CARY - Residents of a south-central Cary neighborhood spoke out last Wednesday about a 50,000-square-foot office building proposed for the intersection of U.S. 1 and Kildaire Farm Road, citing concerns about property values and traffic.

The building, projected for construction by 2014, would be built at least 100 feet from the property line, and would not stand much taller than 35 feet. The Keisler Group LLC owns the land, while Glenda Toppe and Associates is applying for the rezoning.

A dozen seniors came with similar messages for the council, often saying an office there wouldn't mesh with the established neighborhood. Traffic from the facility could crowd exits from the MacGregor Downs neighborhood, said Roger Holton of Ronaldsby Drive. Other residents disliked the size of the proposed project.

“I don’t like the idea of a building sticking up behind the back of my house,” said Dorothy Small of Lassiter Road. “My investment is my house.”

But Glenda Toppe, the applicant, argued in her application the 3.55 acre is large enough to support office use, and the building would stand adequately away from nearby properties, calling it a transition between residential neighborhoods and the offices next door.

The property is zoned for residential use, but the town’s land-use plan sets it as appropriate for office use.

“They have every right to sell it,” said Charles Yeganian. “My question is, is this the appropriate utilization of that property?”

Councilman Don Frantz said he liked the residential aesthetic the developer has proposed for the land. The ultimate concern would be the height of the building, Frantz said, but he did “like a lot of what’s proposed here.”

The Cary council opted to forward the proposal to the Planning and Zoning Board, which will likely hold another public hearing and make a recommendation for future council action.