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Fuquay-Varina approves 40-year $1-per-year lease with Wake County for 19.3-acre Willow Spring park site
Summary
The town will lease a 19.3-acre former Wake County park adjacent to Willow Springs Elementary for 40 years (with a 20-year extension option) at $1 per year, design the site as a future town park and assume joint-use responsibilities.
The Fuquay-Varina Town Board on Aug. 4 approved a 40-year lease, with a 20-year extension option, for a 19.3-acre tract of former Wake County park property adjacent to Willow Springs Elementary School, to be developed as a town park.
Assistant Town Manager Mark Matthews told the board the lease would be for $1 per year and that town staff intend to absorb the maintenance costs within the parks budget. The parcel was historically used for softball and more recently for a farm lease, Matthews said; the town plans design work immediately and anticipates construction funding in the town capital improvement program in fiscal year 2027–28.
Matthews said the Wake County Board of Commissioners approved the conveyance and attorneys have reviewed the lease form. He described the arrangement as a “win-win,” noting the county retains capacity to invest in county parks while the town gains control of an unimproved park site to provide athletic fields and other amenities adjacent to the elementary school.
The lease, identified by Wake County PIN 0677907665 in the staff report, was approved by motion. Staff said Jonathan (Parks and Recreation) will lead design and that a joint-use agreement previously approved by the board was contingent on this conveyance. Mayor Matt Massengill and board members welcomed the decision as a step toward new fields for the rapidly growing Willow Spring area.
The motion to approve the lease carried by voice vote. Matthews said design will commence immediately and that the town’s capital plan already includes funding for design and eventual construction.
