Apex hopes to enhance its charming downtown with wide, urban sidewalks, more public spaces and improved parking.
“Downtown Apex is the heart of our growing community. Its success comes with increased demand for outdoor dining, retail, and walkable, engaging space for our citizens and visitors alike to enjoy and interact,” said Russell Dalton, senior transportation engineer and project manager for the Town of Apex Public Works & Transportation.
Among the town’s top priorities, identified in its 2019 Downtown Plan, is the streetscape and parking design project, which will be led by Stantec Urban Places. A public engagement program will begin early this year, according to a statement, and the project is expected to be finished in 2023.
Plans call for Seaboard Plaza to be transformed.
“Our team’s goal is to embrace the authenticity of Downtown Apex by adding vibrant people places that support the needs of residents, local businesses, and visitors while also honoring this community’s historic roots,” said Amanda Morrell, project manager at Stantec.
Goals for Salem Street include expanding sidewalks for improved walkability and outdoor dining. Trees will be planted to provide shade and improve the street’s visual appeal. Strategies to manage and improve parking are also part of the project.
Several alleyways will also receive attention, transforming them into lively public spaces. Both the streetscape and the alleyscapes will incorporate public art and wayfinding enhancements.
Seaboard Plaza as it is now.
“We are celebrating and enhancing the value Downtown Apex holds for us by carrying forward projects that will meet our community’s needs for years to come,” Dalton said in a statement.
The project encompasses the streetscape along Salem Street between Center Street and Chatham Street; the alleyscapes along Commerce Street and Seaboard Street; and the public parking lots off of Templeton Street and Saunders Street.
As part of plan development, a temporary “parklet” within two on-street parking spaces was set up along Salem Street to demonstrate the potential of parking re-use. Public feedback to this installation was so positive that the parklet remained open for the remainder of the summer, indicating the incredible potential for reimagining these spaces.
