The owners of Grove Park, an apartment complex on Hillsborough Street, are proposing the construction of 235 apartment units, six of which would be leased to the town as affordable housing at $1 per month per unit for the next 20 years.
The town could then rent the units to lower-income residents more affordably, creating less expensive housing options in downtown Chapel Hill. The revenue the town would make on the units could then be used to pay for other municipal projects.
The new application is different from a June proposal in which Grove Park owners offered 50 of the additional 235 units to be leased to the town for affordable housing purposes. The changes in the proposal caused some concerns within the Chapel Hill Town Council, which must grant approval before the complex can be expanded.
“The council has articulated a number of questions about the best way to meet affordable housing goals with this project,” council member Lee Storrow said.
The construction of an additional 235 units would require a modification to Grove Park’s special-use permit, which was granted in 2009. The proposal to modify the permit has also raised some issues about the availability of parking and transportation near the complex.
The owners of Grove Park would like a decision as soon as possible so they can begin constructing the additional units, said Sarah Viñas, the Chapel Hill housing and community planner.
However, Viñas said a lot of factors play into the decision, so it could take some time before the council decides whether to approve the proposal.
Supporters of the proposal stress that the plan would provide affordable housing in Chapel Hill, where housing costs are high and the population is growing.
