When announced last year, the future redevelopment of 306 West Franklin Street caught some in the downtown Chapel Hill community by surprise. Around 11 months later, though, the life science-focused developers are holding community information sessions and have changed their designs a little since their initial announcement.
Longfellow Real Estate Partners is a developer with significant North Carolina ties, which its representatives said on October 3 helps inform them on the local life sciences market. The group is proposing an eight-story building at the site of the current building home to Blue Dogwood Market, Purple Bowl, and other small businesses – which would eventually house life sciences lab space and ground-floor retail once redeveloped.
Greg Capps, a managing director with Longfellow, maintains the opportunity to create this life sciences center is one to help Chapel Hill’s economy be less student-driven and more year-round. During the meeting, he also said it’s an opportunity for the federally funded research at UNC to find space off-campus and a chance to keep more ideas born at the university in town, which benefits the local economy.
Capps also mentioned how despite other life sciences options being planned for Chapel Hill and in the Triangle, the market is still robust. He said compared to other premiere life science hubs in the country, there is significantly less new space planned in North Carolina for such businesses and projects – which will make this Franklin Street location attractive.
“Here, the market is a little over seven percent vacant, and we’ve got less than 500,000 square feet of new lab space that’s currently under construction,” said Capps. “Historically speaking, and where we are as a market right now, we feel strongly that there’s enough demand to meet the type of supply that we’re looking at adding to Chapel Hill.”
An aerial concept footprint of the West Franklin Street parcel owned by Longfellow as presented during a public information session on October 3, 2023. (Photo via Longfellow Real Estate Partners.)
The site plan for 306 West Franklin Street submitted by Longfellow in June 2023 for its initial conditional zoning application for the Chapel Hill Life Sciences Center project. (Photo via McAdams/Longfellow Real Estate Partners.)
The public information meeting is one of the first opportunities for community updates since Longfellow purchased the site of the Fifth Thirds bank adjacent to the main parcel it already owned. Michael Stevenson with Perkins Eastman – the architectural firm working with Longfellow – said the new building layout is going to be an L-shape around that current Fifth Thirds parcel, which will be turned into an open, green space for pedestrians and patrons to use. That’s different from two separate buildings proposed by Longfellow when it submitted revised project plans to the Town of Chapel Hill this summer, with developers also saying the new plans have one less story on the building as a result.
Stevenson also said a clear walkway from Rosemary Street to Franklin Street will be created for this open area, which is another way foot traffic could be drawn to the space.
“It’s a very long block from Church [Street] to Roberson [Street],” Stevenson said. “It’s about 1,600 feet. So, the idea is to make a very nice, safe, well-lit pedestrian passageway, connecting Franklin Street with Rosemary and the neighborhoods to the north.”
Many of the public’s questions and comments on October 3 revolved around the life sciences market, the context of the building downtown, and the changes to parking. The developers said another major change from earlier this year is the elimination of a standing parking garage at the site. Instead, there will be just one to two levels of parking underground – creating more above-ground flexibility for the building’s design and open space.
But a major theme through the questions was also around the small businesses in that area of Franklin Street. Much attention has been paid to Purple Bowl’s plight, as the restaurant’s owners have expressed concerns about being forced to move out or close entirely.
During its initial proposal in 2022, Longfellow stated its most aggressive timeline would be starting construction in fall 2023. That’s no longer happening, and the developers’ representatives said they’re continuing to work with tenants as their leases continue and will explore options for financial or relocation support when the time comes for construction.
Casey Angel, the communications director for Longfellow, pointed to the history of working with local businesses to fill out the available ground-floor spaces. He said across Longfellow’s entire portfolio, they refrain from using chains and instead focus on small businesses that will be supported by the people who work in the building above and town around the site.
“We try to take these buildings and represent the best of the communities that we invest in,” said Angel. “It’s really important to have a little bit of a mirror effect, so when the community looks at a project like this, they see themselves in it. It’s not just a Starbucks or a Subway [franchise]. That’s something that’s very important to [us].”
The 306 West Franklin Street redevelopment by Longfellow is tentatively scheduled to come before both the Chapel Hill Planning Commission and Town Council again in the next two weeks.
The full informational meeting from October 3 can be watched here.
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306 W. Franklin used to be a grocery store. Think about it. Real food in a food desert.
w mallett 8 story building on West Franklin? why? this will start the loss of the little bit of old Chapel Hill Charm that was left in CH. East Franklin lost their charm years ago.
Why are we letting developers build in Prime town areas what the university needs or wants.