A nearly 23-acre development near Petty Farm Road that Cary Town Council rejected in March has now won unanimous approval, clearing the way for up to 625 homes, 200,000 square feet of office space and a car wash along N.C. 55. The project, known as Alston Commons, returned with new guarantees this month tying the housing and office construction directly to the car wash that had stalled it in the first place.
According to The News & Observer, the site sits along N.C. 55 near Petty Farm Road and McCrimmon Parkway, within one of Cary's designated destination centers. Those centers, established under the town's planning framework, call for higher-density, mixed-use growth concentrated in specific corridors rather than spread across town. Town of Cary rezoning records for Case 22-REZ-20 show the 22.74-acre property spans parcels at 4404 NC 55 Hwy and 1629 Petty Farm Rd, shifting from an Office, Research and Development designation to Mixed Use District.
What Changed Since March
Cary's planning manager, Erin Puckett, told council that the development's central mixed-use portions largely fit the destination center vision, per the same News & Observer report. But she said the car-wash pod did not fit that vision on its own, citing its vehicle-oriented use and form. Even so, town staff recommended approval of Alston Commons as a whole.
The sticking point from March was resolved through new phasing conditions. Jason Barron, an attorney for the applicant from Morningstar Law Group, said the 500-unit minimum and stronger phasing followed concerns council members had raised earlier. He said the two central mixed-use sections would now come out of the ground at the same time as the car wash, according to the outlet's account.
Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht echoed that framing on his blog, noting the council's unanimous approval followed the developer adding binding zoning conditions that require vertical construction in the mixed-use core to proceed concurrently with the commercial car wash. The car wash, which can reach up to 30,000 square feet, is restricted to Pod 1 of the five-section development, and construction must have begun in both central mixed-use sections before it can open. The plan does not require the mixed-use buildings to be fully completed first, and it does not guarantee the timing of the full buildout.
Affordable Housing Requirements, and Some Skepticism
Alston Commons requires at least 25 homes to remain income-restricted for 30 years, with at least 5% of homes affordable to households earning no more than 80% of area median income and at least 5% built at 750 square feet or smaller — with the same apartments allowed to count toward both requirements. For a four-person household, HUD set the Raleigh-Cary area median family income at $132,300 for fiscal year 2026, placing the 80% AMI limit at $105,850 for four people or $74,100 for an individual, according to HUD User data.
Mayor Pro Tem Lori Bush raised concerns that letting the same units satisfy both housing requirements could make the affordability benefit look larger than it actually is, the News & Observer reported. She said Cary is securing affordable units a handful at a time, negotiated case by case, and that the town's affordable-unit numbers are not keeping pace with community needs. Mayor Weinbrecht reported in May that Cary had 474 affordable housing units in its active development pipeline, in addition to the town's existing 790 units, according to his blog.
Council member Brittany Richards said she could support the density because the site sits within a designated destination center, per the outlet's reporting. She said concentrating growth in those centers allows other parts of Cary to remain less dense and less developed.
Rising Costs Frame the Debate
The affordability debate comes as Cary's housing market keeps climbing. Realtor.com market data from this month shows the median home sale price in Cary reached $644,000, a 9.3% year-over-year increase. Rental costs are also stretching budgets: CoStar research published by Apartments.com shows Cary's average monthly apartment rent stands at $1,461, with 51% of local apartments renting between $1,500 and $2,000 monthly and single-family rental homes averaging $2,325 a month. HUD's Fair Market Rent benchmark for a modest two-bedroom in Wake County was set at $1,646 in 2025, requiring roughly $70,520 in annual household income to avoid being cost-burdened, per Habitat for Humanity Greater Raleigh.
Traffic questions also surfaced during review. The Alston Commons traffic study was completed in 2022, and Cary considers rezoning traffic studies valid for five years. Project revisions are estimated to remain within the peak-hour traffic projected by that original analysis, though Cary and the North Carolina Department of Transportation will review transportation again when a development plan is submitted and could require additional improvements.
Alston Commons is not the only large rezoning reshaping this stretch of N.C. 55. In October 2024, Cary Town Council approved “Alston Yards” on 46.3 acres at N.C. 55 and O'Kelly Chapel Road, allowing up to 815 apartments and 400,000 square feet of office space in the same destination center. Hoodline reported on retail momentum building nearby earlier this year, and the corridor has also seen recent infrastructure strain, including a water main break that forced early dismissals at 30 schools.
Cary has also adjusted its municipal finances to accommodate the pace of growth. The town adopted a property tax rate of 36.75 cents per $100 of assessed value for FY2027, an 8% increase over the prior year, bringing the combined Cary and Wake County rate to roughly 90.46 cents per $100, according to Blue Orchid Realty.
