Chapel Hill residents wary of condos

The Town Council hears concerns about a project proposed for Hillsborough Street

CHAPEL HILL -- Back in the 1920s, Caroline Donnan's daddy grew vegetables in his garden and fed his neighbors up and down Hillsborough Street. In exchange, the neighbors brought him big rocks to build a stone garden around a natural spring on his property.

For the past 50 years, Caroline and her husband, Dick, have enjoyed looking down on their spring and the wildflowers her father planted.

With their neighbors to the north now proposing hundreds of new condominiums, including a few five- and six-story buildings, the Donnans are worried about what will become of their view and their neighborhood.

"When we first moved there, of course, it was the Sparrow Farm, and our only problem was getting a cow out of our garden," Dick Donnan told the Chapel Hill Town Council during a public hearing Monday night.

Long ago, cows gave way to undergraduates and keg parties, and now Hillsborough Street is poised for a new phase: upscale urban living.

This steep, narrow, winding road descends from downtown parallel with North Columbia Street and ends at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard farther north. It's lined with historic bungalows, posh frat houses and even a log cabin. Now, developers are planning more than 500 new condominium units there.

The Donnans were among nearly a dozen citizens who voiced concerns Monday on the largest of three potential projects along Hillsborough Street, the 332-unit Residences at Grove Park proposed for the site of the current Town House Apartments.

John Florian, a vice president for Ram Development Co., said the project advances the town's goal of concentrating housing downtown, where town officials hope residents will reduce traffic by taking buses or walking to work, shopping or restaurants.

Aside from their spoiled view, the Donnans fear their new neighbors cutting through an OWASA right-of-way and over their wildflower garden as they make a beeline for campus.

Several parents of young children complained about the traffic that already speeds down Hillsborough Street. Tonya Freeman told of campaigning for the police radar sign that now flashes at downhill speeders, and Philip Benfey recounted pulling his kids out of harm's way as vehicles sped by.

Town councilors acknowledged the problems on Hillsborough Street, where sidewalks are narrow and completely missing in places. Council member Mark Kleinschmidt suggested Ram Development Co., the Grove Park developer, could actually decrease traffic with its plan for only 102 parking spaces with easy access from Hillsborough Street, versus 140 such spots at the current apartment complex. Ram aims to divert more drivers toward MLK Boulevard.

Other council members, though, declined to look at the Grove Park project in isolation from two other condo proposals that would add more than 140 additional units close to Hillsborough Street. They advised Ram to work with the other developers to provide new sidewalks, bus lanes and a new traffic signal at the Town House entrance on MLK Boulevard.

"There's funding that needs to come from y'all and not from the state," council member Ed Harrison said.