Chapel Hill approves condo project with affordable units a short walk from UNC campus
The Chapel Hill Town Council approved plans Wednesday night for a four-story condo building across from Merritt’s Grill, a short bus ride or walk to the university and UNC Hospitals campus.
The Columbia Street Annex will offer up to 69 condominiums and 3,000 square feet of commercial space, with a plaza near the main entrance at 1150 S. Columbia St.
Developers David Robert and CH Hotel Associates Ltd. Partnership tweaked the plan after the council held a Feb. 24 public hearing. The development team agreed to more conditions Wednesday before the council’s unanimous approval.
The new building will not include any dedicated short-term rentals, and the council has asked that the homeowner’s association also limit housing to residents age 22 and older. Space also will be available for Chapel Hill Transit to build one of two future bus-rapid transit stops in the immediate area, said Dan Jewell, a development consultant with Coulter Jewell Thames.
Other project details include:
▪ Affordable housing: Nine condos will be affordably priced for families and individuals earning up to 80% of the area median income — an annual income of up to $50,900 a year for an individual and up to $72,700 a year for a family of four.
▪ Parking: The transit-oriented development will give condo owners a price reduction if they don’t need a parking space. There are 69 spaces planned under and behind the building, plus electric vehicle charging stations and conduit. The project could have up to 30 bike spaces initially, and double that if needed.
▪ Pedestrian improvements: An existing crosswalk at Purefoy Road will be relocated and get a pedestrian-activated flashing light, a sidewalk and street lighting will be installed along South Columbia Street, and the developer will pay the town $50,000 to help install future crosswalks at the Columbia Street-N.C. 54-U.S. 15-501 intersection.
▪ Traffic improvements: The developer will add “sharrows” to the southbound right lane pavement markings to alert drivers that cyclists may share the road. A left turn lane into the project would be added to the northbound side of South Columbia Street near Purefoy Road.
▪ Environment conditions: Roughly 60% of the wooded site would be preserved. The developer will hire a stream restoration engineer and a biologist to work on the stream restoration project, which is expected to create a public green space with trails that could be public. Invasive plants will be removed from the entire site, and the rooftop will be solar ready.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 9:18 AM with the headline "Chapel Hill approves condo project with affordable units a short walk from UNC campus."
