CARY – The Town Council unanimously approved a rezoning that allows Capitol Commercial to build 500 to 625 apartments, as much as 200,000 square feet of office space and 55,000 square feet of commercial space on 22.74 acres along Highway 55.
The council approved case 22-REZ-20, known as Alston Commons, on Sept. 24. The action changes the property from office, research and development zoning to mixed-use zoning. The three parcels include 4404 N.C. 55 Highway, 1629 Petty Farm Road and an adjacent unaddressed parcel across from Alston Town Center.
Triangle Business Journal reported that Capitol Commercial applied for the rezoning in 2022. The proposal evolved during the review process, including a reduction in the maximum building height from 10 stories to seven.
Conditions attached to the approval require at least 75% structured parking in the two mixed-use pods and the residential pod, and at least 50% structured parking in the office pod. The plan also calls for at least 48 electric-vehicle charging spaces and more than 20,000 square feet of community gathering space across the site. It requires 5% of the apartments to remain affordable for 30 years to households earning no more than 80% of area median income.
The plan divides the property into five pods: a car-wash pod, two mixed-use pods, a residential pod and an office pod where commercial uses also are allowed. The approval bars the developer from requesting a certificate of occupancy for the car-wash pod until vertical construction has begun on both mixed-use pods.
The approval establishes what can be developed on the property. It does not by itself start construction, and the reviewed records do not disclose a construction start date, total investment or projected job count.