Wake Forest’s popularity with young families is prompting the arrival of a growing regional business that offers safe, engaging indoor play space for children. Happy Feet Planet expects to open its third Triangle location in spring 2026. The company has secured about 8,000 sq.-ft. of space at Wake Forest Exchange.
Owner Eric Liu opened his first Happy Feet Planet location in Apex three years ago and has since launched another location in Clayton. “I did a lot of research and chose Wake Forest because there are a lot of young families there and the Town’s population is growing,” Liu says. Based on staffing levels at his other locations, Liu predicts the Wake Forest location will employ about 30 workers.
Liu, an Apex resident, has previously operated other “experience-based” businesses and came up with the idea of Happy Feet Planet based on the frustrations of finding safe, appropriate local recreational destinations for his own family. “As young parents, we were always seeking space for our kids to play where we can watch them,” he explains. “Our children are young, and the park was too big.” Outdoor recreational options also weren’t viable at night or during days of inclement weather.
Happy Feet Planet welcomes children from six months to 12 years old, providing a clean, secure, adventure-packed space they can explore. Parents can relax while watching their kids enjoy a three-story high indoor playground. “The difference we offer is that you don’t need to worry about your kids getting hurt,” Liu continues, noting the cushions that cover the play spaces. “You can drop off your kids and sit down and rest,” he says. The business also is a popular venue for birthday parties.
Worldwide growth of the indoor amusement center market is healthy as today’s parents seek to provide safe, device-free fun for their kids. Grand View Research, Inc., a San Francisco-based global market intelligence firm, estimates the industry’s value at $51.3 billion for 2024, with North America accounting for about 40 percent of those sales. Grand View anticipates the global market for such services to grow to more than $84 billion by 2030.
Liu hopes to occupy the space at Wake Forest Exchange in November. “Our plan is to open around February or March of next year,” he says. He spent two years exploring space options in Wake Forest before ultimately working with St. John Properties, the Baltimore-based developer of Wake Forest Exchange. “It is hard to find space with high ceilings, a big parking lot and affordable rents,” says Liu, whose site search took him to St. John Properties’ website. “We really appreciate St. Johns’ help,” he says. At Liu’s request, the company is adding a parking lot behind the building, as well as a sidewalk and fencing around the space. “They are customizing our space on a build-to-suit basis,” he says.
St. John Properties unveiled plans for Wake Forest Exchange two years ago, and officially broke ground with town officials at an event this past June. It is the award-winning real estate company’s first investment in North Carolina. Baltimore entrepreneur Edward St. John founded the company in 1971. It is currently among the largest private commercial real estate firms in the U.S., with a diversified portfolio of Class A office, flex/R&D, retail, distribution, residential and mixed-use properties.
At Wake Forest Exchange, St. John plans to deliver nearly 175,000 square-feet of Class A space across three or four phases on the 30-acre site along Star Road east of Capital Boulevard.
“Wake Forest Exchange is really taking shape, and we’re happy to see an entrepreneur from right here in the region become one of its first tenants,” says Jason Cannon, President of the Wake Forest Business and Industry Partnership (WFBIP), which has worked closely with St. John Properties on plans for the project since 2022. “St. John is a high-quality company with a proven knack for spotting promising business concepts to take on as tenants,” Cannon continues. “I suspect Happy Feet Planet will be the first of many growth-minded local businesses to carve out a profitable niche at Wake Forest Exchange.”
