Chapel Hill’s Community Design Commission called a special meeting last week to discuss the University Place redevelopment and approve a list of design goals to send to town staff. Now, it’s recommended that the developer incorporates this list into future plans.
According to the applicant, Ram Reality Advisors, the redevelopment will “transform University Place into a walkable town center.” Development plans call for up to 300 apartments, 150 hotel rooms, 150,000 square feet of office space and 450,000 square feet of retail space.
Before construction can begin, the Chapel Hill Town Council needs to approve the project. There’s a stipulation, however, that the applicant must go through the town’s Community Design Commission (CDC) before presenting final plans to the town manager.
Chair of the CDC Susana Dancy said the new document detailing project aspirations should set the standard for how developers create their design plans.
“This aspirational document conveys that we would like to see something that is broken down into human scale components,” Dancy said, “with connectivity between the different aspects of this project.”
Topics of concern discussed at the CDC’s meeting include the heights, lengths, and entrances of project buildings, as well as sidewalks.
Commission members suggest a maximum building height of 75 feet, whereas current design criteria allow buildings up to 90 feet tall. They also request that buildings be no longer than 300 feet.
Members also stated that the existing five-foot sidewalk along Willow Road is “inadequate” for the proposed apartment building. Instead, they recommend that the 10-foot multi-use path on Fordham and Estes be continued so that the entire site is mostly encircled.
They also asked that primary building entrances be street-facing and clearly identifiable and that the developer incorporates more greenery and art throughout the site.
Site plan for the University Place redevelopment (photo via Ram Realty)
The CDC was given the deadline of October 15 to provide these suggestions to the town manager. Initial reviews earlier in the year were postponed.
“By saying these are the recommended parameters – these are the items that should be included in the design standards – here are some suggestions for places to start – we think that these support the overall goals of creating a quality, integrated, pedestrian oriented space,” said Dancy.
The town manager will review these suggestions before presenting the project to the Chapel Hill Town Council at a future date.
Lead photo via Ram Realty/Ashley Saulpaugh.
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