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That part of eastern Durham does struggle with perception issues and I'd guess that a lot of parents would correlate that perception to a concern about school quality for their children. I don't know if that sort of perception is confirmed by reality but perception often eats reality for lunch. To that end, I'd think that the area is best served by some jump-starting that isn't tied to the school issue. This would include retail, corporate office parks (edge RTP), senior housing, young/singles housing, or possibly some sort of significant entertainment/recreation development like a water park or some other amusement beyond Frankie's Fun Park or Wheels Fun Park.
If everyone can remember, developers were pursuing a mall at Brier Creek at the same time as Southpoint & Triangle Town developers 15+ years ago. Well, the market couldn't support three new malls and the one in the middle fell through. While it's all water under the bridge now, I have always thought that the Brier Creek location would have been a better overall Triangle location for a singular mega-mall. Alas, that didn't come to pass. Needless to say, while the Brier Creek development has certainly been successful, having a mall like either Southpoint or Triangle Town would have been more impactful for the entire corridor along 70.
While any development within this corridor might be considered a contributor to sprawl, I could make an argument otherwise. Developing between Raleigh and Durham is a different animal than pushing the growth boundaries away from the two cities. To a great extent, infrastructure is already there and US-70 improvements that connected I-85 to 540 the future completion of the east end connector should already make this area of (primarily) east Durham a very desirable target. Significant development in this area would also create another urban area connector to Raleigh and could contribute to a future where the Triangle regains its status as a singular metropolitan area, thus elevating its position nationally.
Whenever I drive out to areas like Clayton or Fuquay-Varina, I'm noticing more and more new sprawl. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would have expected the areas closer to RTP and the heart of the Triangle to receive the most sprawl. Eastern Chatham becoming more suburban, I can understand. Southern Wake and Johnston County, not really.
Kroger owns Harris Teeter. The Krogers here are lousy in comparison to the Krogers in the Midwest. Of course, we moved here from Cincinnati (home of Kroger) so we really had the best, brightest Kroger. The Krogers here would not survive in Ohio. They are constantly out of advertised goods, things on the shelf are past their expiration dates, and customer service is lousy. The newer Harris Teeters here seem more like the Kroger I'm used to, so that's why I would prefer a HT.
Whenever I drive out to areas like Clayton or Fuquay-Varina, I'm noticing more and more new sprawl. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would have expected the areas closer to RTP and the heart of the Triangle to receive the most sprawl. Eastern Chatham becoming more suburban, I can understand. Southern Wake and Johnston County, not really.
All development is not sprawl. Developing or redeveloping within an already established urban boundary like the area under discussion is a completely different animal than pushing outward.
Residents of Brier Creek Country Club would agree with this (exceot I personally would prefer a Kroger rather than Harris Teeter).
I'm perfectly happy with Lowes Foods. I don't go into a Kroger very often but when I do it seems like prices are similar to Lowes Foods. I wouldn't mind a Harris Teeter but I don't shop there very often either. I would prefer HT to Kroger any day of the week.
My bad! Yes, that area will eventually become more developed. In fact, I'm a little surprised it isn't more developed in the first place. Back when RTP came to town, areas along these lines should have been the first to be developed. However, tons of folks seem to prefer Raleigh over Durham because of negative stereotypes they've heard. I doubt this is the only reason, but it is interesting how the areas of northwest Wake County are developed west of Hwy 50 (Norwood Road, Leesville Road) while the areas right across the border in Durham County are more rural. There's a big difference between driving on Leesville Road in Wake County and driving on Leesville in Durham County.
I own several properties in this area have lived here for over 20 years and can tell you that a perfect storm is in effect for the area and the land values will only skyrocket from here. The reason the land has not been developed prior to now is due to several factors.
1) Back when RTP was developed both Wake and Durham counties thought the park should belong to the respective county and a lengthy legal battle ensued and the end result was the park would become it's own entity. Because of this both counties would not work with each other. The area was not developed at the time because it was to costly for Durham to provide the sewer pump services and Wake county which was closer, was not willing so and Wake county land that was closer for Durham to support was then given the same courtesy. This changed during a creative land swap arrangement a few years back with the development of Brier Creek when parcels were deemed either Durham County/Raleigh City or Wake County/Durham City for services.
2) Most of the land in this area has been owned by around 3 families for the 20 years that I have lived here and has only recently become available.
3) Last year there was a passing of the law that states the DOT can not indefinitely hold land without purchasing it from the respective owners and must either pay for it or release it back to the owners. I know that the DOT have been holding some of the land in this area since 1961.
4) The Brier Creek development is only around 50% complete and the land is in the process of development.
5) Several developments are currently underway with Forever Home and Del Webb developments absorbing over 1000 acres and around another 600 up for sale.
6) RTP has announce it's next phase of development to attract new business and resources to the area and it will be developing on the eastern side of the park which is ~/= or < than 3 miles away.
7) RDU which is an international airport has announced that they will be expanding as well and will only dry up further the limited land resources in this area.
8) As many are aware, this area has been listed in many magazines and articles as one of the best places to live. It has been reported that 53 people are moving here each day. The RTP area is what is driving the people to this area and there is only so far people are willing to travel from work and are going to be looking closer to the park. The areas to the south (Cary, Apex, and Morrisville) are quickly reaching capacity and the areas to the east are land locked by Umstead park and RDU.
9) Add this to the issues of water shortages and land costs be faced on the west coast with our blue sky, quality of life and Google fiber it's a no brainer.
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My bad! Yes, that area will eventually become more developed. In fact, I'm a little surprised it isn't more developed in the first place. Back when RTP came to town, areas along these lines should have been the first to be developed. However, tons of folks seem to prefer Raleigh over Durham because of negative stereotypes they've heard. I doubt this is the only reason, but it is interesting how the areas of northwest Wake County are developed west of Hwy 50 (Norwood Road, Leesville Road) while the areas right across the border in Durham County are more rural. There's a big difference between driving on Leesville Road in Wake County and driving on Leesville in Durham County. 
