The Carrboro Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a modification to a conditional use permit that would allow a 5-story Hilton hotel to be built in downtown Carrboro in their meeting last week.

“I think this is a really good opportunity for us to capture some jobs, for us to capture some income, for us to capture some foot traffic,” said board member Bethany Chaney.

In 2008 the developer was given a conditional use permit to build a mixed-use development, but Main Street Properties was looking to change the permit to allow the hotel.

Laura Van Sant from Main Street Properties said the developers had some pressure to get the project approved.

“There are some groups with deeper pockets than us that are trying to get the rights to a Hilton Garden in this market,” she said. “I can assure you that hotel would not be in Carrboro.”

When the board spoke with Van Sant in a meeting February 23, one of the major concerns was parking.

The town currently has a lease to use 150 daytime and 250 nighttime spots in the parking deck next to the Hampton Inn.

The deck will be expanded as part of the change in the CUP, but the lease will expire in 2018 and town employees were concerned about what would happen to those public spaces once a new hotel is built.

The two sides are currently discussing the issue and a town official talked about the possibility of giving the town the option to renew the lease for three years.

“The exercising of the option is not relevant until August, 2018,” he said. “This is an agreement that we will have that option. Whether or not we exercise it is a 2018 decision.”

Town officials want to give the town sole discretion over whether or not to extend the lease, but the developers will have to agree before that happens.

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