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Rolesville has become enticing to developers
by Debra A. Golden, Wake Weekly Staff Writer
Rocky subsoil and stream buffers aside, Rolesville -- population 1,000 plus -- may just be a developer's dream.
Developers may have had their eyes on Rolesville in the past, but it wasn't until recently that all the necessary pieces of the puzzle -- highways and water and sewer availability -- started to fit. Four years ago, then-mayor Joe Winfree unveiled grand plans for the county's smallest municipality. Following projections that the town could attract more than 10,000 residents in the next 25 years, town board members commissioned a proactive community plan to encourage carefully controlled growth. The plan is a guide which should make the town more pedestrian friendly with the addition of walkable neighborhoods and other amenities. It calls for a number of planned unit developments -- projects which blend residential and commercial areas. The plan would also help commissioners create a greenway system with bikepaths and walking trails throughout the town. Finally, the plan would push the larger commercial centers out toward the town's bypass, proposed on the south side of town. The Rolesville of the future would have a village feel along Main Street, with restaurants, grocery stores and other amenities within walking distance of many homes. In 1999, the plan was on paper. Now, progress is evident: from the new highways headed toward Rolesville to the monthly deliberations between town board members and developers selling what they hope will be the town's next big project. All roads point to Rolesville Growth in Rolesville is not only motivated by progress within the town, but in some instances, by area trends. The I-540 beltline, begun more than a decade ago around Morrisville, has gradually snaked its way northeast. Halted now at Capital Boulevard, the road will eventually cross U.S. 401 just south of Rolesville. County planners are projecting high growth in the Rolesville area, too. A few weeks ago, members of the Wake County school board updated its list of facilities needs and "it looks like Rolesville is the target they're all shooting for," Stratford Village developer Norbert Hector said. And new roads are bringing people closer together. The proximity of the second Raleigh beltline has made it "much more convenient to get around anywhere in the Triangle," said Bruce Herbert, land acquisition manager for Rhein Interests which is overseeing the creation of the Village at Rolesville. Work has begun on the new 530-home subdivision which, by itself, could triple the population of Wake County's smallest town. Prime real estate Developer Rusty Ammons of Lockridge, LLC, agrees with Herbert. Growth is moving out and away from Raleigh, and for many developers, Rolesville means prime real estate. Ammons plans to build homes on 180 lots and holds nearly 20 acres zoned for a commercial shopping center and a small office complex on U.S. 401 near Jonesville Road. Ammons said he courted Rolesville commissioners last year because he believes north Raleigh has developed to the point where there are no more utilities available "unless you move up U.S. 401." Rolesville's placement is a big part of the draw, Town Manager Matt Livingston added. "We really are situated in a very good location." Rolesville residents are close to "good libraries, the YMCA in Wakefield, shopping in Wake Forest and Raleigh," Livingston said. And the outer beltline already makes it easier for commuters to travel to Research Triangle Park. Developers have a list of requirements which must be met before they commit to a project. Highly traveled roads like U.S. 401 are one green light they look for -- new neighborhoods closer to workplaces could be too good for some commuters to pass up. Another must is water and sewer availability. Until 2001, Rolesville depended on Raleigh water piped through Wake Forest, and many homes were serviced with septic tanks. So when Rolesville made the "very important decision to negotiate a deal with the city (for) Raleigh water and sewer," the last piece of the puzzle was in place, Herbert said. Hector, a partner in Stratford Developers, LLC, is overseeing a 58-acre development called Stratford Village just across the street from Redford Place Shopping Center. The group is hoping Rolesville commissioners will rezone about 135 more acres, allowing the Hectors to create a little village centered around the relocated Rogers Road. The development will include single family homes and amenities such as banks, restaurants, a drug store, a grocery store and could even include a retirement community, Hector said. (One parcel, to contain up to 16 townhomes, has been sold to another developer, he said.) County's 'undiscovered area' Once a small fenced-in rural community marked by four cornerstones, Rolesville could encompass an area the size of the current Wake Forest in another 20 years. Livingston, nine months into his job as town manager, calls Rolesville an "undiscovered area," but that is quickly changing. The town has water and sewer capacity to spare, a new park in the works, and a committee working to spruce up the streetscape. The Village at Rolesville, Stratford Village, Hampton Pointe, and a few other residential projects are currently in the mix, and Livingston fields inquiries from several new developers each week. Residential developments are now outpacing commercial projects, but when the new bypass is built on the south side of town, Livingston expects that to change. Ask just about anyone who lives in Rolesville what they like about it, and most will say something about its small-town charm. That small-town feel is something Rolesville Commis-sioner Frank Eagles hopes the town board can preserve, but he admits that could be a challenge. U.S. 401, which runs right through the middle of town, seems to get busier every day, said Eagles, who has lived on the thoroughfare since 1986. Back then, most of the traffic occurred during the day. Not any more. Eagles said when he took his dogs outside the other morning about 2 a.m. cars were still traveling up and down the road. The traffic keeps coming, and development is, too, but Eagles hope the town can avoid turning into a 'mini-Raleigh.' His dream for Rolesville, since he can't turn back the clock and keep things the same, is for a more old-South type of place. He would like the town to have more tree-lined streets, better landscaping around developments, and a softer transition between neighborhoods and shopping centers. As neighborhoods spring up, Eagles hopes to see more craftsman-style -- not cookie-cutter -- homes with plenty of places for people to walk and spaces for children to play. That laid-back, more pedestrian Rolesville will be easier to fashion, he said, once the bypass is built. Commissioners hope the road will carry most of the commuter traffic away from the center of town.
Last Updated On: September 4, 2003
Copyright 2003 The Wake Weekly