The Wake County board of commissioners met Monday to hear three items, including a historic landmark designation in the Sandy Plain community and the appropriation of funds for design and construction on Wake Technical Community College.
Wake Tech Requests Construction Funding
Dr. Stephen Scott, president of Wake Technical Community College, requested from the commissioners the reallocation of money from a bond referendum and the appropriation of money for the design and construction on three campuses of the college.
The reallocation would come from a 2012 building program. The money had previously been set aside for a parking deck, whereas it would now be allocated for classroom space. To add parking, the college plans to build new parking lots on the side of campus near the Falls of Neuse buffer.
The appropriation request, for $62 million, would serve to fund an assortment of construction projects on the three campuses of the college.
Scott noted that the college expects to break ground for its new Research Triangle Park campus in fall of 2017. The plans for the RTP campus include areas in information technology and a focus in corporate education.
Town of Morrisville
An early rendering of the Wake Tech RTP Campus, from a 2012 presentation
Commissioners had questions relating to the new parking lots and the proximity to the Falls of Neuse buffer. Following Scott’s explanation of the college’s plan for stormwater management, the two requests were approved unanimously.
A Historic Landmark
The Capital Area Preservation and the Wake County Historic Preservation Program on Monday presented a request for a historic landmark designation request concerning a property in Wake Forest.
The property in question — the O’Briant Farm — was built in the early 19th century and is located at 15328 Creedmoor Road. It started out as a simple farmstead, the owners of which introduced the production of tobacco crop to Wake County.
“The Robertson-O’Briant farm played a vital role in the founding and growth of the
Bing Maps
An overhead shot of the property in question
Sandy Plain community,” said Gary Roth, CEO of Capital Area Preservation.
The 4.3 acre parcel is comprised of a house, first built in 1835, a family cemetery, and a number of agricultural outbuildings alongside a tenant house & privy.
Wake County had purchased the property through its open space program in 2008, as it added to the protection of Falls Lake. Since that time, there have been numerous inquiries to renovate, purchase, or move the house.
The designation was approved unanimously.
A New Library for Cary
A new schematic design for the New Middle Creek Branch Library was presented to the commissioners on Monday. Patrick McHugh, the Wake County facilities project manager, covered the history of the project, which was supposed to start in 2011 but was delayed due to the economic downturn. The parcel where the library will be constructed sits on 3.71 acres inside the town of Cary’s jurisdiction.
Dan Huffman, of Huffman Architecture, said design elements for the property’s landscaping include pedestrian walkways to the school site and more indigenous plants that would be easier to maintain than the currently-present pine trees.
While a principal at Cherry Huffman Architects, now RATIO Architects, Huffman worked on the design of the Leesville Community Library, which is currently closed due to fire damages from a February incident.
Dan Huffman Architects
The Leesville Community Library
Daniel Moskop, also with Huffman Architecture, spoke to the design elements of the building itself. These will include glazing on the windows to limit the glare of the sunlight, three sections within the library such as the children’s section and entry section with a circulation desk, and storage and collection of recyclables section.
The design was approved unanimously.
