Merritt Properties, a flex/light industrial developer based originally out of Baltimore, Maryland, celebrated the opening of their newest home in Wake Forest, Capital Business Park, with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 4. While the grand opening included the first two of seven buildings, long-term plans for the project include a total of seven buildings for flex and light industrial use, creating space and growth opportunities for local businesses.

SixFour3, a premier fastpitch softball training facility who is opening its third location in Wake Forest this summer, has already hit a homer in town alongside the Town’s Park, Recreation, and Cultural Department.

Ted Abernathy, managing partner at Economic Leadership LLC, believes Wake Forest’s recent work in setting aside 200 prime acres for a technology-oriented industrial park has the potential to bring a new wave of high-wage job growth. Abernathy’s Raleigh-based consulting firm recently completed a statistical analysis of the site’s prospects as a driver of economic development.

An expansion for the bowling-anchored entertainment center, Strike and Barrel, is underway, which will make downtown Wake Forest a true entertainment hub and bring an additional 60 part and full-time jobs to the area.

Since 2018, plans for an amenity-rich technology park in the Town of Wake Forest have involved a close collaborative relationship between Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership (BIP) and the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which owns the 200-acre property off Stadium Drive near US Highway 1. But more recently, another key BIP partnership is advancing the site’s readiness for development as northern Wake County’s only life sciences industry center.