HILLSBOROUGH - A proposed plan to turn the old Flynt Fabrics mill into 85 upscale apartments met with conditional support by West Hillsborough neighbors at a public hearing Tuesday night.

Several neighbors spoke in favor of the residential redevelopment of the empty mill buildings that front Nash Street, but expressed concern about pedestrian safety on Bellevue Avenue, a narrow residential street with no sidewalks, which will take about 65 percent of the traffic from the project.

Stephen Whitlow, a neighborhood resident and a graduate student in the city planning department at UNC-Chapel Hill, started with the benefits of the redevelopment as he spoke on behalf of 30 to 40 residents involved with the West Hillsborough Neighborhood Watch.

"When we talk about good planning in my department, we're talking specifically about this type of development," Whitlow said.

"It's the recycling of our resources. Additionally the location of 85 units here as opposed to on the periphery of town is likely to increase pedestrian activity and lead to revitalization of existing shops on Nash Street," he added.

The Watch asked for seven conditions before the Town Board approves the project, including adding a sidewalk, two speed bumps, and a solid center line on Bellevue Avenue.

Henry Campen, the attorney for the project, said the owners are amenable to considering the Neighborhood Watch conditions.

Joe Rees, a Hillsborough Avenue resident, also requested that the developers try to save an elm tree in the mill parking lot on Nash Street, roughly behind his house.

The developers indicated that they will try to do so.

The apartments, a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, will range from about $800 to $1,200 a month.

The Planning Board and Town Board, which jointly held the quarterly public hearing, closed the public hearing on this project. It will come before the Town Board for an approval decision at a future regular meeting of the board.