- Wake Forest is the recipient of 2025 NC Chapter of the American Planning Association’s Marvin Collins Awards for the Wake Forest Downtown Plan, Go Wake Forest, and South Main Street Corridor Study.
- Several members of the Wake Forest Planning Department accepted the award on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the APA-NC Conference in Charlotte, NC.
- In 2024, Wake Forest won the Marvin Collins Award for its Community Plan.
WAKE FOREST, NC – Wake Forest is the recipient of three 2025 NC Chapter of the American Planning Association’s Marvin Collins Awards for the following initiatives (category in parentheses):
- Wake Forest Downtown Plan ( Small Area Plan)
- Go Wake Forest (Implementation)
- South Main Street Corridor Study (Specialized Plan)
Several members of the Wake Forest Planning Department accepted the award on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the APA-NC Conference in Charlotte, NC. Pictured in attached photo, left to right: Paige Regna (Planner I – Historic Preservation), Jennifer Currin (Planning Director), Emma Linn (Planner II – Long Range Planning), Brad West (Long Range Planning Manager), Ari Schwartz (Planner I – Development Services), and Antione Jordan (Planner I – Long Range Planning).
Adopted in 2024, the Wake Forest Downtown Plan provides recommendations and serves as a guide for future land use and development, transportation and parking, pedestrian mobility, redevelopment opportunities, and streetscape improvements throughout Downtown Wake Forest.
Introduced on October 1, 2024, “Go Wake Forest” is a ridesharing transit service that operates similar to Uber and Lyft connecting riders directly from their doorstep to anywhere in Wake Forest’s jurisdiction and a portion of Raleigh’s Wakefield neighborhood. Riders can schedule rides through the official Go Wake Forest smartphone app and by calling 984-342-2319.
Approved in July 2024, the South Main Street Corridor Study represents a focused examination of safety, connectivity, and equitable access on South Main Street and presents a preferred conceptual design, offering a detailed "perspective" for the future of South Main Street.
For more information on the Downtown Plan and South Main Street Corridor Study, visit wakeforestnc.gov/planning/maps-plans-ordinances. For more information on Go Wake Forest, visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “Go Wake Forest.”
This marks the second year in a row Wake Forest has been recognized by the NC Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-NC). Last year the Town was the recipient of the 2024 Marvin Collins Award in the category of “Comprehensive Plan” for its “Town of Wake Forest Community Plan.”
The APA-NC is an association of 1,400 professional and citizen planners working to preserve and create great places throughout North Carolina. The APA-NC Marvin Collins Planning Awards program annually recognizes agencies and individuals that have completed outstanding plans, programs, and projects; have excelled as planning students; or have made notable contributions to the planning profession. The awards signify the highest standards of achievement for planning in North Carolina and highlight work that is worthy of attention.
The Awards Program is named in honor of the late Marvin Collins, a former Planning Director for Orange County, North Carolina, who developed the idea for the program in 1975. He received a Professional Achievement Award from the APA-NC just prior to his death in 1998. For the 25th anniversary of the awards program, the APA-NC Executive Committee recognized Marvin’s service to the chapter by adding his name to the awards program. For more information, email Planning Director Jennifer Currin at jcurrin@wakeforestnc.gov.