Carrboro Receives Update on 203 Project Designs, Planning

The Carrboro Town Council has received several updates regarding the 203 Project this year, with one at last Tuesday’s meeting being the latest. But this time, town officials saw the first concept designs created by architecture firm Perkins + Will since some aspects of the project’s vision changed.

The town initially planned for the 203 Project to house a new facility for The ArtsCenter, but the long-time institution pulled out of the project in early 2019. The change sent designers back to the drawing board.

Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle says it also made the town search for additional partners to fill the building and match their goals.

“Since that time,” she recently told 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck, “we’ve been reworking the partners of the project. Now, it’s not just the Southern Branch Library, it’s not just our town Recreation, Parks and Cultural Resources department, but also the Orange County Skills Development Center and other county departments.”

A concept street view on South Greensboro Street of The 203 in Carrboro. (Concept art via Perkins + Will)

In addition, town feedback from the designs presented two years ago reflected an interest for parking to be built into the project. Community members expressed worry about its effect on parking if the 88-space parking lot where the building will eventually be constructed were totally eliminated.

Tuesday, though, Perkins + Will presented a new concept design featuring both built-in parking and ways to accommodate the additional partnerships with Orange County.

Lavelle described seeing these new ideas for the building as a “fire hose” of information and details. She said the developers selected one of three designs in mind, one that includes a rooftop terrace and big windows to draw the eyes of pedestrians.

“It has the [Orange County] Library on the ground level facing Greensboro Street and [is] very open,” described Lavelle. “It has a pedestrian road, much like Wall Street in downtown Asheville. It’s a really thoughtful design.”

A concept idea for the rooftop terrace area of The 203 building in Carrboro. (Concept art via Perkins + Will.)

The Carrboro mayor said in addition to public feedback on the design itself, the town has more recently heard worries about its continuation with the project despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With some small businesses already having to shut their doors, some owners have questioned whether a project estimated to cost more than $20 million is worth it right now.

“We heard their concerns and we’re trying to respond as best as we can,” said Lavelle. “We recognize the pandemic has been horrific for our local businesses, but we’re also trying to balance the idea of this project bringing in more people that can then eat downtown, go to businesses downtown.”

The community can directly give more feedback in the coming days. The next steps for the 203 Project include holding virtual public engagement about these most recent designs from Thursday, September 24, through Saturday, September 26. More information on those sessions can be found on the Town of Carrboro’s website.

Developers estimate construction on the 203 Project will begin around one year from now.

Featured image via Perkins + Will.

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Carrboro Receives Update on 203 Project Designs, Planning

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