Developer Submits Proposal for American Legion Property

The proposed developers of the American Legion site have submitted a scaled-back version of original plans to the Town of Chapel Hill.

The concept plan, which was submitted by Woodfield Investments on July 26, calls for a maximum of 400 multifamily units – down from 600 originally – on the approximately 36-acre property.

The site has been a point of contention in the community since early 2016, when the original plans were being discussed. Community members have been divided between those supporting the plan to develop the land and those calling for the town to purchase the property and utilize the entire property as park space.

The previous version of the Chapel Hill Town Council voted in 2015, before newly elected officials were sworn into office, to forego the town’s right of first refusal to purchase the property for $9 million. The timing of the vote was to respond within a required 60-day window, according to the memorandum of understanding.

The proposal documents say that Woodfield has been in “ongoing discussions with the Town” regarding the potential development of the property. The development company also held a community meeting in January to allow citizens to voice any concerns they had of the development plan.

The concept plan paperwork attributed the drop in maximum units directly to feedback from the community meeting. The proposal says the two existing buildings and the pond on the site will be removed due to poor conditions. The plan then calls for a stormwater facility “that would be built to current standards” as a replacement.

The plans say office space will be placed along Legion Road in the new design in an effort to match the office space directly across the roadway from the Legion property.

The site would then have “Garden Style Apartments” in the center of the development with the back of the site hosting a space to be used for flex purposes, including a civic center.

The developers also say the new plan commits approximately 25 percent of the property to “open space, stream buffers and trails.”

Officials say the new development will offer an “improved trail network within the existing adjacent park and the American Legion property.” The developer also said it would work with the town to “compliment, enhance and activate the current park” already designated on the Ephesus-Church side of the property.

In addition to the 304 proposed dwelling units – with a maximum option of 400 – totaling approximately 400,000 square feet, the plans also call for 50,000 – 100,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of flex space. The proposal says “Woodfield is committed to working with the Town to find a suitable mix to increase housing affordability in Chapel Hill, including ways to promote housing for teachers, police officers, fire men, and other Town employees.” Beyond that, no specifics were presented in the concept plan.

The developers say the area could serve as a space for “entrepreneurs looking to promote and support innovation and spin-off businesses of the University,” in addition to being utilized by UNC or UNC Health Care for office space.

Woodfield has also started conversations with the YMCA as a potential use on the Legion site, according to the documents.

Members of the American Legion went before the Town Council at its June meeting to ask for the council to rezone the property to allow the sale to go forward.

The plans are now scheduled to go before the Community Design Commission on August 23 at 6:30 in the evening. The plans are preliminarily scheduled to go before the Town Council at its September 19 meeting.