New Development
Council Kicks Off Southern Village Hotel Hearing
Yesterday, the Chapel Hill Town Council opened a public hearing on a 120,000 square foot hotel proposed for “downtown” Southern Village. Some residents who spoke in opposition to the project were upset that the hotel will change the skyline, be destructive to neighborhood character, and eliminate parking. Other residents supported the proposal saying it would improve the quality of life in the neighborhood and support businesses. A few Town Council members were concerned about the size of the project. Councilman Ed Harrison said, “This proposal would be a lot easier to swallow if it were smaller.” The developers will present again to the Council at a meeting on February 23. For the story from the Daily Tar Heel, click here.
Carolina North Meeting is Tense
On Wednesday, Town Council members and members of UNC-CH’s board of trustees butted heads over what should be done with the remaining 750 acres of the 1,000 acre Carolina North site. UNC plans to build an academic and research campus over 250 acres of the site but would not agree to permanently preserve the remaining 750 acres of land as many on the Council want to. Click here for audio of the exchange between UNC Board of Trustees chairman Roger Perry and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward. The Innovation Center, Carolina North’s first building, will likely receive an up or down vote at the Council meeting on January 26.
From WCHL 1360AM
Schools
Plans for New Elementary Moving Ahead
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools elementary school number 11 is continuing to move ahead despite the economic recession. The school is proposed to be built in the Northside neighborhood between Caldwell and McMasters streets. Concept plans for the school, the first step in the development process, were submitted to the Town in December. School Board Chairwoman Lisa Stuckey is cautious as she acknowledges plans could change, “I think we’ll see over the next several months what is going on with revenue streams to state and local government, and that might affect our plans,” Stuckey said. “I certainly hope it doesn’t. We need it badly.” The school is tentatively scheduled to open in August of 2011. For the story from the Daily Tar Heel, click here.
CHCCS Releases Reading Results
Students in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools continue to outperform their counterparts across North Carolina in reading, despite a drop in reading test performance. This year, significant changes were made in the tests given to students in grades 3-8, including setting higher standards for attaining proficiency. As a result, 78.5 percent of CHCCS students posted proficiency in reading while in 2008, that number was 93.4 percent. The drop in scores in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district is approximately one-half of the decline seen statewide. “In raising standards, we may make students better readers in the end, but the presentation of the results the first year with new standards can be demoralizing to students and staff," said Executive Director for Testing and Program Evaluation Diane Villwock. For the full story, click here.
Orange County
Planning Board Petitions Council over Site Plan Process
The Chapel Hill planning board brought a petition before the Town Council at a January 12 meeting regarding their concern over developers “subverting” the site plan approval process. Essentially, the planning board wants to tighten the requirements for developments that would be subject to the site plan approval process. Projects with a floor area of less than 20,000 square feet and that disturb less than 40,000 square feet of land are currently allowed to go through the site plan process and not be subject to Council approval. The planning board’s initial petition proposed cutting those figures in half, thus requiring more projects to go through the lengthier special use permitting process. The petition was referred to town staff for comment and the Chamber is working to set up a meeting with staff to provide input on what, if any, changes would occur.
From staff notes
Aldermen Looking at Ways to Improve Downtown Parking
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen are reviewing findings from a downtown parking study recently completed by UNC’s Department of City and Regional Planning. The study states that parking demand throughout the entire downtown does not exceed 85 percent. However, the report says demand is greater than 85 percent in certain areas of downtown during certain times. At their meeting in mid-January, the Board expressed interest in finding some short-term solutions to the issue including improved signage to better direct visitors. Longer-term solutions might include building a parking deck, revising the parking ordinance and/or creating a parking fund. For the story from the Carrboro Citizen, click here.
UNC Airport Off the Table
At a press conference on January 9, Chancellor Holden Thorp formally called off the search for a new airport site in Orange County. Chancellor Thorp said that if the University will ever have a new airport that it will work more closely with the community and collaborate better with the County. A heap of pressure was applied to the University after the General Assembly authorized an airport authority for Orange County in the summer of 2008. Chancellor Thorp said that over the course of the past few months, the meetings and interviews he had with community members revealed the need for more information and due diligence on the project. In the interim, UNC will continue with a $3.5 million hanger at RDU to house the Area Health Education Centers program. For the story from the Chapel Hill News, click here.
County Tax Increase Unlikely
After 20 years of property tax increases, Orange County Commissioners are initially saying they oppose another increase. "It would take an extraordinary argument for me to support any [tax] increase beyond the revenue neutral rate," new Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said at the Commissioners retreat. The historical pattern for the County has been to increase spending faster than its tax base has grown and then make up the difference by raising taxes. This year, with a revaluation that reflected a 22 percent increase in the value of most properties, many commissioners are calling for a “revenue neutral rate”. The rate would be lower than the year before but still bring in as much money due to the increase in property values. For the story from the Chapel Hill News, click here.
UNC Budget Cuts Could Force Layoffs
After cutting budgets by five percent last November, the State is asking UNC to reduce budgets by another one percent. University administrators are concerned that budgets could be cut by another percent and the total cuts be made permanent. According to Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and development, a one percent budget cut amounts to about five million dollars. In a campuswide email this month, Chancellor Holden Thorp said there would be major consequences for permanent cuts of seven percent including reduced enrollment, cutting courses and programs, and laying off faculty and staff. To date, no layoffs have occurred. For the story from the Daily Tar Heel, click here.
Surge in Hotel Rooms Coming
With the recently approved 300 East Main in Carrboro and East 54 in Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill and Carrboro will add 290 new hotel rooms to the current stock of 1,052 rooms. Other hotel projects, such as Chapel Hill 40, the Carolina Inn, and Southern Village, are currently going through the development review process and could add another 230 rooms. According to Laurie Paolicelli of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, the increase in rooms might cause some hardship for hotels at first but usually levels off, “Somebody always takes it on the chin… and then they get more competitive.” Paolicelli also says the increase in rooms may require looking at other tourist markets besides the University crowd. The good news is that from January to August of 2008, Chapel Hill-Carrboro hotels fared well compared to others around the nation. Local occupancy rates were up by 0.4 percent while rates were down 2.5 percent nationally. For the story from the Carrboro Citizen, click here.
The Triangle
Raleigh Crime Up
A preliminary report by the FBI shows that crime was up in Raleigh during the first six months of 2008 compared to that same period in 2007. The statistics show a 12 percent increase in violent crime and a 2 percent rise in property crime. These figures buck nationwide trends that showed a 3.5 percent drop in violent crime and a 2.5 percent decrease in property crime. The FBI report did not provide information about Durham but early indications from the city show violent crime up a bit while property crime declined. Some leaders believe the increase in crime in Raleigh can be attributed to the 3.3 percent population increase that occurred during 2007-2008. For the story from the News and Observer, click here.
Chatham Offering Five Sessions about Revaluation
Chatham County’s Tax Office will offer five sessions to help property owners and others better understand the 2009 property revaluation. Presentations dates include:
• January 28, 6:30 p.m., Goldston Town Hall;
• January 29, 6:30 p.m., Moncure Fire Department;
• February 4, 6:30 p.m., District Courtroom, Pittsboro;
• February 5, 6:30 p.m., Siler City Town Hall; and
• February 9, 6:30 p.m., North Chatham Elementary School Multipurpose Room.
Property owners should receive the new valuations in early to mid-February.
From the Carrboro Citizen
Economy Prompting Durham to Build
Durham County Commissioners and their staff believe now may be the best time to push forward with a number of government construction projects. The perfect storm of low-interest rates, construction companies hungry for projects, low energy costs, and reduced demand for steel and concrete in Europe and Asia is causing the Commissioners to consider pushing ahead with the financing of the $100 million Human Services Building on East Main Street and possibly the $143.5 million Courthouse complex. For the story from the Herald Sun, click here.
Budget Cuts Tentatively Endorsed
Mike Ruffin, Durham County Manager, laid out plans to cut the County budget in the face of an expected $14.5 million shortfall. The heaviest cut will be to the Durham Schools with $3.1 million slashed from the budget. All new open space preservation projects will also be cut bringing in a savings of $550,000. County Departments will be cut by 3 percent as will funding for Durham Technical Community College, the Museum of Life and Science, Urban Ministries, the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Durham Inc., the Animal Protection Society and other nonprofits. For the story from the Herald Sun, click here.
Newland Communities Honored with Green Award
Briar Chapel, a 1,589 acre mixed use community by Newland Communities in Chatham County, was honored recently by the U.S. Green Building Council for its 11,000 square foot clubhouse. The USGBC awarded the clubhouse a LEED Silver certification for reducing energy and water consumption. Beyond the clubhouse, Briar Chapel is making other major efforts to be green. Briar Chapel is the largest community in the region to require its homebuilders to comply with the Green Building Initiative developed by Green Home Builders of the Triangle and ENERGY STAR. For the story from the Herald Sun, click here.
State
North Carolina is Fourth Fastest Growing State
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, North Carolina was the fourth fastest growing state from July 2007 to July 2008. The state’s population grew by two percent, or 180,820 residents, during that time. Only Utah, Arizona and Texas grew faster than North Carolina from 2007-2008. For the full story, click here.
State Incentives Program May be Revamped
State lawmakers recently authorized drafting legislation that would radically transform a longstanding business tax credit program and lower the corporate income tax. The William S. Lee tax credit program has been in existence for 13 years and a study published by UNC shows that during 2001-2006 companies receiving major incentives from the program disappointingly added jobs at the same or slower rate than the statewide average. A Joint House/Senate Incentives Committee has been examining the report and is now creating a new bill that would gut the program and pump more money into the Jobs Development Industrial Grant (JDIG) program which rewards employers based on the number of jobs they create. For the story from the Triangle Business Journal, click here.
State to Accelerate Key Projects
In early January, North Carolina’s top officials agreed to press the gas pedal on several key government building projects totaling $740 million. Governor Mike Easley estimates the accelerated projects will create more than 25,000 new jobs. The new funds will accelerate a number of construction projects including university buildings, a museum and prisons by a few months. One of the projects to be accelerated is the construction of a new Dental School building at UNC. For the story from the Herald Sun, click here.
Online Holiday Sales Down
The Triangle Business Journal recently reported that holiday sales plummeted to their lowest levels since 2001. ComScore, a group that tracks spending, cited that from October 1 to December 28, orders at online retailers slipped to $36.8 billion from $38.4 billion last year. A few companies did see increases in traffic compared to last year, however, including Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Amazon.com. ComScore cites five fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the economic recession as reasons for the overall downturn. For the story from the Triangle Business Journal, click here.
Former Commissioner Moses Carey Tapped to Lead ESC
After serving as an Orange County Commissioner for more than 20 years, Moses Carey was appointed by Governor Bev Perdue to be chairman of the Employment Security Commission (ESC). The ESC leads many of the work-force related services across the state and acts as a broker for helping workers in need of jobs connect with businesses in need of workers. Carey acknowledged the difficult economic climate he faces but has a clear view of his goal as chairman, “The important thing is for the ESC to be there to support and provide services for people who are displaced and re-engage them with employment opportunities.” For the story from the Herald Sun, click here.
The Real Estate Report is produced monthly by the Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtors
