More Blue Hill apartments and stores? Chapel Hill council will learn more Wednesday.
A project set for a public hearing Wednesday could bring more apartments to Chapel Hill’s Blue Hill restaurant and business district.
But unlike most Blue Hill projects, the Aura South Elliott residential and commercial development will need Chapel Hill Town Council approval.
Texas-based developer Trinsic Residential Group wants to build 334 apartments and 18,562 square feet of leasing and commercial space on four acres at 200 S. Elliott Road. The site is across from the Village Plaza shopping center and the Berkshire Chapel Hill apartments.
University Place mall and the Eastgate Crossing and Ram’s Plaza shopping centers are around the corner on Fordham Boulevard.
Aura South Elliott would replace two wooded lots and the Extraordinary Ventures building. It could be up to 65 feet tall with two small courtyards, a plan states. It also includes a parking deck, off-road pedestrian path, and up to 33 affordable apartments.
This is Trinsic Residential’s third Aura project proposed for Chapel Hill.
The first, Aura Chapel Hill, is under construction at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Estes Drive. A second, Aura Blue Hill, is nearing construction on Fordham Boulevard.
The South Elliott Road site combines three lots, each a different shape and size, and steep topography that falls eight to 10 feet at South Elliott Road. The 0.7-acre lot on the western end of the site could remain wooded, with a stormwater pond.
Many trees would be removed from the site — leaving about 14% tree cover instead of the town’s 40% minimum and concentrating what’s left on the western lot and along South Elliott Road.
The council meeting starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., and will also include a review of the Flintrock Knoll concept plan for townhomes on U.S. 15-501 near Chatham County. The meeting will also be livestreamed online.
While Aura South Elliott is in the Blue Hill District, it does not follow the form-based code set for the district in 2014. That means the council would have to agree to the tree cover and denser housing.
What about Extraordinary Ventures?
▪ It’s not clear yet what would happen with Extraordinary Ventures, a nonprofit that provides employment and job skills to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
▪ The site is under contract with owner Spike LLC, a company founded by Gregg and Lori Ireland. The Chapel Hill couple has a son with autism spectrum disorder and has played a key role in the growth of Extraordinary Ventures.
▪ EV could move into a new home if the Aura plan is approved, Extraordinary Ventures board President Dan Hatley has said.
▪ Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson encouraged the developer during a 2023 concept plan review to work with Extraordinary Ventures to provide housing and a clubhouse on part of the site for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Aura South Elliott project details
▪ Developer: Trinsic Residential Group
▪ Location: 4 acres at 200 S. Elliott Road
▪ What’s there: Extraordinary Ventures and two wooded lots
▪ What’s planned: 5 stories, or up to 65 feet tall, with 335 apartments, 11,375 square feet of retail, and 7,187 square feet of leasing and amenities, with pool, private courtyard and public spaces.
▪ Affordable housing: 10% of the apartments are proposed. Half serving individuals and families earning up to 65% of the town’s area median income, and half serving up to 80% of the AMI. That’s up to $59,360 a year for an individual or $76,320 for a family of three.
▪ Transportation: Drivers would access a 391-space parking deck from the private road between Elliott Road and Signature HealthCare on East Franklin Street. A shorter, less-busy path down Couch Road could create an optional route for pedestrians and cyclists from East Franklin to Elliott Road. The site also is near multiple bus routes.
