The Town of Knightdale is holding a workshop for ideas on the 80 acres of space adjacent to their Downtown. The land is currently under contract by a developer who plans to build a mixed-use development. However, the town is holding a public workshop to gather ideas from what the community would like to see. For more information visit https://www.shiftknightdale.com/workshop
I decided to take a stab at how I would set up the site plan.
Layout
The overall layout of the plan would build upon the Downtown street grid of Knightdale. Main access points would be from McKnight Drive, Knightdale Blvd, and Knightdale Station Park. A pair of one-way street extensions of 3rd and 4th Ave would serve as the North – South backbones.
The overall breakdown would be:
- 600 Apartment Units
- 390 Townhomes
- 130 Single Family Homes
- 750,000 Sq Ft of Retail with Grocery, Movies, and Entertainment as the anchors
- 500,000 Sq Ft of Office
- 10 Acres of Greenspace
Commercial District
Blocks A, B, C, D, E, and R would contain the main commercial components.
Block A would feature a ground floor grocery store with two stories of office building above. Block B contains four blocks of ground floor shopping and dining with two pedestrians only courtyard corridors making for a village feel. Three levels of apartments would overlook.
Block C features an apartment building with ground floor shops.
Block D brings more ground floor retail and courtyard pass through as well as a multi-plex movie theatre and an entertainment complex featuring bowling and more.
On the corner of Smithfield and McKnight sits another apartment building with some small shops fronting the roadways.
The central focal point stretching from the main entrance down to the residential district is the tree-lined greenspace flanked with a couple of small cafes.
Residential District
The residential district makes this Knightdale development a true Live, Work, Play destination. A mix of alley-entry Townhomes and Single-Family homes set the development up for a true neighborhood feel.
The townhomes would sit on 18–25-foot rear-entry lots.
The single-family homes would sit on 20–36-foot lots and would feature privacy courtyards and quick access to greenspace.
To view an interactive version of my full plan please visit: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Luk7c1rALDskuhigvmPjh0vf9kKPPIRb&ll=35.7938267527767%2C-78.48024515&z=16
Let the Town of Knightdale know your thoughts on March 30th. It’s so exciting to see the transformation of Eastern Wake County from a car-dependent suburb to a thriving, livable destination where residents can live, work, play, and thrive.
Phil Veasley 
