New hotels are coming to Cary. Here’s where and what we know about them.
One of the fastest-growing towns in Wake County will soon have many more hotel rooms to house its visitors.
In Cary, developers have submitted applications for hotels in the town’s MacGregor Village shopping center and near the future Apple campus in Research Triangle Park.
▪ The town approved plans for a five-story Residence Inn by Marriott for MacGregor Village.
▪ Raleigh-based Parks Hospitality Group plans to build a dual-branded Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hampton Inn for Cary’s Alston Town Center, a mixed-use development accessible by Interstate 540.
▪ Other hotels are planned for Cary’s North Harrison Avenue, Walnut Street, and off N.C. 55.
Town Manager Sean Stegall said more entertainment options in the area and the desire for modern buildings are fueling the new hotel construction.
“The other factor in this is what I’ve learned from hoteliers over the years: like many things, hotels go through life cycles,” he said. “A lot of the hotel development occurred in the ‘80s and ‘90s, so newer hotels are always appealing.”
Cary is booming with new developments, including the Jordan project, the Rogers Restaurant and Motel redevelopment, and the Fenton mixed-use development off Interstate 40 and Cary Towne Boulevard.
The town has over 174,000 residents, the seventh biggest city in Wake County behind Raleigh. Twenty years ago, its population was under 44,000.
Here’s what we know about the planned hotels.
Residence Inn by Marriott
The new 98,860-square-foot Residence Inn by Marriott at 107 Edinburgh South Drive will feature 122 rooms on five floors.
Durham-based RevPAR Companies are developing the hotel, according to Triangle Business Journal, which first reported the project.
It will occupy nearly 2 acres at MacGregor Village, where two buildings were torn down in the northeast corner of the parking lot. Plans include a meeting room, lounge, dining area, market, fitness room and indoor pool. The hotel could also feature an outdoor patio with a fire pit and grill.
The hotel is the third Residence Inn by Marriott planned for Cary, with two more planned near downtown.
▪ At 1623 N. Harrison Ave., a Courtyard and Residence Inn by Marriott is planned for the area by The Umstead Hotel & Spa.
▪ Another Residence Inn by Marriott is in the works for the site now occupied by the Best Western Hotel on Walnut Street, one of Cary’s oldest hotels.
Courtyard and Residence Inn by Marriott
Raleigh-based Olive Architecture plans to build a $49 million dual-brand hotel at 1623 N. Harrison Ave. in conjunction with Daly Seven Hotels.
The Courtyard and Residence Inn will be located on 7 acres. Site plans say “Hotel 1” will have 138 rooms and “Hotel 2” will have 111 rooms. They’ll share a pool, fitness center, meeting space and 283 parking spaces.
Daly Seven Hotels, based in Greensboro, bought the property for $3.2 million. The project remains under town review.
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Residence Inn by Marriott (Walnut Street)
Built in 1984, the Best Western Hotel will be torn down and replaced by the seven-story, 124-room Residence Inn by Marriott.
The Best Western has 52 rooms on two floors and was built by G.S Chhabra, a chemical engineer who now owns and operates CMC Hotels in Cary. He paid $59,000 for the property, which is now valued at $4.68 million, according to Wake County property records.
Development plans for the new Residence Inn by Marriott are limited. As of June, the town had asked the developer to resubmit the application.
CMC Hotels’ other properties include the Best Western Plus in Cary near N.C. State, Embassy Suites in Uptown Charlotte, Springhill Suites in Durham-Chapel Hill, and the Doubletree in Raleigh’s Midtown. They also owng the Triangle area’s first Westin hotel at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Homewood Suites by Hilton & Hampton Inn
Parks Hospitality Group, the Raleigh-based development firm, partnered with Hilton and Marriott in 2008 to design hotels throughout the Southeast.
The Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hampton Inn is another dual-branded hotel, one of several the group has in the Triangle area.
Site details feature 175 guestrooms and over 2,500 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel will also include an outdoor pool, fitness centers, a business center and a lobby bar. An underground parking deck will have 167 spaces.
The hotel will be located on nearly 3 acres across from the Alston Town Center in Cary, at the corner of Mahal Avenue and Highcroft Drive. Alston Town Center has over 13 shops and diners, including Whole Foods, Mattress Warehouse and AT&T.
The area is adjacent to Research Triangle Park and the future $1 billion Apple campus, which will employ thousands of people.
The total construction cost for the project is $20 million, according to site plans. Construction is expected to begin early next year.
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AC Hotel by Marriott
Last September, CN Hotels, a High Point development group, submitted plans for an AC Hotel by Marriott on N.C. 55.
The seven-story hotel could feature 144 rooms on a nearly 4-acre lot across from Parkside Town Commons in Cary on O’Kelly Chapel Road. The shopping center has a Harris Teeter, Five Guys, Bank of America, and Paragon Theaters.
Renderings show a lobby bar, kitchen and dining area, a market, salon and fitness room on the first floor. The hotel would also feature a patio, gathering space and a 144-space parking lot.
TBJ reported CN Hotels bought the lot for $2.3 million in July 2021. The company has several hotels planned for North Carolina, including in downtown Raleigh, Charlotte, and Research Triangle Park.
According to the town, plans for the hotel are under review.
