Joint Fire Station and Office Project Continues

The Chapel Hill Town Council will vote in June whether to approve a new fire station and office complex on 54 East.

The new fire station and four story office building will be located on South Hamilton Road across from the Aloft Hotel. The council discussed the project at their meeting Monday.

The project is a partnership between the town and East-West Partners. In February, the town council agreed to sell the land, where Fire Station 2 is currently located, to the development group.

In return East-West Partners will construct an office building, as well as a fire station, which the town will lease. The town will only pay up to $750,000 of the $3 million construction costs for the station.

The town has agreed to lease the land from East-West Partners for $1 a year for the next 500 years.

The transfer of the property to East-West Partners will add $42,000 of tax revenue, according to Chapel Hill town manager Roger Stancil. Currently the property is untaxed.

The town also considering housing an EMT unit at the fire station.

Matt Sullivan, interim fire chief, said the new facility would help emergency services better serve the community.

“I think this is a good deal for the town, I think it’s good for our employees. It’s situated in a place where we know that public safety services are going to be needed in the future,” said Sullivan.

For the project to go ahead, the council still needs to approve a land use amendment as well as approve a final development and business agreements, which Sullivan said are being finalized.

According to Bryson Powell, development director for East-West Partners, they are still in the process of finding office tenants.

East-West Partners will present their final design plan the town’s Community Design Commission on May 24.

The town council will revisit the project at its meeting on June 13.