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Town Center Plan
January 2007
Chapter 3: Detailed Design
the property.
• A Rural Heritage Park south of Morrisville-
Carpenter Road next to the Page House
to celebrate Morrisville’s agricultural past
and provide an outdoor festival area for
community events such as concerts, plays,
and historic reenactments.
These sites would be linked together and
to other destinations in the Town Center
by sidewalks and greenways. Interpretive
displays and pavement markings could lead
residents and visitors on historic routes
through the Town Center area, and help
them learn the different threads in the story
of Morrisville.
The Town Center lies at a crossroads for
greenways at both a community and a
regional scale. Immediately to the west of
the project area is the Morrisville Community
Park. Further to the west lie a number of
Cary parks and the American Tobacco Trail.
To the east are Cedar Fork District Park,
the Morrisville Nature Park, Lake Crabtree
County Park, and Umstead State Park.
A third park that is recommended in the
Town Center Design would be located in
the area east of Chapel Hill Road, north of
Aviation Parkway, and west of the current
Cotton Drive. Here, it is anticipated that a
stormwater facility will be needed to manage
runoff from new development in the Town
Center. This location would take advantage
of an existing pond for this purpose, and also
use it to create a water feature that would
serve as a focus for the park. A park in this
hard-to-develop location would provide open
space for the growing neighborhoods to
the north and east, preserve a green buffer
from new development extending east along
Aviation Parkway, and help remind visitors of
Morrisville’s rural roots.
In addition to protecting a network of open
space in the Town Center, key historic
structures in public ownership, such as
the Christian Church, should be restored
for public use in a manner consistent with
the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards
and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic
Structures. Potential uses of this building
might include a small museum, interpretive
center, and/or public meeting space. In
addition, if and when the current site of
Fire Station #1 becomes available along
the frontage of the rail corridor, the original
train depot should be reconstructed using
available historic records, for possible use as
a visitor center to help orient newcomers to
the Town Center.
Conclusion
In the variety of ways outlined in this chapter,
the Detailed Design for the Town Center seeks
to honor and support the Town’s adopted
Mission Statement of “enhancing the quality
of life by preserving our past and protecting
our future.” The Mission Statement calls for a
collective community partnership to achieve
these ends. Chapter 4 identifies a number
of implementation projects and next steps to
provide focus to this work.
Tohelp catalyze the restorationof thehistoric crossroads
village, the Town Center Plan calls for restoring the old
Christian Church and making it available once again for
use by the community. (Photo: Town of Morrisville )