What we know about UNC’s Carolina North live-work-learn campus, Smith Center
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UNC approved $8M to plan Carolina North; design team to be hired this summer.
- Plan centers research and classrooms in health, AI and advanced technology.
- Design RFP will go out spring; team hired summer; ground could start 2027.
An $8 million investment and what UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts called a duty to serve more North Carolina students launched planning this month for the 230-acre Carolina North campus in Chapel Hill.
UNC’s Board of Trustees approved the spending Jan. 21 and will hire a design team this summer to draft a site plan and estimated budget. The development’s centerpiece will be collaborative classrooms and research labs focused on health care, artificial intelligence and advanced technology, UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said.
Carolina North, which encompasses 947 acres about two miles north of downtown and the main campus, is also a key option for replacing the 40-year-old Dean E. Smith Center basketball arena.
University trust funds will pay for the design work, and private donations, debt financing, and public-private partnerships could be used to build the campus, Roberts said.
“People have asked me why now, and my answer is, the real question should be, what has taken so long?” Roberts said. “Because most universities would get anything to have this kind of asset available for development and service to the people of the state.”
What is the Carolina North plan?
Details are limited, but Roberts said the mixed-use campus will have academic and research buildings, retail and restaurants, a hotel, and housing for students, UNC employees and town residents. It will be built on the now-closed Horace Williams Airport site.
Up to 2,200 undergraduate beds could go up first.
There’s also room for green space and public plazas; arts, culture and performance space; and recreational facilities, Roberts said. He declined to say how much of the Carolina North Forest and its popular trails could be preserved.
What about traffic?
University and town staff have been talking about transportation, Roberts said. The site at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Estes Drive Extension is already lined with apartments that serve many UNC students.
Roberts said he expects better connections on MLK Jr. Boulevard in the future, and more people riding the bus, including multiple existing Chapel Hill Transit routes.
Carolina North will also be a stop on the North-South bus-rapid transit line, which could launch by 2030.
Will the Smith Center move to Carolina North?
There’s no timeline to announce a decision, Roberts said.
Six options remain, from renovating the existing Smith Center to rebuilding it at the existing site or a new location.
Renovation is the “Band-Aid” approach, Roberts said, with a cost of $80 million to $100 million to replace the arena’s roof, fix the bathrooms, renovate concession areas and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Before we do that, we think we have to step back and make sure that we’re making the best decisions,” Roberts said. “Whether that’s renovation, new construction, [and] if new construction, where should that be?”
Will former Tar Heels and alumni have a say?
Former UNC basketball Coach Roy Williams and Tar Heels standout Tyler Hansborough posted videos on social media supporting a renovated Smith Center on campus. An online petition had gathered over 16,750 signatures by Jan. 22.
He would be “much more concerned if people didn’t care” about the Smith Center, Roberts said.
“Everybody loves and respects Coach Williams and Tyler Hansborough,” he said. “They are two of the biggest names in the history of our program. ... Their views deserve a lot of weight, perhaps more than most.”
Key factors in a Smith Center decision
Roberts shared three of his considerations for the Smith Center’s future:
- How to win more basketball games and have an elite team
- How to get more students in the courtside seats
- How to improve the “fan experience” so more people will buy tickets and “cheer on the Heels.”
“What helps a competitive advantage in a basketball arena is the students on their feet and hollering, not people like me chatting to their friends and looking at their phones,” Roberts said.
What is Carolina North’s timeline and cost?
UNC will hire a design team this year to plan the site and a proposed budget. A groundbreaking is possible by mid-2027.
Roberts has not said how much construction could cost, but noted similar projects, including Georgia Tech’s Tech Square and Purdue University’s Discovery Park, have cost several hundred million dollars.
What is the town’s role?
Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson said she doesn’t have much information, but UNC officials have been open to talking about Carolina North’s future and the town’s needs. Key concerns are traffic and stormwater runoff, she said, plus whether the town will see property taxes from new housing and commercial buildings.
Most UNC buildings, like all public property, are exempt from property taxes. That affects the town budget, since the university owns about 40% of the land in Chapel Hill.
In the past, UNC has paid money in lieu of taxes on some properties. Commercial buildings, including on Franklin Street, pay property taxes.
Anderson expects UNC to keep the town updated and give the council a chance to offer feedback on the plan, but she doesn’t want to give the public “a false sense of what the council has authority over and what we don’t.”
“I’m glad that we have good relationships with the university and that they are bringing in our perspective and the things that we know are going to be important, and that they’re willing to listen and take that into account,” Anderson said.
A change in state law last year exempts UNC System universities in Orange, Wake, Buncombe and Watauga counties from local zoning and development rules.
Is Carolina North really going to happen?
The town and UNC have been talking about Carolina North for over 20 years, and in 2009, the Town Council approved a development agreement that promised 3 million square feet of research labs, classrooms, and housing and commercial uses on 133 acres.
That plan, approved during a global recession, languished from a lack of funding and shifting priorities.
The university now has an obligation and a responsibility “to use the resources we have to serve the people of the state,” Roberts said, referring to North Carolina’s growing population and the need to invest in students and their economic future.
About half of UNC undergraduates are majoring in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — up from roughly a third before, he said. Biology is the second-most popular and the fastest-growing major.
“It’s crucial to everybody involved here … that we do everything we can to protect and preserve what makes Carolina special and unique as we change and grow,” he said.
