Townhome development next to Cary Village Hall gets planning approval

Developers looking to construct a townhome community on the vacant lot in Cary neighboring the Goddard School and Village Hall are one step closer to village approval.

Developer Ridgefield Homes is looking to create a 38-unit attached residential community called Ridgefield Park at the northwest corner of Industrial Drive and Reuben Lane. The plan is to have 15 buildings – seven with two units and eight with three units – on the 4.5-acre site. Each unit will be about 1,700 to 1,900 square feet, Jay Dulla of Ridgefield Homes said.

The Cary Zoning, Planning and Appeals Board approved the plan and a rezoning request from business to multi-family residential in a 5-0 vote Thursday.

The duplex- and triplex-style buildings will have 30 end units and eight middle units selling for between $375,000 and $400,000, Dulla said. A park site, walking trail with benches and a possible dog run will be at the center of the development. The units will have a variety of basement configurations including standard and walk-out basements, he said.

All end units have the primary bedroom on the first floor, which is ideal for older homeowners, Dulla said.

“We know there is a market for the empty nester that wants to be more in a maintenance-free low-level living type concept,” he said.

Zoning board member Holly Trandell said, “I’m so excited you’re putting the master bedroom on the first floor. We need these kinds of homes so badly here, so I think it looks great.”

Dulla is no stranger to developing homes in Cary, having built ranch-style houses in the Cimarron subdivision and the Walnut Ridge single-family homes next to Cary-Grove High School.

“He’s got a great record with the village. He’s very easy to work with,” Mayor Mark Kownick said at a previous Village Board meeting. “He’s a very good representation of the product that we want and that our community is asking for.”

Dulla also is working on Ridgefield Landing, a plan to construct two buildings with a total of 10 residential townhomes at the northeast corner of Route 14 and North Second Street. The Village Board approved of covering $35,600 worth of infrastructure improvements for the project earlier this month.

The Village Board is expected to vote on the project Aug. 6, Cary Community Development Director Brian Simmons said.