Park Project Unites North Carolina Community
In North Carolina’s fast-growing Research Triangle, a new iconic park has completed a community in Cary, a city that historically lacked a central hub. The park, designed by Machado Silvetti and OJB, transforms seven acres into a civic area that doubles as public infrastructure, cultural hub, and long-awaited town center.
An urban plaza defines the edge of Academy Street, with tables and chairs and a splash pad for kids, marking the beginning of Downtown Cary Park, a seven-acre green space that unfurls across a 30-foot grade change.
Cary, North Carolina, is a city without a center, having historically been a bedroom community for larger cities like Raleigh and Durham. The city’s geography is characterized by streets and nodes, commercial strips, and setback shopping centers.
Jeffry Burchard, a principal at Machado Silvetti, noted the mix of land uses and building types along a single street: “Residential, church, civic building, high school, storefront—it’s such a mix of pieces.”
Machado Silvetti and OJB have given Cary the closest thing to a center it’s had to date, with Downtown Cary Park being the culmination of several decades of planning by community leaders.
The city’s effort to create a central hub was strategic, involving the gradual acquisition of residential and commercial parcels near the city’s high school, now a performing arts center, and preserving them as open space.
One city council member, Don Frantz, was a consistent advocate for the plan, and his vision for public infrastructure and public space helped drive the project forward.
In 2016, the city approved a plan to build a new public library on the south end of the future park, and a year later, completed the park’s first phase, a small plaza with a circular fountain, a lawn, and a space for a temporary stage.
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The remaining six acres remained largely undeveloped until 2019, when voters passed a $112 million bond that earmarked $50 million for the completion of Phase 2 of the park.
Working with the site’s existing topography, OJB and Machado Silvetti conceptualized a tiered park that steps down from the south and west sides, creating an experiential gradient that begins as a fancily paved, architecturally defined urban plaza at the top of the park.
The park grows wilder as one descends, culminating with a rushing stream lined with billowing willows, a lotus-filled pond, and a forest “room” comprised of little more than mulch, birdsong, and a smattering of Adirondack chairs.
Throughout the park, a series of bridges offer raised vantage points, while never allowing the entirety of the park to be fully glimpsed.
The design of the central performance pavilion is inspired by the forests of North Carolina and the furniture of Isamu Noguchi.
As North Carolina continues to grow and develop, projects like Downtown Cary Park demonstrate the importance of investing in modern architecture and public space.
Downtown Cary Park will play a vital role in shaping the community’s growth and development.
It is clear that the park will be a key factor in the city’s future.
