UNC ministry floats site ideas

The Chapel Hill Town Council hears the UNC Wesley Foundation's building ideas

CHAPEL HILL -- The response was mixed when UNC Wesley Foundation asked for Town Council members' reaction Monday night to several alternatives proposed for the construction of a large-scale Methodist residence at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The foundation, a private nonprofit student ministry across from Carolina Inn at 214 Pittsboro St., wants to tear down its existing structure, built in 1965, and replace it with the new dorm facility.

"We provide a safe and secure religious center," said Nick Didow, a Wesley Foundation board member and faculty member at the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

The initial concept calls for a five-story, 70,000-square-foot building with 22 apartments for about 160 Methodist students seeking a "learning-living" community, with worship and program space, and 54 on-site parking spaces that stack the cars.

The Wesley Foundation, at 17,000 square feet, sits between the western edge of campus and the Cameron-McCauley Historic District. Nearby residents have complained in the past about the university infringing into the district. After neighbors and community members expressed concern specifically about the size and height of the proposed building, two alternative plans were drawn up and presented Monday.

One calls for a four-story building, with 148 beds, program space and worship space, with 31 on-site basement parking spaces, and a secure, off-site vehicle storage area.

Another plan would swap spaces with the nearly 11,000-square-foot Coates Building at 223 E. Franklin St., which holds the Office of Undergraduate Education and the academic advising offices. The Coates Building has been around since 1931. It is located across the street from the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

If the properties were swapped, a decision would be made on whether to go with the five-story or four-story blueprint.

"I speak in strong opposition to the Wesley Foundation [redevelopment]," former Town Council member Joyce Brown said. "The height does not fit our neighborhood."

She is concerned that it would have insufficient parking, leading the students to park in the surrounding neighborhood instead. And because the property will need to be rezoned, she is afraid rezoning "would set a very dangerous precedent."

Adrián Halpern, a neighbor of the Pittsboro Street site, favors the proposed project.

"From the environmental standpoint, the proposed Wesley Foundation makes a lot of sense," he said. "I question the wisdom of a do-nothing policy in place of creative, innovative [projects]."

Council member Matt Czajkowski said it is "exactly the kind of project we should foster and support in Chapel Hill."

He liked the design, but thought it should be four stories tall.

Council member Laurin Easthom said when she looked at the drawings, all she saw was "a sea of brick."

Council member Mark Kleinschmidt said the Pittsboro Street site seems too small for such a large project. "It fills the envelope entirely," he said. "I think it would create in the mind of the observer that it's a huge mess."

Monday night's presentation was simply a concept plan. The Wesley Foundation has not begun the official application process.