Chapel Hill signs off on plans for transformational redevelopment of University Place
Chapel Hill’s council cast a split vote Monday to approve the major redevelopment of a 1970s-era mall, despite lingering reservations about larger buildings, increased traffic and the potential effects on the environment.
University Place owner Ram Realty Advisors will add apartments, offices and more commercial space to the 43-acre site, transforming the 302,237-square-foot indoor mall to an outward-facing town center over several years.
The project also will add a central park and public spaces, while giving the Chapel Hill Farmer’s Market a potentially long-term lease and creating pop-up retail spaces for small, local businesses.
The council approved the redevelopment plan 5-2 after several public hearings, with council members Amy Ryan and Hongbin Gu voting against the project, despite their stated desire to see the mall succeed.
“It is something that we all feel very dear to our hearts and want it to have a good outcome and a good future, so I think that I welcome a new development proposal, the infill opportunities that make this project better,” Gu said before sharing her “serious concerns about public safety and health.”
The decision was “a tough one,” council member Michael Parker acknowledged, joining other council members in expressing displeasure with the town’s special-use permit process.
The council is required to approve a special-use permit so long as it meets four criteria:
▪ Maintains or promotes public health, safety and general welfare.
▪ Complies with the town’s Land Use Management Ordinance rules and standards.
▪ Is located, designed and proposed in a way that maintains or enhances the value of contiguous property, or meets public needs.
▪ Conforms to town growth plans outlined in the Land Use Management Ordinance and the Comprehensive Plan.
Ryan disagreed that Ram’s proposal meets the public purpose or the town’s plans for how it should grow. She noted specifically the five-foot sidewalk and a seven-story apartment building planned for Willow Drive that doesn’t step back its upper stories or include pedestrian passages to break up the building’s facade.
Other buildings planned for the property may not meet those standards either, she said.
“I very, very much want the applicant to be able to redevelop this property successfully,” Ryan said. “It really is one of the hearts of Chapel Hill. I shopped there for 20 years. It’s a really important place to get right.
“But according to the evidence presented, I don’t find that current iteration of the project complies with the four findings.”
Parker said he also shares concerns about the Willow Drive building, but noted the developer also plans to improve existing stormwater conditions, reduce the amount of surface parking and add more trees.
“Given that this is an existing project, given that this is a quasi-judicial proceeding — and I think this highlights some of the flaws in the special-use permit process — I feel compelled, although not joyously … to support the project,” Parker said.
Building details
Design guidelines submitted as part of the project are the only information at this time as to how new buildings could look. The company would need to submit more details and plans for town staff approval as each phase is built.
The plan also has built-in flexibility to meet market demand, including conversion of commercial space into another 200 apartments and/or 125 more hotel rooms.
The site was split into five “pods”:
▪ Pod A: Surface parking lot beside Willow Drive. Up to 255 apartments; ground-floor retail, including 5,500 square feet of incubator retail space for small businesses. At least 20% of the incubator space would serve minority-owned businesses. Buildings could be from 75 feet tall along the road to 90 feet tall inside the property. A parking deck and outdoor green space are planned.
▪ Pod B: The mall would be about 295,000 square feet after the space that once held A Southern Season is demolished. Ram will keep turning the mall’s interior-facing storefronts to the outside, and could add a 23,000-square-foot entertainment and food hall at the Estes Drive entrance and a 14,000-square-foot junior anchor on the north side near Silverspot Cinema.
▪ Pod C: Up to 250 apartments; more commercial space; and a large central park along the Fordham Boulevard side. By 2027, the site also could have a 150-room hotel. New buildings would be at least two stories tall, with a maximum height of 75 feet to 90 feet tall.
▪ Pod D: Another 25,000 square feet of commercial and office space could be added to the area along Estes Drive that already contains a bank, gas station and parking lots. Buildings could be 34 feet to 45 feet tall.
▪ Pod E: An existing bank at the corner of Estes and Willow drives will be renovated.
Other details
▪ Affordable housing: Roughly 10% of the 500 apartments planned on Willow Drive and Fordham Boulevard would be priced at a rate affordable to people earning up to 65% of the area median income — $39,325 a year for an individual or $56,160 a year for a family of four.
▪ Environment and climate change: A 20% tree canopy is planned, more than what exists on site today but less than the town’s 30% requirement. Ram has agreed to make a payment to the town or plant trees off-site to compensate for less tree canopy. The project also adds more green spaces and trees, as well as some solar.
▪ Church concerns: Binkley Baptist Church existed before the mall was built at Willow Drive and Fordham Boulevard, and is the only other property owner on the block. Ram has agreed to work with the congregation to preserve existing trees and maintain access to the church for members. Buildings that replace the former K&W restaurant near the church will be limited to 34 feet tall.
▪ Traffic and transit: A traffic study shows the redevelopment, by 2028, could add 1,363 more cars to surrounding roads during the morning commute and 4,034 more cars in the evening. More turn lanes are expected at key intersections and right-in, right-out access at some driveways, plus paths, sidewalks and bike lanes. An existing bus stop would remain at the mall, plus a future bus-rapid transit stop on Fordham Boulevard.
The town could study Willow Drive traffic after the first phase of construction and, if needed, work with Ram, the church and other parties to make road improvements.
▪ Flooding and stormwater: Impervious surface, such as driveways and rooftops, would cover 75% of the site — a roughly 1.2-acre reduction but still more than the town’s 70% limit. New construction would meet Federal Emergency Management Agency rules and the town’s flood damage prevention ordinance. Studies are required that show construction won’t increase the flooding risk.
