the option on the center. Now, Briner says, he is the sole purchaser although "I will have partners" in the company that will carry through the changes, East Elm Partners LLC.

By mid-January, Briner said, he should have the name change and appearance plans fairly firm and will be able to begin. Part of the changes may include revamping the parking lot by introducing trees and plantings.

In the meantime, he wants to keep the current tenants like CVS and Maxway and not upset them with sudden changes. "I'm not going to give them whiplash."

Once that is underway, Briner will work on the housing he wants to build on the empty acreage. He is currently thinking of a village concept with small yards or no yards. "It would be lovely to have some well-thought-out housing in that area," he said, "and it goes hand-in-hand with the retail.

"I'm glad I own it," Briner said. "There are not that many tracts that size in downtown Wake Forest.

"I feel like I almost have a fiduciary responsibility to make it pleasing to the eye, something people will be glad to see."

With the other infrastructure projects underway or planned near the center, notably the N.C. 98 bypass and the extension of Franklin Street south to the bypass and then to Rogers Road, Briner said the revitalized center and the planned housing will be more visible and more accessible.

"I'm excited about the feedback I've been getting" from business people, builders and the real estate section, Briner said. "Everybody has been so helpful, and Charlie and Sue have been very good to work with."

Charlie Bass and Sue Holding's husband, the late T.E. Holding III, built Wake Forest Plaza. The three anchor stores were Holding Drugs (which has been sold and resold and is now CVS), Winn-Dixie and Maxway. Winn-Dixie closed the store in the spring of 2000 when the new Winn-Dixie opened on Durham Road.

Bass said earlier this year that he had negotiated with five different grocery chains since Winn-Dixie left, hoping to fill the empty space.

The only outparcel sold at the plaza has been for Dollar General, which owns both the building and the land on which it stands.

Changes in the appearance of the center will be subject to the town's appearance standards.

The land is zoned central business district, which allows some housing -- multifamily dwellings including apartments, condominiums and townhouses -- as a special use. Construction in the district also requires a development permit.