It's Pittsboro's turn to grow

Developers are showing an interest in the town, drawn by its location and booming population. Here are the projects under way or proposed

About 3,000 people live in the small Chatham County town of Pittsboro.

But that figure grew by 28 percent between 2005 and 2006 -- a fact that did not go unnoticed by developers, who have proposed more than a half dozen projects.

One wants to build a 440,000-square-foot shopping center with a 140-room hotel on the east side of town.

Another has submitted plans for a grocery-anchored shopping center.

And a third sparked a wave of public outcry when it asked the town to rezone 120 acres to make way for a 1.3 million-square-foot office and shopping complex, with 320 new homes.

The town is a logical target for all of that interest.

Pittsboro's recent population boom, its proximity to other Triangle towns and the amount of available land make it the next likely hot spot in the area.

But residents fear the opening of the development flood gates, especially with the town's first "big box" retailer, a Lowe's Home Improvement, opening last year.

"It's the last vestige," said Mary DeMare, who is the general manager of the Chatham Marketplace co-op in the downtown. "Pittsboro can't sustain that kind of development, and I'm pretty sure the developers realize that."

Still, many developers are banking on the town's future rather than its present.

Pittsboro's planning department has 3,821 new residential units on the books for current and future development, and if the area becomes a shopping destination, it could draw traffic from nearby areas.

Still, developers stress that they are in the beginning phases. Most of the plans submitted are still awaiting a ruling on their requests for rezoning.

"We're not rushing to build it today," said Joe Dye, executive vice president for American Asset, which has proposed a 425,000-square-foot shopping center near U.S. 15-501 and the U.S. 64 Bypass. If built, Pittsboro Commons would include a grocery store and small shops.

"It's taking time to do it right," he said. "There's timing of their infrastructure, timing of their water service. But Pittsboro is very well-located strategically and there's that positive growth."

Dye hopes to open the center in 2009.

Mayor Randolph Voller was elected almost two years ago. He campaigned on a platform of responsible growth, and said it's something that is constantly a struggle.

There are positives to development, Voller said, including jobs, an increased tax base and more attractions for the town.

But, "it's an issue of actually trying to stay ahead of the demand for services, and we need to be on top of the water and the sewer," he added.

Still, even with careful planning, the thought of sprawling shopping developments is not welcome for some Pittsboro residents who prize the town's organic, small-town feel.

The news of that 1.3 million-square-foot proposal shocked many people who live in Pittsboro, several of whom turned out to speak at a town board meeting held a week ago.

The development, Pittsboro Place, would have 416,820 to 776,020 square feet of shops and could include a bowling alley and movie theater and as much as 885,500 square feet of office space.

The project could cost $600 million and is being funded by a group of Triangle investors headed by Raleigh resident Bill Jackson, who has been working in commercial development for almost four decades.

Jackson said Pittsboro Place might be his largest project yet.

Despite the size, Jackson said he is banking on SAS founder Jim Goodnight's pending development of several thousand acres of land he has purchased nearby.

"This area forms a bridge between the Goodnight property and the downtown area," he said. "We understand it is shocking when you start thinking about it. The market is now changing rapidly, and it has become economically feasible."

Still, more than two-thirds of those who signed up to speak at Monday's town meeting were against the plan, taking issue with the center's location so close to downtown, its size and its 15-year construction timeline. There were so many wishing to comment that the hearing will be continued tonight.

"There's no need to do that," DeMare said of the plans. He did not get to speak Monday but plans to make comments tonight. "They're going to raze this forest to plant a pretend village."

Pittsboro resident Robert Poitras has a unique appreciation for the town's dilemma. He moved his family there from Chapel Hill three years ago because he liked the quaint, authentic feel of the small town.

At the same time, Poitras is preparing to open a 9,000-square-foot restaurant, cafe and brewery near Pittsboro this week -- a second location of the Carolina Brewery he opened in Chapel Hill in 1995.

The brewery sits at the prime corner of U.S. 15-501 and the U.S. 64 Bypass, in front of the town's Lowe's Home Improvement store, across the street from a new residential development called Powell Place and down the street from the American Asset's site for Pittsboro Commons.

"I've been sensitive to it," he said. "Even though I live here and I know some people in town, I didn't want to be seen as the outside corporate chain coming in."

Still, he said he feels that the development of Pittsboro and its outlying land is inevitable.

"It's like all good things in life," he said. "Everybody finds out about it sooner or later."