Cary Fact or Fiction.........the real deal. (Raleigh, Durham: how much, construction)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Don't mean to butt in, here but Cary is not a city. Cary is a small town that begun as a bedroom community to Raleigh. Cary has a small downtown but it is suburbia. I'm not sure you are comparing apples to apples.
Vicki
...but Cary's population as of 2006 is well over 100,000. Shouldn't it have its own commercial center?
Evidence says that existence of a downtown that is a remainder of past glory is not necessary for quality of life and growth of a community.
Kingston's downtown is evidence of a better past and current stagnancy. The negative growth figures support that assessment.
Cary's downtown is representative of a town that had <4,000 residents in 1970 and has grown to >120,000 today.
Since it is a highly desirable location with much to offer, people came faster than a classic town center could develop, and alternatives to a classic downtown rapidly evolved.
When folks go out to recreate historic buildings and call it a "downtown," the end result is typically somewhat ersatz.
Folks vote fundamentally with their $$ and their feet.
Cary +
Kingston -
Most of the suburbs around here do not have a large commercial center like you would expect to find in other areas of the country. It has more to do with how the areas were built in the past.
Even Raleigh didn't have a nice downtown area until about 10 years ago. I remember growing up in Raleigh and they pretty much rolled up the sidewalks downtown at 6 PM when all the lawyers and bankers went home. There were almost no restaurants, and the few that WERE there were only open for lunch because no one went down there at night!
I don't know. Here near Scranton they developed "The Shoppes at Montage," a new lifestyle center with dozens of upscale national retailers and restaurants that was intended to replicate the long-lost downtowns of long ago with a wide sidewalk, benches, period lighting, landscaping, music, etc. Most people with even a minimal sense of urban planning sense, including myself, think it's a tragedy that something like this was developed in the suburbs while a REAL downtown sits and struggles just a few miles away. The downtown shown in those images just isn't a "real" downtown to me. Downtowns aren't a place to be feared---they are a place for people to stroll down to in the evenings and on weekends to grab a bite to eat, window-shop, hang out at the park, see a free concert from a local band, bump into neighbors and fellow congregates, etc. I think Cary's residents are really missing out if they don't think they would benefit from having a real urban center to commune in---a place to sip a latte or buy a Vera Bradley purse (and no, Borders, Starbucks, GAP, etc. don't count!)
Most of the suburbs around here do not have a large commercial center like you would expect to find in other areas of the country. It has more to do with how the areas were built in the past.
Even Raleigh didn't have a nice downtown area until about 10 years ago. I remember growing up in Raleigh and they pretty much rolled up the sidewalks downtown at 6 PM when all the lawyers and bankers went home. There were almost no restaurants, and the few that WERE there were only open for lunch because no one went down there at night!
To me this is why the Raleigh/Cary area offers such little appeal as a relocation destination. You can lay the claim to having the tidiest cul-de-sacs this side of Bangladesh, along with the most ornate lifestyle centers, but a downtown is what makes each community unique. I can find homes in Cary that were built by Toll Brothers that look exactly like homes built by Toll Brothers in Bucks County, PA. I can find strip malls in Raleigh that look exactly like strip malls near my home in Scranton, PA. However, no two downtowns in PA look alike---they are all very diverse with a range of different business ventures, building heights, architectural eras, etc. From what I've heard Chapel Hill has a nice downtown, and that would be a reason why I'd consider relocating there in a heartbeat over Cary. Your community needs a centralized location for residents to commune with parades, farmers' markets, childrens' events, free concerts, etc. Such a venue would do wonders to boost the image of Cary and bolster the spirits of its residents.
Seriously, where is the "downtown?" There was none in those photographs---just widely-dispersed new construction buildings like the town hall, train station, homes, etc. Where are the images like these, which are indicative of most downtowns in Pennsylvania?
Does Cary not have a downtown after all? How is that a good thing? Where are the traditional mixed-use neighborhoods where people can live, work, dine, shop, worship, and play in the same area?
WOW!!! That looks pretty run down and nasty. I can't imagine living in a place that dirty.
Cary has a quaint little downtown that is getting a 35 million dollar redo. We don't just let our town fall apart. Cary has many other mix use developments that are AWESOME. They also have fantastic golf course communities. We also have great retirement communities. We are growing so fast, that we have all kinds of luxury type facilities coming in. There are many different sections of town that have their own character & flavor. Something for everyone. Cary is truly a wonderful place to spend the rest of your life.
As In&out just mentioned, the downtown Cary rennovation project starts later this summer. And it's certainly not a place to be feared. I'm down there all the time utilizing the businesses that exist there as much as possible. We're all excited about the project. Downtown Chapel Hill is better or worse than Raleigh's or Durham's.
But, it will never be a big downtown like you are describing, just like every other suburb in the triangle. People from the suburbs drive the 15-20 minutes to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill for the type of atmosphere you are describing.
I'm not sure what you're looking for in your relocation, but you're going to find indentical Toll Brother's homes in every community you move to here, including Chapel Hill. You'll also find older, quaint homes in every community, including Cary.
This is area (not just Cary) is mostly new growth whereas in other parts of the country you'll find evidence of older growth. Every community in the country "grows" differently in response to it's changing dynamics.
DT Cary does have has parades, a small Farmer's market, several large street festivals, non-chain restuarants, a bakery, an old fashined drug store with soda fountain, plans for a new central park with outdoor ampitherater, a performing arts center, an elementary school, several independently owned shops and busineses, a day spa and more. It's just not big.
Don't mean to butt in, here but Cary is not a city. Cary is a small town that begun as a bedroom community to Raleigh. Cary has a small downtown but it is suburbia. I'm not sure you are comparing apples to apples.
Vicki
Not trying to start a debate, genuinely curious: There was a dust-up earlier this year about Cary leaders talking about how to add the next 100,000 people, and about adding density through more mid-rise/high-rise buildings along transit corridors, to achieve kind of an Arlington VA -- or maybe Reston Town Center VA -- look and feel.
Whatever happened with that? Obviously it's planning for decades of growth, so I wouldn't have expected anything concrete, but what have residents' reactions been to the proposal for more density? I would assume from the reactions of those quoted in the N&O that it wasn't a popular idea...
To me this is why the Raleigh/Cary area offers such little appeal as a relocation destination. You can lay the claim to having the tidiest cul-de-sacs this side of Bangladesh, along with the most ornate lifestyle centers, but a downtown is what makes each community unique. I can find homes in Cary that were built by Toll Brothers that look exactly like homes built by Toll Brothers in Bucks County, PA. I can find strip malls in Raleigh that look exactly like strip malls near my home in Scranton, PA. However, no two downtowns in PA look alike---they are all very diverse with a range of different business ventures, building heights, architectural eras, etc. From what I've heard Chapel Hill has a nice downtown, and that would be a reason why I'd consider relocating there in a heartbeat over Cary. Your community needs a centralized location for residents to commune with parades, farmers' markets, childrens' events, free concerts, etc. Such a venue would do wonders to boost the image of Cary and bolster the spirits of its residents.
It would seem that empirical data from Cary over the last four decades would deny the intrinsic need for a unique downtown.
The growth speaks for itself.
OTOH, Personal relocation is definitely a unique situation, and subjectively comparing a thriving town with a stagnant burg 1/10th its size is a recipe for recognizing only dissimilarity.
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