Several major development projects are underway in Chapel Hill, with some closer to completion than others.

Town staff provided an update to the Orange County Board of Commissioners at a recent meeting.

Carraway Village, Glen Lennox and Blue Hill District mixed-use spaces are all underway – the furthest along of which being Caraway Village – along with the redevelopment of the UNC Health Care-owned Eastowne Medical Office and the upcoming Wegmans, which is currently receiving clearing and grading permits.

Director for Planning and Development Services for Chapel Hill Ben Hitchings said the town is keeping affordability in mind when it comes to these new residential development projects.

“We are working very closely with our housing and community staff to look at affordability opportunities and to try and find ways to include that consideration as we prepare the development standards,” said Hitchings.

Although there is no way to require affordable housing in rental properties in North Carolina, Chapel Hill Town Council member Donna Bell said the town is still encouraging developers to provide affordable options.

“Even though we are listing a lot of things and they are rentals, and a lot of them are market-rate rentals, a lot of them also have affordable housing components connected to them,” said Bell.

Prime examples of this are Greenfield Place and Greenfield Commons, the result of a partnership between the town and the non-profit affordable housing developer DHIC, which are providing affordable rental apartment options on Legion Road in Chapel Hill. These two developments will include 149 units, 60 of them specifically for seniors, and will offset needs for affordable housing in the area.

The first units at Caraway Village are expected to become available in the late summer or early fall of 2018. Construction on the residential portion of Glen Lennox is expected to begin in 2018 and a permit application for an adjacent office building is expected this spring.

Construction on the Wegmans is expected to being this spring after Performance Auto Mall vacates the property in April. The Wegmans is then expected to open in 2020.

A possible decision on the UNC Health Care Eastowne proposal could come from the Chapel Hill Town Council in June.

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