Nearly 40 town officials and employees traveled to the Charlotte area last week to catch a glimpse of Apex’s possible future.

The group toured several urban mixed-use developments and even took a ride on Charlotte’s light rail system.

The trip was a way to help give town leaders and planners a better understanding of Veridea, a massive mixed-use development proposed for Apex that will encompass over 1,000 acres.

“I thought it was an excellent trip and very interesting,” said town manager Bruce Radford. “I think it was a real eye opener.”

The group included representatives from several town departments, Apex Chamber of Commerce, Apex Business Association, town councilman Bill Sutton, and several Veridea representatives. They spoke with counterparts from Charlotte, Huntersville, and Davidson who have experience with developments similar to Veridea.

Apex Planning Director Dianne Khin said the knowledge gained from the trip should prove beneficial.

“It was great to go and see projects similar to what Veridea is proposing,” said Khin. “We were able to look at where things were done well and where there were lessons learned.

“It was important for the fire and police chiefs to talk through issues of importance to them while the planning directors met to discuss relevant planning issues. The engineers and transportation experts also were able to talk with their peers to discuss issues of concern from earlier projects. That will help to make Veridea an even better project.”

Khin said she was particularly impressed with the Charlotte light rail system and the 10 miles of greenway that exist along the rail.

A similar system is already being planned for Veridea, said Radford, since much of the development’s success will eventually depend on mass transit.

“We’ve already had discussions with (Triangle Transit Authority) about moving up the proposed line extension in order to accommodate Veridea,” said Radford.

Although the developments visited are much smaller than Veridea they still provided a snapshot of what town officials can expect.

“It’s very difficult to stand in Apex and envision what Veridia will be like,” said Radford. “Although the developments we visited are smaller it still helped us get a better understanding.”