Plans for a proposed residential complex near the intersection of Amity Court and West Rosemary Street were reviewed last week by the Chapel Hill Community Design Commission.
During the review, board members heard from Jared Martinson, an architect from Durham-based design firm MHAworks, on the multigenerational impact of the project.
For the past two years, Martinson has pitched plan revisions to board members on behalf of developer Larry Short, who seeks to combine affordable housing with retail space.
According to Martinson, this combination is the result of community input gleaned from meetings held earlier in the year, with participants requesting reasonable monthly rates along with spaces for seniors.
Requests for affordable housing were reiterated to board members by Delores Bailey, whose local non-profit group, EmPOWERment, Inc., endorses lower area housing costs.
The project is not devoid of controversy, as local property owner P.H. Craig insisted to board members that Short may be ignoring an easement pertaining to Nunn Alley, which Craig maintains.
If recommended by the Community Design Commission, the project, whose projected footprint tops 200,000 square feet and six stories, will be presented to the Town Council for approval.
The fate of Breadman’s, a long-running restaurant which currently sits on the 2-acre lot surveyed for the project, is unknown, but owner Roy Piscitello has claimed that relocation is likely.
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