Apartments, offices & shops coming to downtown Cary. See when and where.
Now that the historic Ivey-Ellington House has been moved, Cary will soon have a new place to live, work and shop in the heart of downtown.
The Jordan project at the southeast corner of West Chatham Street and Harrison Avenue comprises the Jordan Building — 80,000 square feet of office and retail space — and Meridian Cary, a 195-unit luxury apartment building with a parking deck.
The project is a public/private investment involving Cary’s Northwoods Associates, Raleigh-based construction company NorthView Partners, the town of Cary and Cary First Baptist Church located on South Academy Street.
Four years ago, the Cary Town Council approved $13 million for the parking deck and stormwater and surface road infrastructure. Now, the town’s investment is $14 million and the project, which originally cost private investors $51 million, has increased to about $125 million, according to Ted Boyd, Cary’s economic development director.
The increase is due to inflation and changes to the project, including increased stormwater capacity and the addition of a sustainability feature for creating healthier trees in a more urban environment, Boyd said.
Who are the partners in the development?
George H. Jordan III, owner of G.H. Jordan Development Co., and his nephew Jordan Gussenhoven, owner of Chatham Street Commercial, are the project developers.
They formed Northwoods Associates LLC, the company behind the redevelopment of the Rogers Restaurant and Motel. They also developed the Mid-Town Square area, a 25,000-square-foot, three-story brick office and retail space on the corner of Chatham and Walker streets.
Northwoods Associates brought on Raleigh-based NorthView Partners for the planning and construction of Meridian Cary. The company has completed other projects in Cary, including Meridian at Harrison Point and the Chatham Walk Condos.
Northwoods Associates needed to get approval from the town and from the church for the development as both own land the Jordan project will be built on.
What is being constructed in the project?
The Jordan project will boost Cary’s economy and add jobs.
“Cary, as big of a community as it is, only has one true historic commercial core,” Gussenhoven said. “Downtown is sort of the heart and soul of a community, and as Cary has grown and thrived, its downtown has sort of lagged as far as energy and vitality.”
▪ The first building: Meridian Cary and the parking deck
The apartments and the 478-space parking deck are under construction.
Cary is responsible for the cost of the construction of the parking deck, and according to Boyd, the town’s funding is going toward most of it. Once completed, NorthView will buy the upper half of the deck, 253 parking spaces, for Meridian Cary tenants.
The lower 225 spaces will be public parking owned by the town that the church will get to use Sundays. Jordan Building employees and visitors will park there during business hours, entering from Harrison Avenue, Academy Street and Chatham Street.
Gussenhoven said there will not be an affordable housing component to the apartments.
The News & Observer could not reach NorthView Partners to find out about rents and other apartment details.
▪ The second building: The Jordan Building
The project’s second phase will add a four-story 75,000-square-foot office building with ground-floor retail space.
Gussenhoven said tenants are being sought now and construction will begin soon.
How will this impact downtown Cary?
The Jordan family is one of the first investors in the revitalization of downtown Cary, said Mayor Harold Weinbrecht.
Developments like this will give residents more walkable options of things to do.
The new parking deck will give Cary three public decks in the downtown area.
One is near Town Hall Campus on Wilkinson Avenue. The second is a 350-space deck behind Cary Regional Library on Walnut Street and Kildaire Farm Road.
Cary expects the project to give the town “enhanced employment opportunities, an improved business climate for downtown Cary.”
In an earlier report by The N&O, the developers anticipated the Jordan building would create up to 150 jobs paying at or above the average wage in Wake County of $58,000 a year.
Boyd said the town will conduct an economic analysis for the project to measure its impact over the next 10 years.
Recently, the town conducted an economic analysis for Meridian East Chatham, a residential building with ground floor parking and retail that is expected to create 78 jobs and generate $8.1 million of annual economic activity with restaurants, fitness centers and services.
Boyd said similar factors will be used to analyze the Jordan project.
Construction began in January.
This story was originally published April 13, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Apartments, offices & shops coming to downtown Cary. See when and where.."