Big Crowds Expected Debate On Affordable Apartments in Cary

Photo credit: Cary Connection Facebook page

A hearing on a variance request by Pedcor Investments for a controversial, affordable apartment complex in Cary is expected to draw a big crowd Thursday.

The meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, has been moved to the Cary Junior High gymnasium, 2109 Crystal Lake Road, to accommodate more people.

The variance request has to do with an issue uncovered by the village earlier this month regarding site plans for the proposed Garden Place Apartments. The current site plan has 54.8 percent lot coverage but the village’s code requirement is a maximum 45-percent lot coverage.

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Pedcor needs the variance to be approved to move forward with building the site as planned. The 60-unit apartment complex is planned to be built on a 4.5-acre lot at the northeast corner of First and Pearl streets.

The affordable housing project has received heavy opposition.

Residents have put up yard signs, signed an online petition and set up a Facebook page, called Cary Connection, that shows their opposition to the project, the Daily Herald reports. They have attended meetings to voice concerns about the impact on public services, potential increase in traffic from the development, density, drainage, property values and parking.

“People are opposed to this project mainly because it’s going to raise property taxes and overburden our schools,” said Jim Cosler, chairman of the Cary Matters PAC, told the Daily Herald. “The location for it is very poor. It is congregating all the lower-income housing in one part of Cary. There are better places for it to be built.”

Meanwhile, the village of Cary supports the project as it will help increase its affordable housing stock from 6.9 percent to 7.8 percent, according to the Daily Herald. Ideally, Village President Mark Kownick said, Cary would have 10 percent of its housing categorized as affordable.

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