Big-box stores draw dollars outside of Orange County lines

Chapel Hill might be home to the powerhouse UNC basketball team, but there are few places to buy a non-souvenir basketball in town.

People usually buy items like basketballs, lawn chairs or curtains at general merchandise stores — like a Target. There is only one supercenter store with a Chapel Hill address — a Walmart located just beyond the Chatham County line.

The only supercenter retailer in Orange County is a Walmart in Hampton Pointe shopping center in Hillsborough.

As a result, Chapel Hill and Orange County lose hundreds of millions of dollars as residents shop at big-box stores like Target, Walmart and Costco just beyond county borders.

Orange County has a $728 million retail gap — the difference between the amount residents spend overall and the amount they spend in the county — according to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Community report, released in August.

“We do need more general merchandise, all of those are right on our edges,” said Aaron Nelson, the president and CEO of the chamber.

Chapel Hill loses dollars in many retail categories, including general merchandise, gas stations and electronic and appliance stores, according to a retail market study performed for the town in 2011. The town does not have a gap for restaurants, motor vehicle vendors and grocery stores.

Crossing the line

Students — even those without cars on campus — will cross county lines to shop.

More than half of Chapel Hill voters in Senate District 23said they’d like to see a Target in southern Orange County, while only 15 percent said they were opposed to one, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released last month.

During UNC’s Week of Welcome, many students are taken by bus to the Super Target in Durham for last-minute college necessities.

“I’m all for supporting the local economy and supporting the Chamber of Commerce in Orange County,” said Winston Crisp, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. “The simple truth of the matter is there is nothing like Target in Orange County that is suitable for that kind of event.”

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said he is not opposed to bringing in a Target, but he does want to ensure the developers and the town consider the negatives a big-box store would bring, including increased traffic.

“We do have places in town where I think there are opportunities for it,” he said. “It’s just about whether we’re able to solve other issues that these big-box stores can create.”

Kleinschmidt said potential sites for a big-box store include the proposed Obey Creek mixed-use development.

Ben Perry, a project manager at East West Partners, the developer for the Obey Creek project, said it will take about a year before the town and developers decide what will be built in the development.

He said he could not comment on whether the development would include a big-box store, but he does think it’s something that would be good for the town.

“We think it’s something financially the town needs, but we were surprised to see that there’s a majority support for it,” Perry said.

Orange County Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier said she would also like to see more retail in Orange County. Less sales tax revenue makes it difficult for officials to provide services without raising taxes, she said.

Shrinking the gap

There are other ways for residents to close the retail gap in the county — like shopping locally. Nelson said there is no simple solution.

“We do need more general merchandise,” he said. “Take soccer — where in Orange County would you go to buy a pair of cleats? Or where would you go to buy a basketball in basketball heaven?”

Nelson said having big-box stores would also bring in work opportunities for unskilled and semi-skilled labor, something the town lacks. But at the same time, Nelson said it is important to shop within the community and support the area.

“Before you order it online or drive 20 to 30 minutes to it, think, ‘Can I buy what I need here in my community?’”

city@dailytarheel.com