Trustees approve Carolina North

UNC-Chapel Hill leaders vote unanimously for both 15-year and 50-year plans. The infrastructure alone may cost $220 million

CHAPEL HILL -- The UNC-Chapel Hill board of trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the plan for the Carolina North research campus, setting the stage for the next step -- a battle with the town of Chapel Hill over the huge development.

The approval included both a 50-year concept plan and a more detailed 15-year first phase of building on the 900-acre tract north of the main campus.

On Wednesday, the trustees heard sobering cost estimates to put in roads, utilities, energy plants and other infrastructure: $220 million. That's before any buildings are constructed.

It is not clear exactly how the university plans to pay for it. "We hope a significant part would be state-appropriated funds," said Jack Evans, executive director of Carolina North. "... We think we can give the state a good return on the investment."

The idea for a satellite campus has been on the drawing board for years. The specific plan has been picked apart in community meetings in Chapel Hill for the past 18 months.

On Wednesday, trustees asked about transportation and housing and made suggestions. But trustees Chairman Roger Perry emphasized that now is not the time to quibble with details. The plan is sure to change over time, he said.

"What we're trying to do is get the ball rolling with the town of Chapel Hill," said Perry, who, as a developer, has plenty of experience dealing with the town.

University officials say they hope to begin construction next year with an 85,000-square-foot Innovation Center for new startup businesses based on faculty research. That will be built through a partnership with a private developer.

UNC-CH leaders say they want to create a transit-friendly, sustainable campus that preserves environmentally sensitive natural areas. The meeting Wednesday featured artist's renderings of three-story buildings on tree-lined streets with buses, cars and bike lanes.

But some details of the plan already have been contentious. Town leaders have questioned the need for the 5,000 parking spaces the university plans to put on the site.

In the first 15 years, the university plans to build 2.5 million square feet of research buildings, space for corporate partners, a computing institute, UNC Health Care offices and possibly a new law school. Much of the building will be on the site of what is now Horace Williams Airport.

Controversy about moving the airport has held up the university's development of the research campus for some time. The airport serves the university's medical air operation, which flies doctors to clinics around the state. That operation will be moved to Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

It will take 16 to 21 months to build a $3 million hangar for the planes at RDU, according to the university.

James Moeser, who on Wednesday announced plans to step down as chancellor next year, said Carolina North "is the defining thing for the third century of this university."

(Staff writer Anne Blythe contributed to this report.)