2018 Popular Annual Financial Report For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018 | Page 9

S eptember M arch
Town officials and invited dignitaries official-
ly opened Garner’s new Town Hall at 900 7th
Ave. The $7.5 million project was the biggest
project to date to be funded with proceeds from
the 2013 Garner Bond Program. The two-story,
26,000-square-foot building (located on the site
of the previous Town Hall) houses seven of the
Town’s 11 departments and includes Garner’s
Town Council Chambers. The building also fea-
tures an expanded bill payment area and a central
customer-service intake point for people seeking
development services provided by the Planning,
Inspections and Engineering departments. Baker Roofing, the third-largest roofing company
in the United States, announced plans to relocate
its corporate headquarters to Garner. The project
will bring over 250 jobs to
this growing community just
southeast of Raleigh. Bak-
er intends to locate its new
offices in a 170,000-square-
foot, former big-box retail space on U.S. 401 (Fay-
etteville Road).
J anuary 2018
Bankrate.com named Garner one of the United
States’ five great cities or towns for millennial
homebuyers. It noted Garner’s outstanding com-
bination of affordable housing, economic growth,
job opportunities, and proximity to major metro
areas and recreational activities.
J une
According to an annual report recently issued by
Wake County Economic Development and the
Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Garner
had the second-highest number of commercial
construction permits in Wake County in 2017—
trailing only Raleigh. The largest permitted proj-
ects were the Carillon Assisted Living facility off
of Aversboro Road (approximately $4.3 million)
and new office space owned by Mason Properties
at 515 North Greenfield Parkway (approximate-
ly $2.2 million). Permits for the McCullers Walk
apartment complex also accounted for much of
the activity (approximately $1.9 million in value).
The report looked at commercial permits issued
January-September 2017.
2018 POPULAR ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT
The Town formally adopted its new comprehen-
sive and transportation plans, collectively called
the Garner Forward plan. The Comprehensive Plan
updated the previous Comprehensive Growth
Plan 2020 that was adopted in 2006. It provides
a framework for making land-development and
zoning decisions, promoting orderly land use, im-
plementing public improvements and generating
private investment. The Transportation Plan is a
comprehensive update of the 2010 Garner Trans-
portation Plan. It examines existing conditions and
provide specific strategies and recommendations
for all modes of travel including roadways, public
transportation, walking and cycling.
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