Cary's Cedar Street Parking Deck Opens With 296 Free Public Spaces

The Cedar Street Parking Deck opened to the public on March 18, placing 296 free parking spaces in the heart of downtown Cary between Cedar Street, Chatham Street, and the newly constructed Rogers Alley. Drivers enter at 136 E. Cedar St., while pedestrians reach the upper levels through an architecturally distinctive tower on Chatham Street that features a floating staircase, panoramic views, and a terracotta-panel exterior designed by the firm Machado Silvetti.

The town owns and operates the deck. Northwoods Rogers Condo owns and operates the adjoining retail building, which includes approximately 4,000 square feet of ground-floor space fronting Chatham Street. No leases have been publicly announced; retail leasing inquiries are being handled by Matt Larson at CBRE Raleigh.

The deck sits directly next to Lawrence Barbecue and within the Central Chatham Subarea of Cary's Downtown Special Planning Area, a corridor the town's community plan envisions as the downtown's primary commercial spine, lined with mixed-use buildings that stack retail and dining at street level beneath residential floors above.

Rogers Alley, which borders the deck's site, is being repositioned as part of the project. Plans call for pavers, street lamps, overhead market lights, and removable bollards that would allow the alley to close to vehicles and shift toward pedestrian use during events and busy periods.

A second deck is expected to open soon at 206 S. Academy St., next to First Baptist Church of Cary. That structure will provide approximately 225 public parking spaces along with hundreds of additional reserved spaces for residents of Meridian Cary, a 195-unit apartment building now accepting lease applications. Both the Meridian Cary building and the Academy deck are components of the Jordan project, a larger mixed-use development that will incorporate office and retail space. Together, the Cedar Street and Academy decks are projected to add 522 combined public spaces to downtown, according to The Cary Report, joining two existing public decks near Town Hall on Wilkinson Avenue and at 113 Walnut St., near the library and Downtown Cary Park.

Town spokesperson Carolyn Roman had said before the Cedar Street opening that both decks were close to ready, noting the timing could align with the Pimento Cheese Festival in April.

An interactive parking map for downtown Cary is available at carync.gov/parking.