Expansion will respect historic district, UNC-CH says
Published: Thu, Mar. 22, 2007 12:30AM
Modified Thu, Mar. 22, 2007 03:02AM
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closeCHAPEL HILL -- UNC-Chapel Hill is expanding westward into the Cameron-McCauley Historic District, kindling concern about the future of historic homes in that area.
This week, the university announced plans to buy 2.3 acres of mostly vacant land on the south side of Cameron Avenue just off the western edge of campus.
Dr. James T. Dobbins, whose family has owned the property for 80 years, will receive $2.6 million for the land, which includes an 85-year-old apartment house at 307 W. Cameron Ave. and a single-family brick house at the end of Wilson Street.
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"Strategically, it's a very important piece of property," said Bruce Runberg, UNC-CH's associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction. "The key consideration was the property's proximity to the main campus."
University offices, some rented from the United Church of Chapel Hill, already line the eastern edge of Wilson Street. This transaction will give UNC-CH all the land on the western edge of Wilson.
"We do feel them coming closer," said Shirley Van Clay, who with her husband owns the only home that abuts the Dobbins land at the end of West Patterson Place.
Joyce Brown, a former Town Council member who lives nearby, said historic homes have given way to multistory buildings to the east on Pittsboro Street, and she's afraid the same thing will happen with the historic homes on Wilson Street.
"They were somebody's home at one time, ... and now they're gone," Brown said. "I had an understanding that Pittsboro Street was the end of that."
Runberg could not say what the university planned to do with the land or the existing houses, only that the current tenants would be able to stay for some time.
"We really haven't firmed up plans for that property," he said.
Runberg said the university is bound by the rules of the historic district and would work with neighbors to determine an appropriate use on the site. He also said the university would not continue its march to the west.
"With this acquisition, we really have adequate acreage to meet the foreseeable future requirements," Runberg said.
Staff writer Jesse James DeConto can be reached at 932-8760 or jesse.deconto@newsobserver.com.
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