Affordable living for Chapel Hill seniors on fixed incomes? Town approves plan, money.
Lower-income seniors will have an affordable option in a few years for aging in place within a short walk of a Chapel Hill park and a senior center.
The Chapel Hill Town Council signed off Wednesday on Maddry Meadows, the latest plan from nonprofit Raleigh developer DHIC Inc.
The council’s unanimous, 8-0 vote approved DHIC’s plan for 53 affordable apartments at 2510 Homestead Road. The developer will seek federal housing tax credits to help pay for the project, and the council also approved spending $1.25 million from the town’s affordable housing fund.
The three- to four-story building will be on 5.8 acres across the street from the Seymour Senior Center and south of Homestead Park.
It will rent to adults ages 55 and older who earn up to 60% of the area median income. In Chapel Hill, that is an individual currently earning up to $48,600 a year or a couple earning up to $55,500.
A quarter of the apartments will be set aside for people earning up to 30% of the AMI, or up to $24,300 per couple per year.
The building will have a multipurpose room, computer center and gathering spaces, and be on or near multiple bus lines. DHIC could also build a trail to the park or dedicate an easement to the town for a future link in a north-south greenway system.
Roughly 65% of the site will remain undeveloped because of a stream buffer and Duke Energy easement.
Council member Melissa McCullough encouraged DHIC to look at shrinking its parking lot and adding electric bike charging stations.
This is DHIC’s third development in Chapel Hill. It was submitted in mid-November to the town’s rapid review process for projects that include at least 25% affordable units, taking just five months to be approved, instead of the typical 12 to 18 months.
The developer also worked with the town in 2013 to build 149 affordable apartments at Greenfield Place and Greenfield Commons on town-owned land beside Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery on Legion Road. In 2023, the council chose DHIC to build a 160-apartment project at the future Legion Park site, at 1714 Legion Road. That project is still being planned.
Maddry Meadows will be managed by the same company that manages Greenfield Place and Greenfield Commons, said Patrick Nerz, DHIC’s senior project manager.
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 1:58 PM.
