Following review by the Chapel Hill Town Manager and the Community Design Commission, the Village Plaza Apartments project was slated for administrative approval on Wednesday.

But Lee Perry, Development Director for East West Partners, wrote to town officials earlier this week to request a three week delay, pushing the approval date back to December 3.

“Basically, there are a few final items on the plan that required some revision, and the time that it took our engineers and architects to make those changes and get them turned back in and also give staff the time to review them and confirm everything, was going to most likely push us beyond the deadline date,” says Perry. “That being the case we agreed that extending the deadline was in everybody’s best interest.”

Perry says the revisions to the plan are minor.

The proposal calls for a six story building with 266 apartments, 15,600 square feet of retail and a parking deck with 463 spaces to be built in the vacant lot near Whole Foods on Elliot Road.

Unlike other large mixed-use developments, this one doesn’t require approval from the Town Council, merely a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Town Manager. It’s the first test of the new form-based code the Council voted to apply to the Ephesus-Fordham district last May.

Under form-based code, the Council sets out parameters for development including building height and parking requirements, but final approval rests with the Town Manager, provided the project meets the guidelines.

Perry says so far, the process has run smoothly.

“I think it’s been a good process. You know, it’s a new process for us and the town, so I think everybody has been learning as we go, but I’d say all things considered we’ve been very happy with how the process has gone to date.”

If the Town Manager signs off on the plan by December 3, Perry says they expect to break ground by the end of January.

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