‘Transformative’ change, homes, businesses coming to a forest in southern Chapel Hill
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It’s been 15 years since a developer first tried to build businesses and homes on U.S. 15-501, across from Chapel Hill’s Southern Village.
The plan fell through, and the forest remained, but next year, drivers between Chapel Hill and Chatham County will see construction start at South Creek, a new, 40-acre neighborhood with an 80-acre public nature preserve.
New York-based developer, The Beechwood Organization, and its local division, Beechwood Carolinas, broke ground in September after working with the N.C. Native Plants Society to relocate native plants to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham.
Construction could start at the southeastern corner of U.S. 15-501 and Market Street extension in late spring, a company spokesperson said. It will have two levels of parking, 92 apartments, and about 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
No tenants have been announced, but a move-in date is set for late summer 2026, a spokesperson said.
A second building — with two stories of parking and five stories of condominiums — is being planned, town permits show.
In all, South Creek could add:
▪ 606 condominiums and 100 townhomes for sale, a major addition to the town’s middle-income housing stock within a few miles of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and UNC Hospitals.
▪ 52,000 square feet of commercial space
▪ Affordable housing: 15% of the condos and townhouses and 10% of the apartments. Half priced at 65% of the area median income and half priced at 80% of AMI — up to $59,360 a year for an individual or $76,320 for a family of three.
▪ Public and private amenities, including outdoor spaces and a dining plaza, 6,000-square-foot restaurant with a terrace overlooking Wilson Creek, walking trails, swimming pools, splash pads, fitness center, game rooms, co-working spaces, and podcasting studios.
Second attempt at growth
South Creek will mark one of the most significant changes to southern Chapel Hill in 30 years and is set to “be a transformative development,” said Beechwood President and Principal Steven Dubb.
“Every detail — from retail and residential amenities to the plentiful outdoor spaces — reflects our commitment to designing and building a place where the Chapel Hill community can thrive,” Dubb said.
It’s the second project approved for the site, which was designated for low-density, single-family homes when Chapel Hill approved the more dense Southern Village neighborhood for 312 acres west of the highway in 1993.
In 2010, local developer East West Partners submitted Obey Creek, also with 40 acres of mixed use and an 80-acre preserve, but with over 1 million square feet of retail, offices and hotel rooms, in addition to 700 apartments.
The town appointed a citizen steering committee, and Obey Creek went through rounds of public hearings and community meetings before being approved in 2015. By that time, the commercial market had changed, and northern Chatham County was growing.
In 2021, Obey Creek Ventures LLC sold the land to Beechwood Obey Creek LLC for $7.25 million, county records showed.
This story was originally published January 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘Transformative’ change, homes, businesses coming to a forest in southern Chapel Hill."
