Details missing from University Square plan

Plans for redevelopment of University Square continue to stir lively debate.

The Chapel Hill Town Council held a public hearing Monday night to discuss a rezoning and special use permit request for the project — which would bring retail, office and residential space, and more than 1,000 parking spaces to the West Franklin Street development at the expense of tenants’ relocation.

Several council members, including Matt Czajkowski, said they support the project but want to see more plans for affordable housing.

“You’re going to have 300 units at ‘market rate,’” Czajkowski said, noting most students and employees would be unable to afford living there.

He also said the project does not meet the goals of the town’s comprehensive plan, Chapel Hill 2020.

“This is not space that startups will be in, and there is minimal space for affordable housing,” he said. “We need to be clear what it does achieve and what it doesn’t achieve.”

Jason Frost, vice president for Cousins Properties, the project’s developer, said Chapel Hill Foundation Real Estate Holdings — which owns the current University Square development —has leased the property to them.

“UNC is not involved in this project,” he said.

Frost said Granville Towers, located in University Square, would remain controlled by the University after it is complete.

Frost said the project, which includes one acre of recreational space, will bring in between $75 million and $100 million in revenue.

“At the end of the day this project is a catalyst for downtown revitalization,” he said.

Councilmember Lee Storrow asked whether the green space could be used instead to build additional residential units for students.

“If we don’t connect those, we’re kidding ourselves,” he said of the proposed units and student housing.

But Frost stood firm in backing the original plan.

“We think that that green space is critical. It’s all about making the place,” he said.

In addition to a lack of affordable housing, others raised concerns about disruption to the Cameron-McCauley historic district.

Chapel Hill native and UNC professor Donald Stanford Jr. said access to the property from Cameron Avenue has always been restricted.

He worried a provision in the project that would open up this access could undermine the preservation of the neighborhood.

“For those of us who live in that community, that’s pretty darn important,” he said of the restricted access.

Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said despite the flaws in the project, he is excited.

“I am excited about the possibility of being able to activate the street,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.