Why Chapel Hill told the developer to try again with project on Durham border
A developer will take another swipe at creating a mixed-use neighborhood on Chapel Hill’s border with Durham after both residents and the Town Council panned the plans so far.
EB Capital Partners developer Ernie Brown got a much more positive reception when he presented two, separate concept plans last year for 5500 Old Durham Road and land to the south at the corner of Pope and Old Durham roads. He went back to the drawing board, coming up with one plan that combined the concept plans.
On Wednesday, council members expressed disappointment with the new plan, Chapel Hill Crossings, which would add several buildings south of Old Durham Road, and a four-story apartment building with underground parking north of the street.
The 16.3-acre plan now includes 548 apartments and for-sale cottages, rowhouses and townhouses, Brown said, an increase of almost 200 units. The council is being asked to rezone both sites to allow for more dense housing.
The tallest building, at Pope and Old Durham roads, could have four stories of apartments atop three levels of parking, with shorter buildings near existing neighborhoods. The southern site could also include small offices and retail businesses, including in 11, four-story townhouses that allow for an accessory dwelling unit or work space.
Something will be built at Old Durham and Pope roads, but Chapel Hill Crossings is not the plan, council members and residents said.
Clark Lake Road neighbor Joanna Pomerantz said she would love to see a park or green space, but Chapel Hill Crossings won’t create walkability or have enough parking for non-residents.
“The (town’s Future Lane Use Map) addresses that this area should reflect our designation as Tree City USA and should demonstrate the town’s uniqueness,” Pomerantz said. “What is unique about clear-cutting a mature tree canopy and putting in a seven-story building on the front of the corner lot?”
Project details
Developer: EB Capital Partners
Location: 16 acres at 5500 Old Durham Road and the southwestern corner of Old Durham and Pope roads
Current use: Mostly wooded, with several single-family homes
Proposed use: Mixed-use neighborhood with roughly 148 apartments north of Old Durham Road, and 400 apartments and for-sale cottages, rowhouses and townhouses to the south.
Affordable housing: None, the developer said the smaller homes would cost less.
Building height: 4 to 7 stories along Old Durham Road and at the Pope Road intersection. 3- and 4-story townhouses and rowhouses farther south on the site, with 2-story townhouses and cottages near existing neighborhoods.
Parking: 198 spaces north of Old Durham Road; and 623 spaces south of the road.
Zoning: Both sites are now zoned R-1, for low-density single-family construction. An R-6 zoning on the northern site would allow 25 units per acre, and a mixed-use village zoning for the southern site would allow 40 units per acre.
Big issues: Height and density, traffic, stormwater, affordable housing, and possible changes in the community’s character.
Building boom, planned growth
Chapel Hill Crossings would be in the portion of Chapel Hill in Durham County and part of a growing area. Concept plans, which are not official applications, have been submitted for two additional projects by other developers — Gateway and White Oak — offering a combined 718 apartments, including 72 affordable senior apartments.
Across the Interstate 40 bridge in Durham, hundreds of apartments are rented and under construction.
Town staff have talked with all three Old Durham Road area developers and the State Employees Credit Union, which owns The Parkline office building on U.S. 15-501, about working on an inaugural Complete Community project.
The town wants to integrate different types of housing affordable to a range of incomes with places to work and live in a walkable, transit-oriented neighborhood. Chapel Hill Crossings would be near UNC Health Care’s Eastowne campus, the Wegmans grocery store and other businesses.
The council wants “to deliver projects that are better than what we’ve been getting,” Council member Michael Parker said. “This just isn’t fulfilling the promise that we as a council have made to our community, and I think we really need to take a hard look at that.”
Council members also questioned the developer’s request to designate only 4% of the square footage for nonresidential space, rather than the 25% required for a mixed-use project, and a request to waive the town’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, which requires 15% of for-sale housing to be sold to lower-income families.
Brown and his team argued that the smaller homes would be affordable, ranging from $250,000 to $325,000. Council member Camille Berry suggested working through an affordable housing provider who could guarantee the units remain affordable even if the homeowners eventually sell.
But it was the size of the apartment building at Old Durham and Pope roads that generated the most opposition Wednesday. Mayor Pam Hemminger noted that the town’s urban designer said a seven-story building would be too much there.
Chapel Hill Crossings ran off the rails somewhere along the way with that long, tall and massive apartment building, Parker said.
Others pointed to the traffic the development could bring, especially on Pope Road, where drivers often exceed the 35 mph speed limit and there are no sidewalks or bike lanes for safety.
The other big concern is the effect of increased stormwater on neighborhoods south of the development, where flooding is already a problem. Clark Lake, while serving as an amenity for neighbors and wildlife, has an aging dam.
“It feels like this is just being approached in a vacuum ... and people are going to go live inside Chapel Hill Crossings, and that’s just not the reality of life in that area. It’s more fluid, it’s more connected,” neighbor Anne Hartley said.
The council voted to continue the public hearing Sept. 13.
This story was originally published June 8, 2023 at 8:17 AM.
