Analyzing the Future of the Triangle Fringe Cities | Henderson

Posted byPhil VeasleyPosted inPlanning

As the Triangle continues to grow, the arc of fringe cities surrounding the region will start to evolve. Henderson presents a unique opportunity.

Continuing our Triangle Fringe City series with a look at the future of Henderson. Be sure to check out the introduction if you missed it.

Map indicating the selected ring cities

Henderson is a city of roughly 15,000 roughly 45 miles North of Raleigh and 45 miles Northeast of Durham located at the interchange of I-85 and US-1. The city has been losing residents at a pretty steady rate since 2000 but has a Downtown full of great bones.

Google Maps
Google Maps

The Downtown features a typical Main Street setup with early 20th century brick buildings featuring shops and restaurants flanked by a healthy grid system for a city of this size.

GoogleEarth

Henderson also features a decent supply of 3 bedroom homes for under $300,000 within the walkshed of Downtown.

3 Bedroom properties under $300,000 via Zillow

Looking toward the future

As the Triangle continues to grow, it’s vital that we shift our growth from purely sprawl based subdivisions to making use of the bones of these fringe cities like Henderson. While Henderson is around a hour from Raleigh and slightly less to Durham, creating an urban core where residents are able to access daily needs, entertainment, and recreation will reduce the travel needs.

Henderson features a multitude of historic mills, underused parcels, and a grid system to support mixed-use growth within the walkshed of Downtown.

Map of parcels where infill (dark blue) and adaptive reuse (light blue) is possible. GoogleEarth
Potential locations of infill (white) and adaptive reuse (blue). GoogleEarth and Affinity Designer

There is also undeveloped land adjacent to downtown but still within the walkshed that could potentially be used for a mixed-use neighborhood in the future. This high level sketch I developed shows a community containing single family, cottage, duplex, multi-plex, apartment, and condo style housing nestled among commercial developments, parks and a town center that would compliment Downtown Henderson.

Conceptual sketch of a mixed use neighborhood just outside of Downtown Henderson

Henderson’s location also falls on the S-Line corridor which is a future high speed rail line between Raleigh and Richmond, adding to the possibilities of the future.

Stay tuned next time as we explore the future of Rocky Mount.

Phil Veasley is a registered Professional Engineer in NC and GA. Opinions and insights are my own and are not representative of my employer or any organization. Any ideas displayed on this site are purely that – just ideas to help improve the future of the built environment and begin discussions.

Cover photo via Google Street View

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