Development Activity

Wake Forest is among the top 2% fastest-growing of North Carolina's 552 municipalities. While we are rich in history and Southern charm, we are just as dynamic and forward thinking! As a result, commercial and residential growth continues to climb rapidly as businesses and people are drawn to our community. 

We pride ourselves on strategic, sustainable, and planned growth. This is evidenced by our corridor planning, transportation planning, historic preservation, public art visioning, the Greenways and Open Space program, and Renaissance Plan for the Heart of Wake Forest.  

Wake Forest is flush with new development activity. The map below links to the Town of Wake Forest’s Active Development Map. Using this resource, you can zoom and pan to any area of Wake Forest on the map. Move the cursor over any development of interest, and click for the latest information available on the project.

The nearly 100-acre Grove Ninety-Eight development is well underway on Highway 98 Bypass near the center of Wake Forest. Anchored by one of the Southeast’s flagship Wegmans Food Markets, this development brings significant new residential and retail development tied into the larger community by greenways and an extended Ligon Mill Road.

Wegmans is one of the largest private grocery chains in the United States, comprised of 98 stores predominantly located in the Northeast. With more than 4,000 requests annually for Wegmans to build in a variety of communities across the eastern United States, it is significant that Wake Forest was chosen as one of its first locations in the South, and welcomed the grand opening 100,000+ square-foot facility June 2022. The family-owned chain, ranked #2 on FORTUNE magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, sells between 50,000 and 70,000 products and is focused on building local partnerships with local agencies and organizations to help meet the needs of schools, foodbanks, and other critical community needs.

The larger mixed-use development surrounding Wegmans is marketed as the new Wake Forest destination for living, boutique shopping, and dining. The Grove Ninety-Eight development will also bring opportunities for new and exciting seasonal social activities, such as concerts, movies on the green, holiday celebrations, art fairs, and more.

Loading Dock Wake Forest

The Loading Dock Wake Forest, located Downtown, celebrated its first anniversary of operation in early December 2022! This thriving entrepreneur-focused business incubator and coworking space is now home to over 300 members! In addition to its sweeping outdoor porches and queen’s balcony, it features an indoor and outdoor event venues and a street-facing future restaurant/food & beverage space. Read more about The Loading Dock Wake Forest here.

PowerHouse Row

PowerHouse Row completed Phase I in Downtown Wake Forest at the corner of S. White Street & Elm Avenue in the Summer of 2020. This multi-story, mixed-use building marks a significant growth milestone in the downtown Renaissance district. The fully-leased property includes retail/commercial space on the ground level with apartment homes above. Phase II of PowerHouse Row is planned to start development soon! Read more about PowerHouse Row.

Downtown Food Hall & Park

Alliance Group NC is developing a Downtown Food Hall and Park. This project lies along Roosevelt Ave and North White Street, flanking the CVS to the north and east. It includes a 20,000sf food hall restoring the Old Chevrolet building, new residential condos, and a Downtown park. This development will provide pivotal connectivity on the northern boundary of Downtown.

Following their highly successful Downtown townhome development, The Retreat at Renaissance, Stanley Martin Homes is leading the condo construction for the residential component of this development named Magnolia Trace. Also associated with the project, work is complete on nearby Magnolia Square “two-over-two” garage condos on the corner of Wait Ave and Franklin Street. Learn more about the Food Hall here.

The deck will provide a total of 360 new parking spaces Downtown. It is anticipated approximately half of those will be leased from the Town by the developer selected for this redevelopment. The remaining 180 will help serve the growing need for public parking in Wake Forest’s rapidly growing Downtown. 

Under this plan, the site will accommodate the desire for a gateway to Downtown, enhance connectivity from White Street to the Renaissance Plaza, and create engaging and appealing street-level views on White Street, Elm Avenue, and Brooks Street. Through a competitive RFP process led, Triangle Real Estate Company was selected as the developer of the project. A Memorandum of Understanding is currently under final review between the Town and Developer. A formalized development agreement will follow.

Merritt Properties’ Capital Business Park

Merritt Properties is developing seven buildings, totaling 452,500 square feet of flex use & light industrial space planned for local businesses to locate and grow. Phase 1, totaling 115,000 square feet, opened in May 2022 and is now home to approximately 20 companies. Phase 2 construction is already underway, with two additional buildings totaling 135,000 square feet, and is planned for delivery mid-2023.

Situated adjacent to the existing South Forest Industrial Park, Capital Business Park is aimed at enhancing local connectivity and navigability while providing a significant boost to existing office, flex, and industrial space in Wake Forest. The site has connected Unicon Drive Extension in South Forest Park to Ligon Mill Road, a major local thoroughfare, significantly reducing local traffic congestion. Additionally, the expansion will feature a new trailhead and access to Wake Forest’s rapidly expanding greenway system.

The Renaissance Master Plan, first adopted in 2004, was significantly updated in 2016 to maintain momentum, sharpen focus, and retain the vibrancy of our downtown. The 2016 plan brought a focus on market readiness, housing infill, detailed streetscape plans, multi-modal strategies prioritizing bicyclist, pedestrian and transit usage, parking strategies, identification of private development/redevelopment opportunities, strategies to attract new retail, restaurant, office and housing, key urban design principles, implementation strategies, timing and funding. Given the rapid growth and substantial development activity in Downtown over the past seven years, the Town of Wake Forest Planning Department launched a new Downtown strategic planning process in 2023.