The Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved a plan brought forward by Aziz and Gwen Sancar to create a Turkish Cultural Center at 1609 E. Franklin Street.

The building would offer a place to celebrate Turkish culture and house scholars visiting from Turkey.

Gwen Sancar said the center would be available for anyone in the community on dates when there are not Turkish events.

“We want to build this to a human scale,” she said. “Not a huge palace, but instead a cultural center that is accessible to the community.”

Aziz Sancar is a native of Turkey and is the co-founder of the Aziz and Gwen Sancar foundation. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year.

Gwen Sancar said the foundation has three main goals.

“To celebrate Turkish heritage and culture, to educate the non-Turkish community about Turkish culture and history and to promote scholarly exchange by providing housing for visiting Turkish scholars.”

She said the organization would be able to continue its work with the addition of the community center.

The center will be 9,700 square feet and will feature offices, classrooms and a kitchen. There will also be a two-story guesthouse designed for visiting scholars.

The plan was met by opposition from residents in surrounding neighborhoods, who were worried the center would bring unwanted cars and noise to their homes.

“We ask your help to protect the integrity of this road, this neighborhood for future generations,” she said.

Councilman George Cianciolo said he was in favor of the development and responded to concerns from the neighbors.

“It’s not a hotel, it’s not a Starbucks, it’s not a Target,” he said. “It’s a place where people come together, it’s a community gathering place, and it’s something that I think really will fully show the values of Chapel Hill.”

In response to the opposition, the town worked with the foundation to come up with a solution that would limit the access between Franklin Street and Velma Street, where the nearby neighborhood is located.
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