One of downtown Chapel Hill’s longest standing projects and biggest transformations is now open to the public.
The parking deck at 125 East Rosemary Street is open for business, as of Monday morning after a brief ribbon-cutting held by the local government at 10 a.m. While some features and services — including the payment technology — are still coming online, the facility is available for any visitors to use, with entrances off East Rosemary Street and an exit to North Street.
The $51 million project — funded by the Town of Chapel Hill and done in partnership with Grubb Properties — brings 1,100 spaces to the downtown in the seven-story structure, which replaced a smaller and aging deck at the same site. In time, it will be Chapel Hill’s main parking deck once the Wallace Parking Deck at 150 East Rosemary Street is replaced by Grubb Properties — part of a land-swap development deal approved by the town in 2020. The public-private agreement allows Grubb to build a 250,000-square-foot office and wet-lab building in the footprint of the Wallace Deck.
Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson said ahead of the ribbon-cutting on Monday she sees this opening as a “new era for downtown Chapel Hill,” focused on economic sustainability and growth while creating more of a community between the deck’s users and the surrounding businesses.
“In my many personas in Chapel Hill — as mayor, professor, and mom — I think about the many people this parking deck will serve day in and day out,” said Anderson, “and I think about the impact bringing more people downtown will have on both the vibrancy of the area and our economic.”
“And,” she added, “people are just going to know where to park.”
Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson speaks alongside Deputy Town Manager Mary Jane Nirdlinger and Town Manager Chris Blue at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, August 26.
The Town of Chapel Hill's 125 East Rosemary Street parking deck is now officially open for business.
1,100 parking spots, programming space, and a key piece of unlocking future redevelopment along the street. Many town + UNC leaders out this morning to celebrate its opening. pic.twitter.com/77xDbxpH7E
— Brighton McConnell (@BrightonMcC1) August 26, 2024
The new parking deck was not projected to have as lengthy of a buildout when it broke ground in 2021, with Chapel Hill running into issues with the foundation for the structure and needing to install its anchors more than 10 feet lower than expected.
Anderson was one of three town council members to vote against the project in 2020. But she said in an interview with 97.9 The Hill and at the ribbon-cutting ceremony the final product will help create more opportunities for the town, Grubb Properties, and other developers to craft more dynamic and efficient land uses for the key downtown corridor. Among the plans discussed in 2020 were pocket parks on either side of the future Grubb development at 150 East Rosemary Street, and the 125 East Rosemary parking deck has a programming space called “The Porch” for pop-up retail and events.
“The reason we ever undertook this was about consolidating parking,” the Chapel Hill mayor told 97.9 The Hill, “so the surface lots can be used for better, cooler, more exciting things — like apartments and a new hotel that are planned for that block. And along with that, there’s some work to improve bike and pedestrian connections, there’s going to be bike racks… So it’s going to be nice and fun to have that whole area, and have a public gathering space.”
The parking deck becomes the second prominent piece of development finished in what the town has dubbed a transformation of East Rosemary Street into a business corridor. The Junction building at 137 East Franklin Street — which is home to Innovate Carolina and co-working spaces — held its grand opening in September 2023 after several years of reconstruction.
Former Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said the reason why she championed the project alongside the town and its partners is because of how the deck will unlock more opportunities for a year-round economy — and help businesses become less reliant solely on foot traffic when school is session.
“You’re looking for that path to be sustainable, and vibrant and attractive [enough] that people want to come here,” said Hemminger, “especially with all the growth in our region. Durham became hip and cool and has great restaurants. Chapel Hill’s [reputation] was kinda like, ‘Okay, yeah… but it’s a college town.’ Well, we have a lot more to offer than that, and now we’re going to have lots of opportunities with all the research and development that goes on here.
“I’m just very, very excited,” she continued. “As a mayor, and a former mayor, you want to know that you have set the town on a course toward that future.”
The parking deck will feature some of the latest technology, like lights to help people know which areas have open spaces and sensors to alert visitors to how many spaces are open on each floor.
The dedication plaque on the side of the 125 East Rosemary Street parking deck, honoring the members of the Chapel Hill Town Council who helped play a role in the project.
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What will it cost to park there?