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A few years from now they'll be wishing they had allowed the good store (Publix) to use that land. Now they have no idea what to expect or what they will find. Maybe an auto shop or an odd ball strip mall. Hope they thought it through.
I could be wrong - I often am - but I've got that residentially-dense area at 2 Harris-Teeters, 1 Food Lion (at the Durant end of Falls River) and 1 Kroger if you go all the way back south to Strickland and FON.
Me, I'm a H-T fanboy. I'd be fine. I drop in the one near the Kohl's sometimes when I'm in the area.
A few years from now they'll be wishing they had allowed the good store (Publix) to use that land. Now they have no idea what to expect or what they will find. Maybe an auto shop or an odd ball strip mall. Hope they thought it through.
Think this was the best interest for the area. If more people would stick up against developers via the proper channels the area would be better off.
Think this was the best interest for the area. If more people would stick up against developers via the proper channels the area would be better off.
As long as the people who were here first did not stop the development they now live in.
I will say this was a tough spot. The piece of land is really in a weird spot in the market due to its size. Not big enough for a typical shopping center any more as grocery stores are not doing 25k sf stores any more and too big for a single building. In the current climate, neighborhood centers without an anchor just won't attract tenants or eventual customers unless it's a really unique situation. One giant store without some shops is not a great neighborhood amenity but the shops will have a tough time surviving without that anchor.
Maybe now that Publix is doing the conversion in south Cary they will consider the old Kroger out that way.
As long as the neighborhood group sticks together, stays active and vigilant, they should be okay. My earlier comment was just based on the fact that there WILL be development, and sometimes it is better to allow a more attractive option. Given the current development-happy climate, the land will never be used for anything that is not designed to bring in a hefty profit. Which leaves out parks and attractive low density housing. Of course development is what happens in a desirable area.
The interesting thing to me is that, politically, most of the people stickin' up for the bulldozers-and-development crowd are the first ones to move to rural, countrified areas to escape city property taxes and density -- and the first to complain on WRAL comment boards and the like when "their values" are disrespected.
I love Publix, but I don't live in that part of North Raleigh, and I respect that the community wanted to have their say on development. Until the General Assembly does away with protest petitions -- a time-honored tradition dating to the 1920s when zoning was first introduced -- that's the way the ball bounces.
And really, for those who might bemoan neighbors standing up for what they want to see, compare the lack of billboards in the Triangle to other parts of the state, and realize that was a similar neighbor-led opposition in the 1980s.
Maybe now that Publix is doing the conversion in south Cary they will consider the old Kroger out that way.
I'm not going to comment on the rezoning issue as it is a dead horse at this point. But I did want to clear up a common misunderstanding I keep hearing about that vacant space in Wakefield. The space that housed the now closed Kroger in Wakefield was never and will never be a possible candidate for Publix. That particular property is actually owned by Kroger who also owns the Harris Teeter across the street from REX. There is no way on earth Kroger would sell or lease that space to a direct competitor.
I hear they are trying to find a large electronic store to fill the space.
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