gchildress@heraldsun.com;419-6645
Chapel Hill -- Tim Toben believes the numerous meetings and intense debates that led to town approval and construction of the Greenbridge condominium and mixed-use development makes it one of the "more inclusive projects" in town history.
But even so, Toben a partner in the firm developing the project, which has the distinction of being both controversial and celebrated, says all of the openness and sharing in the world wasn't enough to stop student protesters, residents of the historically black Northside community and others from spreading misinformation about Greenbridge.
"It was disheartening to us," Toben told a roomful of citizens attending a monthly meeting of the Friends of Downtown.
Toben's comments came in response to a question from a member of the group about whether Toben and his partners in Greenbridge Development learned anything about crisis management, particularly as it relates to developing such projects in a college town.
"You can never do enough," Toben said. "You have to stay in constant contact [with the community]."
Earlier, Toben told the group that an environmentally conscious project such as Greenbridge is best suited for university towns whose inhabitants are ahead of the curve when it comes to understanding the importance of living in a sustainable fashion.
Toben said that allegations that he and his partners were racially insensitive were just false.
"That was not in our hearts," said Toben, adding that he and his partners have a long history of fighting for social justice.
Pat Evans, chairwoman of Friends of Downtown, said one of the reasons Toben was invited to speak was to dispel misinformation about the project.
"The building is going to be a nice addition to downtown Chapel Hill," Evans said.
Toben also talked passionately about the Greenbridge development, which he said is nearing completion. He said there are about 30 more days on intense construction remaining on the project.
Only about 30 of the project's 97 residential units remain unsold. The remaining condos, mostly two-bedroom units are selling for anywhere between $420,000 and $1.4 million, for the last of two penthouse units.
And of the 15 affordable housing units required under the town's Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, eight are under contract, five have been reserved and two are available for purchase, said officials with the Community Home Trust, the agency handling the sale of the affordable housing units. Those units are selling for $100,000 to $115,000.
In addition, Toben said Greenbridge is excited by the lineup of commercial tenants and encouraged by those showing interest in the property.
When asked about those buying the condos, Toben said about half are from the area and the others come from such locales as Florida and New York. The common denominator, he said, is they have some kind of visceral or business attraction to Chapel Hill.
Toben said those buying the condos tend to be young professionals or older, retired people.
