Garner eyes 43-acre mixed-use project near future WakeMed campus

A 43-acre mixed-use project off U.S. 70 could reshape one of Garner’s most visible growth corridors, but the bigger question for neighbors is whether it becomes a real walkable destination or just another high-density stop on a roadway built for cars.

The proposal sits within the broader E District plan near White Oak Road, across from WakeMed’s planned whole-person health campus. Garner economic development materials originally described E District as a 225-acre mixed-use site at Highway 70 and White Oak Road, about seven miles from downtown Raleigh, with Wycliff Development and developer Grady Matthews leading the effort in partnership with the Yeargan family, which owns the land.

That location matters because WakeMed’s campus is expected to pull even more activity into the corridor. In April 2023, Garner said WakeMed had won certificate-of-need approval for a 45-bed acute-care hospital and a 150-bed mental health hospital on 27 acres around White Oak Road and Timber Drive East, with the goal of opening in 2026. WakeMed also said the Garner Healthplex emergency department already accounts for 44% of its overall healthplex ED volume, a sign that the area is already functioning as a major medical hub before the new campus opens.

For Garner, the stakes are bigger than one project. The town first launched Garner Forward in 2016 and later updated it with a 2023 Comprehensive Plan meant to guide future growth, conservation and development decisions. Its Unified Development Ordinance took effect on July 5, 2022, a sign that local leaders rewrote the rules to manage exactly this kind of pressure. The mix of planning documents and new zoning rules helps explain why the E District is drawing attention now: Garner is not just approving growth, it is deciding what kind of town it wants to become.

That has made the corridor a magnet for denser proposals. One earlier project in the same area was a 264-unit apartment development at U.S. 70 East and Yeargan Road on a 22.01-acre site. The pattern suggests the White Oak area is moving steadily toward a more urban build-out, with apartments, retail and institutional uses clustering around the same stretch of highway.

Local officials appear to see the E District as substantial enough to warrant public backing. The Town of Garner posted notice of a Nov. 18, 2025 public hearing on an economic development incentive package for E District Phase 1 under state law. Garner’s incentive program generally requires at least $5 million in real and personal property investment, with bonus incentives for projects that create 100 or more jobs or serve as corporate headquarters.

That is the tension at the heart of the project. Supporters can point to more housing, more storefronts and more tax base. But along U.S. 70, where traffic already defines daily routines, residents will be watching to see whether E District builds a place people can actually move through on foot, or just another ambitious mixed-use pitch layered onto a busy road.