Not only are town officials watching the lightning-quick growth in west Cary with a keen eye, so are the big-box chain stores that follow the surging numbers of residents.

All are potential customers, and a theme from the “Field of Dreams” movie tends to hold true in the retail world as well: “If you build it, they will come.”

Big growth doesn’t happen — 25,000 to 45,000 newcomers are expected in west Cary — without attracting the attention of national retailers, well-known names like Wal-Mart and Harris Teeter.

A Harris Teeter store near the massive Cary Park development near N.C. 55 is an example not just of the scope of west Cary’s commercial growth, but its “new suburban” style.

Nearly all the new commercial development in west Cary is in mixed-use projects that include residential and commercial space, said Dan Matthys, a planner with the Town of Cary.

Cary Park — one of the first large subdivisions to break ground west of N.C. 55 — includes about 120,000 square feet of commercial space.

Cary Park developer Frank Bridger has seen the mixed-use trend as well.

“You see more amenities now,” said Bridger, who acted as the project manager for Cary Park.

For example the 5,000-residential-unit Amberly development, which straddles Wake and Chatham counties just a stone’s throw from Cary Park, could include up to 280,000 feet of commercial space, according to Town of Cary documents.

These commercial spaces — Amberly’s looking for things like a grocery store, gym, medical offices and restaurants — will provide not only shopping but also jobs.

“The idea of living and working in the same area has forever been appealing to most people who have ever experienced a long commute,” said Beth Hoggard, an Amberly sales agent.

Alston

Town planners have long seen what was in store for west Cary, and planning began years ago. The Alston Activity Center is a Town of Cary-given name to the interchange of the newly completed I-540 and N.C. 55.

Knowing that the area would be ripe for commercial development, town officials took the helm in governing development by creating the Alston Activity Center Plan, a guide for approximately 1,000 acres around the interchange.

The town-initiated plan governs things such as uses, densities and even building facades.

The plan hasn’t been without some controversy.

While town officials wanted a plan that would help steer growth positively around the interchange, some developers felt the plan was too limiting. The plan at first was much more specific about its guidelines. Officials have since made some changes.

Controversy or not, that hasn’t stopped developers from wanting to build in the Alston area.

A sampling of the plans there:

• Parkside Town Commons — this mixed-use development would include 590,331 square feet of retail, 226,301 square feet of office space and 495 multifamily units.

• The Alston Town Center will include 317,880 square feet of retail and 36 live/work units (work and residential space in one location).

• Panther Creek Commons will include 27,200 square feet of retail.

Park West Village

A little further down the road another mixed-use development could also change the face of west Cary, though technically it’s in Morrisville.

Morrisville commissioners recently approved plans for Park West Village, which calls for shopping, apartments, a hotel, a cinema and office space on 100 acres in the the southwest quadrant of the Cary Parkway and N.C. 54 intersection.

1st Carolina Properties in partnership with Casto Lifestyle Properties will develop the “Live, Work, Play” project, which will include approximately 750,000 square feet of retail, 50,000 square feet of office, a 140-room, five-story hotel and up to 321 apartment units.

Commissioners narrowly approved the property in a 4-3 vote amid much controversy in the town, including residents’ concerns about additional traffic and storm water runoff issues.

Commissioners, though, felt comfortable with the developer’s plans to widen N.C. 54 from two lanes to four lanes from the intersection of Cary Parkway to Weston Parkway.