Despite rising interest rates and chatter about a recession, plans are moving ahead on Phase II of Downtown Wake Forest’s Powerhouse Row. The larger of the two phases, it will feature 12,000 sq.ft. of street-level space for businesses and retailers, in addition to 47 apartment units on the upper four floors.
Rendering of Powerhouse Row Phase II
Will Barker, Project Manager at Barker Construction Group, says his company and its partners are now completing “all the leg work” in anticipation of beginning work soon. “We don’t have a start date yet,” says Barker, whose Raleigh-based company is working with Allen Ventures LLC on the project. “We’re getting the project teed up so we can get moving on it when we’re ready,” he says.
The headline-grabbing collapse of regional banks in California and New York has tightened credit conditions nationally, but economists remain encouraged about the growth horizon in North Carolina, especially the Triangle region. A recent forecast by John Connaughton, an economics professor at UNC Charlotte, projects the state’s unemployment rate to remain steady at 3.9% through the end of 2023. Regionally, the picture is brighter. UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise expects Raleigh-Durham’s economy to see the 4th highest GDP growth rate among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas this year, outpaced only by Austin, San Francisco, and Seattle.
While watching economic conditions closely, Barker and his colleagues are upbeat about the future and eager to move ahead with Powerhouse Row’s next phase. “We remain excited about it,” says Barker, who anticipates Phase II to involve a total investment “probably north of $14 million when all is said and done. It’s a big project.”
Unveiled in 2017, PowerHouse Row is the first in a growing number of revitalized properties to expand the borders of Downtown Wake Forest. Sitting at the well-traveled corner of South White Street and Elm Avenue, the mixed-use complex celebrates the Town’s relationship with electricity. The property was home to the Wright Family Electric Motor Shop and adjacent to an electrical generating station. The theme also acknowledges the Town’s proud status as a public power community.
Barker Construction has been in business for the past 40 years under various incarnations, Will Barker says. The company’s roots extend to both commercial and residential buildings, as well as sales, brokerage, and leasing. Its extensive construction portfolio includes build-to-suit, medical office, and single- and multi-family residential. “We’re a small, family-owned company, and we do a little bit of everything,” Barker says.
Powerhouse Row is the only project on which Barker is partnering with Allen Ventures. That firm, founded in 2014 by twin brothers Craig and Russell Allen, is involved in real estate development opportunities around the Triangle. Russell Allen, who served for 12 years as Raleigh City Manager, saw possibilities in Wake Forest’s Downtown strategic plan and was impressed with the town’s public infrastructure, park system, and town hall complex. The Powerhouse property’s positioning next to a CSX rail line sets the table for unique opportunities should light-rail passenger transit ever make its way to the Triangle. In the meantime, the project’s Phase I is enjoying significant success. “It’s fully occupied from top to bottom,” Barker says.
At High Park Nail Spa and Wine Bar, afternoon customers relax with nail treatments, foot massages, and related soothing services. Beer, wine, and cocktails are also available there, an amenity that is popular in the evenings and on weekends, staff members say. Powerhouse Row is one of two High Park Nail locations, and the Wake Forest shop has been open for just over a year. The business operates seven days a week and employs a seven-person workforce.
Next door, Plant Cakes Bake Shop welcomes those seeking vegan baked goods. The shop makes doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, cakes, cookies, ice cream, and other goodies without animal-based ingredients or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Plant Cakes Bake Shop also caters for weddings and special events. Open five days a week, the business includes indoor and outdoor seating areas for customers who want to enjoy their sweets immediately.
Earthwise Pet Nutrition Center & Wellness Spa offers an expansive inventory of natural foods and treats for dogs, cats, and horses, as well as supplies, toys, and accessories. Longtime residents Hugo Palomo and Robyn Busko originally opened the shop in 1997. Their business, which is open seven days a week, also offers grooming services for animals.
Barker Construction’s sister company, Barker Realty, works with York Properties on marketing the attractive space, which was designed by Raleigh’s JDavis Architects. Powerhouse Row Phase II will offer a similar mix of retail and residential but with an additional floor of apartments. The new building will encompass 12,000 sq.-ft. of commercial and retail space at street level. Residential floor plans will range from studio apartments to two-bedroom, two-bath units. Phase II will also offer five penthouse apartments.
“We’re proud of Phase I,” says Barker, who credits support from Town officials for helping make their vision a success. “Wake Forest has been great to work with,” he says. “It’s a wonderful municipality to do business in.” Among other things, the Town extended streetscape improvements along S. White Street below Elm Street and has worked to make public parking available. “We got good feedback from the Town on Phase I and would like to continue doing things the Town is proud of,” he adds. “Everybody we’ve dealt with has been great to work with.”
Jason Cannon, President of Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership (WFBIP), says Powerhouse Row is set to become “a new center of gravity for residents, visitors, and businesses downtown,” complementing the arrival of new workspaces, residences, event venues, a food hall and other amenities underway in the Town center. “This type of mixed-use development isn’t often seen in communities the size of Wake Forest,” Cannon says, “which is more evidence of our Town’s unique appeal as a small-town destination with big-city attractions.”
