For a while now, MT.Net has been home to a page about the old Raleigh Municipal Airport between Garner and Raleigh. I became interested in the old airport when I first read about it in the paper. Who knew that the scrub pines and empty shopping mall on the corner of U.S. 70 and Tryon road once was the site of Raleigh’s original airport?
I took pictures around the property five years ago this month. It was surreal walking through the woods and seeing a runway in front of you. Fire hydrants sprouted in the midst of trees, built to service a commercial park plan that then fizzled. At the time I was unaware of the large population of homeless (and sometimes surly) people who lived in the woods there. Fortunately for me, I didn’t see a soul.
Pretty soon there will be homes on that property, but not for the homeless. The Wakefield developers are putting in a multi-use development there, with homes ranging from $100,000 to $400,000.
While it will be a bit sad to see the last remnants of the airport turned into cul-de-sacs, it is still a good thing that someone finally decided to tame that property. The Frankenstein combination of the lame strip mall and the wild woods just doesn’t work. Here’s hoping this third time developing this property is the charm.