Fuquay-Varina has dropped a $10 million proposal to put four athletic fields, a restroom building and parking lots on roughly 5 acres of natural space at Hilltop Needmore Town Park. At their regular meeting Monday night, town commissioners unanimously amended the park’s 2022 master plan and instructed town managers to revise the project’s scope, following discussions with neighbors and park advocates.
The revised approach preserves undeveloped portions of the park as green space with tree canopy and pedestrian trails. Possible additions include pollinator gardens, benches, picnic shelters, playgrounds, pond piers, boardwalks, landscaping and natural trails. New parking lots are prohibited on the park property, though the town could add parking on a town-owned parcel close to the existing Hilltop Needmore Park Maintenance Building off Johnson Pond Road.
The park occupies the former Crooked Creek golf course, which the Wake County Board of Commissioners gave to the town in 2019. Known for quiet walking trails and diverse wildlife, it became the focus of renewed development efforts when town leaders allocated $10 million for the 2022 plan in June. A design-build firm was selected in July to lead the project.
Later that month, leaders of the nearby Crooked Creek Homeowners Association sought a meeting with town officials. Mayor Bill Harris, Town Manager Adam Mitchell and others met with association leaders in August, with representatives of the Hilltop Needmore Town Park Advocacy group also invited. Residents raised concerns about disruption to the environment, wildlife and neighboring properties. In late August, Mitchell recommended considering a different project scope, and commissioners agreed to explore that option without formally changing course.
Commissioners and staff subsequently developed an alternative that received favorable stakeholder responses during community meetings in September and October, according to the meeting agenda. Under the revised funding arrangement, the $10 million previously allocated for athletic fields will go toward buying land for a future athletics and active recreation park. Hilltop Needmore’s amended plan will receive $5 million redirected from a Kennebec Road Town Park project that staff recommended postponing.
For the parcel near the Red Trail, the revised plan proposes a nature playground inspired by Unity Park in Greenville, South Carolina, and an 18-hole putting course modeled on Pinehurst’s Thistle Dhu course. The Blue Trail parcel could have as many as six lighted pickleball courts, an exercise challenge course, trailside fitness stations, shaded benches and a reading nook with Adirondack chairs. Mitchell said the plan seeks to preserve existing tree buffers and leaves the Blue Trail’s route intact.
The change carries financial and scheduling consequences. According to the agenda, the original proposal would have delivered needed youth athletic fields sooner and at a lower cost. Those facilities are now expected within four to seven years, at substantially greater expense that could require a future tax rate increase. Town management nevertheless supported the revision as a way to address residents’ preferences and pursue a dedicated athletics park elsewhere.
Before the vote, Harris emphasized the value of the conversations he helped facilitate among residents, advocates, town leaders and staff. He said there is “healing in dialogue” and described the process as an opportunity to move forward and build community despite differing views.
During public comment, longtime park advocate and Fuquay-Varina resident Ashley Manstedt thanked staff and town leaders for working toward a compromise. She expressed hope that future visitors would find the same connection and restoration she had experienced on the trails. Residents attending the meeting applauded after commissioners approved the amendment.
