Green high-rise deemed golden

Chapel Hill residents often come to Town Hall to bury development proposals, not to praise them.

The reverse was true Monday as speakers at a public hearing heaped hurrahs on Greenbridge, a condominium and retail high-rise slated for downtown.

It was touted for its "green" features -- solar power, landscaped roofs and energy-efficient building materials.

"The ideals of this project represent everything we've been talking about in this town for years," said Phil Szostak, a Chapel Hill architect and professor at the N.C. State University School of Architecture.

David Brower, a city and regional planning professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, said he's been waiting 36 years for a project like this.

"And it's finally coming," he said with glee. "If they can do two-thirds of what they're talking about, it's going to be really exciting, even monumental."

The Greenbridge development team, which includes five Chapel Hill families, a local architect and a nationally renowned one, hope such support will persuade town leaders to put the project on the fast track for approval.

The environmental amenities add 30 percent to the cost of construction compared to conventional building methods, said Tim Toben, one of the development partners.

He estimates the project, with 100 condominiums, 40,000 square feet of retail space and 200 parking spaces, will cost $30 million.

Developers might have to spend $1 million just on the solar panels.

Delays in the approval process would add even more costs, possibly enough to derail the project, Toben said.

Monday's hearing was on a concept plan, a preliminary step. Developers still have to file a formal development application. They said they'd like to begin council review of that by September, aiming for approval by the end of the year.

Residents of the surrounding Northside neighborhood are concerned about the project's height and affordability.

The issues are directly linked.

Plans call for two towers, one nine stories high. Developers already have compromised. Both towers used to be planned at nine stories, but they shaved one of them down to six in early designs.

But Toben said they can't go much lower than that because that would reduce the number of units.

Developers pledge to make 15 of the units affordable for people who make less than 80 percent of the area's median income, which is $69,800.

Making the building green is expensive, so the difference between an affordable unit and a regular one is higher than in typical developments, Toben said.

He needs the 85 regular units to make a profit without pricing Greenbridge out of its market.