It is no secret Cary is not such a small town anymore. With over 180,000 residents, Cary has turned into a bustling town with many draws, including the developing downtown area.

For years, Downtown Cary has been known as a charming, festive and historic area in Cary. Over the past two decades, new businesses and developments have contributed to the downtown area’s growing popularity among all ages. When I was in middle school, my neighborhood friends and I would make weekly trips to the downtown area on our bicycles. We loved the ride through neighborhoods to get there, as well as the lack of cars around the main streets. We would bike to the top of the only parking garage, located next to the library, and race down together. In the summer of 2021, my last summer before high school, Downtown Cary began construction of the new park next to the library. The official grand opening of the park was Nov. 19, 2023. After two and a half years of an off-limit zone, visitors were finally given an outdoor gathering space with plenty of amenities.

The park was immediately a hit, though some still had their critiques. As opposed to sticking with the small-town vibe of traditional Downtown Cary, the new park went for a more modern architectural appeal. Large playing structures and water features were built, as well as food and beverage facilities. What used to be a large open field turned into a modern structured palooza, with many supporters. The park brings a new energy to downtown but has replaced the cozy feel of the area before.

As of the most recent developments in Downtown Cary, a three-story office building and parking garage has been built on East Chatham Street, with retail and restaurants on the ground level. This building is located in the center of downtown, surrounded by the most popular restaurants and businesses. Students at Athens Drive have taken notice of the overtowering structure.

“I feel like the giant blobs of infrastructure take away the small town atmosphere. Granted, Cary’s not a small town anymore, but that’s what downtown felt like for us in the area,” said Susan McGraw, senior at Athens Drive.

Though much of Downtown Cary is starting to feel quite new, Cary is still trying to preserve small pockets of its history. The Ivey-Ellington house is a historic home built in the 1870s, and was moved on Feb. 20, 2025 from West Chatham Street to Academy Street, making way for new development. The house is one of only four homes on the National Historic Register in Cary, and has a unique historic look because of its gothic revival cottage architecture.

Despite Cary’s efforts to preserve its history, the new influx of people moving into town has prompted the construction of buildings on a larger scale with more parking. Instead of keeping house-like designs for the new office buildings, they are tall and bulky, often covering up the businesses around them. The restaurant Scratch is set behind the new East Chatham Street structure and is no longer visible from the main road.

“The new buildings were built for more people, so that just already draws in more crowds which prevents it from having a small town feeling,” said Lindsay Grant, senior at Athens Drive.

Though the park has been successful and hosts many events for the community, many agree they could’ve toned down the size of it. The six-acre park is predicted to boost the local economy, but the $68 million bond project was a big price to pay.

In a car-dominated area, with more people comes more parking. To make room for new parking garages being built, Cary had to remove some of the nature surrounding downtown.

“Cary took out a lot of trees from the back of one of the main buildings by The First Baptist Church to build a new parking deck, so instead of the church being surrounded by a relaxing and calming nature environment, you just see the back of a building which is quite awkward,” said McGraw.

The newest building plan for the revitalization project in Downtown Cary is the reconstruction of Ashworth Village. According to Triangle Business Journal, the Ashworth Village on West Chatham Street is going to turn into a mixed-use building with multifamily units and ground-floor retail. The project will have 22 residential units and 6,624 square feet of restaurant and retail space in a 3-story building.

Downtown Cary used to feel like Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, but with all of this new development, it’s becoming too industrial to maintain its historic character. To support more people moving to the area, buildings need to be larger, but the architecture should feel more homey and less intruding.

“The new buildings are way too modern which just takes away that old-timey feeling of Cary when Ashworths was big and everything was more local,” said Grant.