55 Acres

including 23 acres of old growth oaks, hickories, tulip tree, umbrella magnolia, pawpaw, and sugar maple.

Native Growth

including trillium, bloodroot, wild comfrey, heartleaf ginger, and Michaux’s lily.

Over 140 bird species

including rare wood thrush and other species that call Wake Forest home.

Rare Piedmont bluff

50ft drop to a pristine waterway supporting fish, salamanders, and others.

Update: JHFC negotiated approx 50% of the 55 acres as “open space”. Our efforts will preserve the bluff, the stream, the wetlands, a visual buffer, and the most critical habitats.

We are pleased to announce that after two years of negotiations, JHFC has reached an agreement with Church Street Company regarding their request to rezone and develop the 55 acre Pate site. The latest rezoning plan (Sept. 27, 2024) designates 26 acres of open space, including 22.3 acres of mature hardwood forest and our beloved Piedmont bluff along the northern and eastern portion of the site, 2 acres of mature forest at the western tip of the site, and 1.8 acres of pine forest along Harris Road that will provide a 100ft visual buffer between any development and Joyner Park. Church Street has also agreed at our request to limit facades along Harris Road to three stories putting building height below the existing stand of trees. The development will use the lowest Kelvin fixtures available in keeping with the DarkSkyProject and Audubon Society (approx 3000K through Duke Energy) and will limit landscaping options to exclude any class 1 and 2 invasive plants.

Why is this a win?

JHFC believes the terms of this rezoning compromise will allow all parties a win — the landowner, the developer, the town of WF, and the residents of WF. The majority of the lot will remain natural allowing wildlife and native species to continue to thrive, the scenic integrity Joyner Park will be preserved, the development will be done in a forward thinking mindful manner, all while meeting the needs of the towns density requirements and the landowners desire to contribute to the housing market in the triangle. Our goal is ever to give a voice to the natural spaces that make our community unique, and in the absence of the funding needed for total conservation, we feel the current development plan for the Pate property will allow us to achieve a meaningful blend of conservation and development.