Height of downtown Chapel Hill office, research building ‘is going to startle people’
A developer offered more details — and got more questions — about a seven-story office and research building that’s expected to transform Chapel Hill’s downtown skyline and boost economic investment.
Developer Grubb Properties wants to build 238,000 square feet of startup/research space at 150 E. Rosemary St. At 140 feet, including mechanical space, it would be the tallest building in downtown Chapel Hill.
The building would replace the current Wallace Parking Deck, which the town gave to Grubb in a property swap over the summer.
The town, in return, got Grubb’s former CVS parking deck and an adjacent parking lot, also located on East Rosemary Street, closer to Columbia Street.
The CVS deck was demolished in July to clear the ground for the town’s new $39 million 1,100-space parking deck,which the town plans to pay for with parking revenues.
Grubb’s proposed offices and wet labs also could sit atop a three-level, 158-space parking garage. Two ground-floor spaces could feature retail or restaurants, and a 7,000-square-foot park would fill in the corner at East Rosemary and Henderson streets.
However, the height of the building — looming over East Franklin Street — got the Town Council’s attention Wednesday night.
It’s much larger and taller than council members were expecting from seven stories, member Michael Parker said.
“I’ll probably get used to it, but if there are things that could either reduce the height or if there are things that could reduce the appearance of height, I think that would be helpful, because when this building goes up, until Chapel Hill acclimates, it is going to startle people,” Parker said.
Council members also had questions about plans for the park, and the building’s mechanical penthouse, where “Strobic fans” would bring in fresh air and disperse lab exhaust high into the atmosphere.
The council could continue the public hearing Nov. 17, when the town’s urban designer Brian Peterson is expected and the developer could bring more architectural images and a list of possible lab uses.
Downtown offices, parking, apartments
Grubb’s proposed office building is the next step in a public-private redevelopment plan that will transform the 100 block of East Rosemary Street, which for years has largely been a route around Franklin Street or a place for drivers to park.
There are a few small businesses operating in older buildings on the eastern end of the street.
The town has a separate partnership with the university to boost the number of employees and businesses downtown, and to stop UNC spinoffs and student companies moving to other parts of the Triangle in search of adequate commercial space.
UNC plans to lease 100 spaces in the town’s new parking deck to serve visitors and employees, especially as its future admissions office opens on East Franklin Street.
Meanwhile, Grubb is advancing plans to build Link Apartments Rosemary — a six-story, 140-unit building beside the town’s new parking deck at the northeastern corner of East Rosemary and North Columbia streets.
Grubb also will be a second public park in the lower section of the town’s Columbia-East Rosemary parking lot. The land now is being used as a staging area for the town’s parking deck project.
Grubb explains tall building
The town’s current height limit for the office building site is 44 feet at the street to 120 feet tall farther back. At the proposed height, Grubb’s building would be five feet taller than the 135-foot Greenbridge building at 601 W. Rosemary St. and 35 feet taller than 140 West Franklin.
The next tallest building on East Franklin would be The Central (formerly CVS), which is six stories on East Rosemary Street and three stories on East Franklin Street. Grubb Properties is renovating that building to create an Innovation Hub.
Despite “significant concerns” about the height, Council member Amy Ryan said, “I’m really supportive of this project.”
“I’m so happy it’s coming through,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a wonderful addition to downtown.”
Joe Dye, Grubb Properties executive vice president, explained that lab space ceiling heights generally run up to 15 feet high, compared with 10 to 11 feet for residential ceilings. Since there’s no way to know where a particular tenant will be located, every floor must be built to lab height, he said. The plan adds another 40 feet for the first-floor parking garage and the mechanical penthouse.
If the height can’t be reduced, then maybe there’s a way to tweak its appearance, council members said.
“We don’t want to overshadow our Franklin Street, but we also don’t want to be scared to have the full potential of this building as a great research area,” Mayor Pam Hemminger said.
The team can look into it, Stevenson said, but the concern is not putting Grubb “at a competitive disadvantage.”
Strobic fan noise, exhaust safety
Council member Hongbin Gu had several questions about the Strobic fans that would ventilate the building, including how noisy they could be and if there are any safety considerations.
The town code defines research activities as related to chemical, pharmaceutical, medical, electrical, transportation and engineering fields that can be done in enclosed buildings and “produce no noise, smoke, glare, vibration, or odor detectable outside the buildings.”
Gu requested information about potential noise pollution and biological issues. Is there a building at UNC that is similar, she asked.
“This is a very prime downtown location, so we want to add to the downtown vibrancy,” Gu said. “I think what this building looks like, sounds like, is very important to us.”
An “architecturally interesting” screen to protect the view from Franklin Street also might help, Parker said.
Public plaza or green space
The park needs more green spaces, council members said, including trees for shade, benches and other places for people to linger, and space for a food cart or coffee shop. Parker reminded the developer to ensure people with disabilities also can access the park.
An OWASA easement restricts what can be built in the park and the materials that can be used, architect Michael Stevenson has said.
The developer also could work with the town to plan programs at both the park and the plaza outside the town’s new parking garage, Council member Tai Huynh said. Three members of the town’s Cultural Arts Commission shared similar ideas, noting that the park could showcase local art and culture.
The town is overlooking that potential and the advisory board responsible for bringing it to the council, commissioner Janice Farringer said. She also argued for dumping the dumpster behind the Post Office and finding a way to save a large magnolia tree at the corner.
“I don’t think it’s pretty. I don’t think it adds to downtown. There’s too much hardscape. It’s really going to be hot, ladies and gentlemen,” Farringer said. “We have another place downtown that is all hardscape and some bushes (at 140 West), and it is really, really hot and basically unusable for cultural gatherings.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 9:03 AM.
