Morrisville Town Center Plan - 2007

Chapter 1: Existing Conditions

demand for residential space, particularly in the centrally-located Morrisville area. • Morrisville’s reputation has changed from “poor stepsister” of Cary to a desirable and centrally-located place to live with good schools. • Apartmentmarket drivenby job relocations. Many rent for one year while deciding where to buy. Morrisville is seen as particularly desirable by newcomers and many choose to purchase in this area. • Area was over-built for condominium and townhouse development, but demand is now aligning with supply. Townhouse (higher density housing) absorption in area has been relatively strong, with nearby development averaging seven units per month. • Affordable 1-story houses (e.g., “patio homes”) are extremely popular with families and will increasingly satisfy demand from boomers/empty nesters for easy-to-maintain affordable housing. Carpenter Park is good example of this mass-market product that would be even more marketable in a Town Center neighborhood setting. • Patio homes might be complemented with mid-rise senior housing on the periphery of the Town Center area to accommodate growing demand as the area attracts the relocation of senior parents of the professionals who work in RTP and live in the Triangle. Senior living associated with area religious and other “affinity group” designations would be logical in the study area. It is also logical to place senior housing within walking distance or a short drive of the cultural, professional (i.e., medical, insurance), and retail uses within the town center. • The Town Center’s vintage, single-fam- ily detached homes are desirable and the strengths of this community can be ex- panded upon through infill or addition. Some infill higher-density product would also perform well, depending on design. There is one somewhat competitive Tradi-

tional Neighborhood Development (TND) product in the immediate area, Carpen- ter Village. However, this community has a much more “urban” context and high- density development envelope than the existing “rural” Morrisville Town Center.

One residential market opportunity in the Town Center is to provide new options for senior living. (Photo: Ben Hitchings, Town of Morrisville)

Retail: • The area’s overall retail potential will increase as more residential development comes on line in the near future. • There may be neighborhood retail and service opportunities generated by this growth. However, convenience retail and restaurant markets will be largely captured by existing and planned competitive developments within a short walk or drive of the study area. • The central location does provide opportunities for destination retail, but roads are not capable of handling capacity for large-scale destination retail. • There are opportunities for highway convenience and specialty retail, but those are generally confined to the two main roads. Although these have good visibility and high traffic volumes that would support

14 │ Town Center Plan

January 2007