07/08/2026
What Makes a Downtown Work? Part 4: What can Wake Forest learn from Franklinton?
A lot of people have asked a fair question:
Why are some Wake Forest residents and business owners choosing to open in Franklinton instead of downtown Wake Forest?
That is worth talking about.
And before anyone takes this the wrong way, this is not a “bash Wake Forest” post. I love our downtown. I love our local businesses. I want Wake Forest to stay Wake Forest.
But if another nearby town is having success attracting small businesses, we should be humble enough to study it.
Franklinton is a really interesting example because they did not start with more advantages than Wake Forest.
They are smaller. They had a downtown that had declined. They had older buildings. They had vacant spaces. They had the same basic challenge many towns have: how do you turn old downtown buildings back into useful, active spaces?
And yet, they have clearly created momentum.
So what changed?
From what I can tell, it was not one magic thing.
It was a combination of private investment, local government coordination, business recruitment, lower barriers to entry, and a clear sense that downtown Franklinton was open for business.
That last part matters.
A small business owner is not just picking a building.
They are picking a risk.
They are asking:
Can I afford the rent?
Can I afford the renovations?
Will the lease terms make sense if I am putting money into a building I do not own?
Will the town be easy to work with?
Will people show up?
Is there momentum around me?
Are other businesses opening nearby?
Can I see a path to actually making this work?
That is where Franklinton seems to be winning right now.
They have buildings being renovated. They have a Chamber actively promoting downtown. They have events. They have businesses feeding off each other. They have a social district. They have a story people can understand: “come be part of the comeback.”
That is powerful.
Wake Forest has a different challenge.
Our downtown is already loved. It is already charming. It already has strong anchors. But some of our spaces are harder to activate because the buildings are older, the renovation costs can be high, the rents may be higher, and the math can be tougher for a small business.
That is the part we need to talk about honestly.
A business may love Wake Forest and still choose Franklinton if the space is more affordable, the building is more ready, the landlord is more flexible, or the overall risk feels lower.
That does not mean Wake Forest is doomed.
It means we have to compete smarter.
We should be asking:
How do we make more downtown spaces tenant ready?
How do we help older buildings become usable without just handing out public money?
How do we tie any public incentives to measurable private investment, jobs, or business activation?
How do we make the process easier to understand for small businesses?
How do we better connect property owners, entrepreneurs, staff, and downtown partners?
How do we recruit the kinds of businesses residents keep asking for?
Breakfast.
Bakery.
Lunch spots.
Retail.
Family friendly options.
Local shops.
Things that bring people downtown on a normal weekday, not just during big events.
Franklinton’s lesson is not that Wake Forest should copy Franklinton.
The lesson is that momentum matters.
Building readiness matters.
Business friendly coordination matters.
Private investment matters.
And the story a downtown tells about itself matters.
Wake Forest does not need to become Franklinton, Cary, Apex, Naperville, or Franklin, Tennessee.
Wake Forest needs to become the best version of Wake Forest.
But if nearby towns are making it easier for small businesses to say yes, then we need to be honest enough to ask what we can learn.
