The biggest change in decades to Carrboro’s downtown is nearly underway.
The town government announced on August 9 that construction on The 203 Project — a development set to bring a new branch of the Orange County Library, town facilities and a parking deck to downtown — is going to begin in coming weeks. While a groundbreaking ceremony at 203 South Greensboro Street was held in May, early stages of development will begin around the end of August.
Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils spoke with 97.9 The Hill and confirmed the timeline, while also assuring that the existing parking lot is going to be open for a while longer.
“It will be this month.” he said about construction’s beginning. “They’re going to start with some utility work that will close off some portions of that parking lot near Open Eye Café. But we’ll give the community a good two-week or so heads-up before that parking lot gets completely closed down.”
The 50,000 square foot development, which is the result of several years of planning between the Town of Carrboro and the Orange County government, has been in the works for years — with a push from some community members for a library in town lasting even longer. The $42 million project’s cost is split between the two local governments, as the building will house the Orange County Southern Branch Library, the Orange County Skills Development Center, the Carrboro Recreation, Parks and Cultural Resources Department and more. The 88 parking spaces lost from the building’s construction will be replaced by 171 spaces in a new deck attached to the back side of the facility.
Carrboro said the South Greensboro Street facility will be constructed with energy-efficient and waste-reducing features, like vegetative roofing, stormwater control measures and more, as the project received a building incentive from Duke Energy. Additionally, five spaces in the new parking deck will be electric vehicle charging spots, 25 more spaces will have “EV-ready infrastructure for future upgrades,” and 70 bike parking spots will be available around the building.
Seils said the timeline for construction is projected to be around 19 months, depending on the supply chain and weather.
“The ability for this project as a civil building first of all, but also as a structure, in terms of what it’s going to do for the feel of downtown Carrboro, is going to be really important for helping people think about of the future of Carrboro in a new way,” the mayor said. “We’ve got a great little town. We want to double-down on the things that are great about it and build around that.”
More information about The 203 Project can be found on the Town of Carrboro’s website. Alternative parking locations once the lot at 203 South Greensboro Street is closed can be found here.
Photo via Perkins + Will.
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Cost is up $800k since March, more rises to come.
This project was more than a quarter of a century in the works. I was one of the founding members of the Friends of the Carrboro Library. Over the years we raised thousands and thousands of dollars selling lemonade, sweets, and used books to get this project off the ground. We also fought the rich geeks of Carrboro who stonewalled us years after year with their Scrooge-like stinginess. With the stubbornness and the drive of Dr. Nerys Levy this library would never have become a reality. I suggest that the folks of Carrboro name this structure after her. The Nerys Levy Memorial Library has a nice ring to it. Classy too!