Old Apex family estate to be destroyed by builder

1945 John Amos Pearson Home

Interested in having a beautiful town park along North Salem Street in Apex?

Save the North Salem Street corridor - build a community park instead of packing 80 townhomes into the area and adding some 500 cars a day to the street...

Tell the Town Council and Planning Board and Planning Director (see below to send email to the Town Council, Planning Board and Planning Director) to acquire the Dr. J K Pearson estate at 1015 N Salem Street and establish a new park for the community and fund it in the new budget. 

A builder has currently placed the property under contract (March-April 2013) and plans to tear down the 1945 family home of John Amos Pearson and build a sea of 80 town-homes on the property. This will destroy forever one of the largest parcels of wooded land along North Salem Street in Apex. This land was built by John Amos Pearson in 1945 to be his homeplace and was later passed down to his son, Dr J K Pearson.  Dr Pearson passed away in January, 2010, and ownership passed to his wife and his three grown children. After his wife, the last family resident,  moved out it was listed for sale. John Amos Pearson was one of five siblings born and raised in the Maynard-Pearson House on Olive Chapel road. After growing up in a home built in 1870 Amos built the home shown above on North Salem Street and lived there with his wife. This was his second and final home on North Salem. 

Unfortunately the 1015 N Salem Street property was never listed as a historic site and the Town has taken the view that it will not stop the builder from destroying the home and building on the property as long as the construction meets the Town's building code. An ironic twist to this dilemma is that two homes adjacent to this property at the corner of Salem and Peakway ARE registered as historic homes and are also under contract by the builder. The town will not stop destruction of those two historic homes but can require the builder to wait four years to build on those two sites just next to this one because they were listed as historic sites. One of those homes (The old Hunt house on North Salem) is a historic site dating back to 1910.  

Magnolia Lane
1015 North Salem Street, Apex, NC

The Pearson property is surrounded by new and old homes and making it into a neighborhood park would preserve a part of that area for the community and the town. Allowing it to be developed as a large townhome project will destroy the beauty of the property and forever alter the character of the Salem Street corridor. 

The Town of Apex has previously declared the Salem Street corridor as a protected area in order to preserve the "look and feel" of the early days of Apex. Ask the Council to continue to preserve that area and purchase the property and add it to the Town park system. This is the last chance to save the beautiful property and prevent construction of mass housing and addition of  hundreds of cars  a day to the already overloaded neighborhood.

In a 2013 planning survey by Town of Apex, area residents have made it clearly known they want more neighborhood parks and want the Town to preserve dwindling parcels of undeveloped land in the area. This is one of the last intact parcels along Salem Street large enough to make into a community park. The home could also be preserved for community activities. 

Tell the Town of Apex you want this property saved

Contact the Town Council  and the Planning Board today (send email to Apex Town Council and the Apex Planning Board and Planning Director) and tell them you want the Town to acquire the land and create a park for the Salem Street area.

Your input will make a difference in saving this beautiful property in Apex!

Friendship High School or West Apex High School?

If you agree the new western Apex high school should be named "Friendship High School" let it be known...

New Apex school complex in Friendship community
southwest of Apex

Friendship community has always been known as "Friendship" in southern Wake County just north of New Hill, but it was not in Apex. Yes, it is part of the greater Apex area, but it has traditionally been known only as Friendship. The name is special, as noted in an article in the March, 2013, edition of Southwest Wake News.

Friendship existed before the Civil War and before the Town of Apex became Apex (The town was incorporated in 1873). As the Southwest Wake News article cites from history books, the name Friendship was chosen by community members (Whites, Blacks and American Indians) that wanted a name that could represent all people in that part of the county and give the community its own identity.

When Wake County was planning the new school in 2011, the Apex Town Manager thought the name West Apex High School might be the most suitable name from several being considered. The name was discussed with the Town Council and from there it became associated with the school. At the time, this was thought to be a name that would designate where the school is located and associate it with Apex.

The other side of this issue is that there is already an Apex High School, the names would be similar, and it will likely be a source of confusion in the future and not allow the new school to have its own clear identity. Giving it a name based on its location and the community will give the new school its own clear identity.

Residents of the Friendship community have launched a campaign to get the new school's name changed to Friendship High School to reflect the area's heritage and create a unique recognition of the new location. In early March some 350 people had signed the petition to have this change made.

Your opinion will help in this effort. Click to send an email with your comments to the Apex Town Council (allcouncil@apexnc.org) and tell them you want the school named Friendship High School.

Read more about the petition and the community...