| | New Development
UNC Plans Hospital in Hillsborough
UNC Health Care has filed for permission to build a 68-bed hospital in the Waterstone Economic Development District just south of Hillsbrough. UNC Hospitals main campus has 725 beds at its main facility and is running close to capacity. The move to Hillsborough would help alleviate some traffic congestion on campus and expand the hospital's capacity to serve its patients.The project is estimated at $227 million. While the purchase of land by UNC would remove some land from the property tax rolls, the hospital could draw in new medical related businesses to the Waterstone Economic Development District that has been stagnant for some time. For the full story from the Triangle Business Journal, click here.
Plans for Hotel at Southern Village Dropped DR Bryan, developer of Southern Village in Chapel Hill, dropped plans for a 90-100 room hotel originally planned for the central business district of that neighborhood. It was hoped that the hotel would bring new shoppers and customers to the village businesses but the plan ran into opposition from the neighbors. Instead of building the hotel, Bryan plans to aggressively market village businesses this summer and help capture greater sales from visitors to nearby Southern Community Park. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here.
Greenbridge Builders Propose Property Tax Freeze
Developers of the Greenbridge project in downtown Chapel Hill are proposing a property tax freeze for the Northside neighborhood, immediately adjacent to the Greenbridge project. Residents of Northside have said the project will raise their property tax rates and force them to leave. In response, developers have looked at projects in Indiana and Washington, D.C. that keep property taxes at a fixed rate even when property values go up. County officials have not expressed optimism that the freeze could be implemented, and even if it could, it would need to be passed by the State Legislature. For the full story from the Daily Tar Heel, click here.
Schools
East Principal Retiring
East Chapel Hill High School Principal Dave Thaden announced his retirement in mid-April. Thaden has served as principal for thirteen years and has worked in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School district for another 17 years in various positions. Thaden cited health issues as part of the reason for his decision to step down. For the full story from the Carrboro Citizen, click here. Schools Considering Major Cuts
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board is considering major cuts in the district's budget due to reductions in funds from Orange County and the State. Next year's budget incorporates $700,000 in budget cuts but according to Superintendent Neil Pedersen, it may need to be cut by $4 million. Cuts are targeted at arts, music, physical education, the world language program and teachers for the academically gifted. For the full story from 1360AM WCHL, click here.
Orange County Transfer Tax Issue Resurfaces
Almost one year after voters smashed the transfer tax at the ballots, Orange County Commissioners voted on a resolution stating, "support for the ability of all local governments to apply impact fees and/or taxes and to implement real estate transfer fees and/or taxes." Should the State Legislature approve new revenue options for the County, including a transfer tax increase, the Commissioners could enact the fee without local voter approval. Commissioner Steve Yuhasz was the lone opposition to including the transfer tax in the Board's legislative priorities list. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here.
Downtown Partnership Hires New Executive Director
The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership has hired a new executive director to replace former director Liz Parham. Jim Norton, current president of Tulsa (OK) Downtown Unlimited, will start at the Partnership on June 1. Norton has served as president of Downtown Unlimited for nearly 20 years and chaired a statewide effort in Oklahoma to approve tax increment financing and advocated for residential development in the downtown. For the full story from the Daily Tar Heel, click here. Unemployment Down in County
Orange County's March unemployment figures were down by 0.4 percent over February to 6.1 percent. The unemployment rate remains the lowest in the state. Overall, 84 counties saw a decline in unemployment rate in March, which is a great sign. Neighboring Durham County dropped from 8 percent to 7.7 and Chatham County moved from 8.6 to 7.9 percent during the same period. For more unemployment data from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, click here.
Chapel Hill Town Council Adopts Improved Parking Regulations
At their meeting on Monday, March 16, the Chapel Hill Town Council adopted a number of important downtown parking policy changes including a "courtesy ticket" and improved parking signage. The changes were put forward by the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and were unanimously adopted by the Council in a 9-0 vote. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber President Aaron Nelson spoke in support of the recommendations at the meeting. The new "courtesy ticket" will give first-time parking offenders a free warning ticket that tells visitors and patrons of downtown they've parked illegally or overstayed at a meter instead of issuing a financial penalty. The move is aimed at welcoming and encouraging visitors to come downtown.
Further, Town parking lots (Lots 2, 3, 4, 5) will be renamed to more geographic names giving people a better sense of their location and when combined with new, improved signage should make it easier to locate parking downtown. The Council also asked the Town Manager to review the impact of potentially making parking free in Town lots after 6pm and increasing on-street meter rates by $.25 per hour to offset the difference. Other changes include the following: developing a parking board to oversee policy and parking operations for the Town, move toward unified payment systems for all parking, evaluate event parking fees, work to add additional public parking using private lots, and begin planning for the future needs of parking.
>From Chapel Hill eNews IFC and Carrboro Merchants Begin Dialogue
The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service is looking at a location in downtown Carrboro to potentially house a full-service food operation. The change in location comes as IFC is working to relocate its Community House, currently on West Rosemary Street, to a former Duke Energy building in northern Chapel Hill. The food service operations, also currently housed in the West Rosemary building, will need to remain in a downtown according to IFC's Board of Directors. IFC is eyeing its property at 110 W. Main Street where the food pantry is currently located but the relocation has local businesses concerned that panhandling and loitering will come with the relocation. That concern has prompted IFC director Chris Moran to start a dialogue with business owners in Carrboro about where the best location for a soup kitchen might be. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here.
New LED Lights Installed in Downtown Chapel Hill
A new pilot program between the Town of Chapel Hill and Duke Energy launched last week when Duke installed light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, along part of East Franklin Street. The project is a 12-month program that is testing the performance of the lights, which are supposed to use less energy, burn brighter and last longer than traditional high-pressure sodium lights. The LEDs came from RTP company Cree and cost about eight times more than traditional lights. Chapel Hill is the first town in North Carolina to try the lights and will use data and information from the pilot to decide whether to use LEDs more broadly. Residents are encouraged to submit comments about the lights here. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here. County Economic Developer Working on Solar Cluster
Brad Broadwell, Orange County Economic Development Director, is moving forward with the creation of a solar technology cluster that would expand the commercial tax base and bring new jobs to the county. A cluster is a geographic concentration of similar businesses and their suppliers and supporting businesses. Broadwell is working with existing solar companies like MegaWatt Solar and Solar Tech South to boost their image in the region and is looking to tap into stimulus funds. Broadwell has approached the developers of Buckhorn Village about potentially creating a solar technology park in place of the originally planned retail project. For the full story from the Chapel Hill Herald, click here.
County Looking to Sell Surplus Buildings
In an attempt to generate some revenue, Orange County Commissioners agreed to put four properties up for sale. The properties are the Clerk of Court Annex, 112 N. Churton St., Hillsborough; the Graham Building, 118 N. Churton St., Hillsborough; the Homestead Community Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill; and the old ABC store, N.C. 49, Cedar Grove. The County will get appraisals on three of the properties before selling them. The appraisals are part of the standard devestiture process the county uses to sell buldings. The tax value of all of the buildings except for the ABC store was $850,000. For the full story from the Carrboro Citizen, click here.
Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force Receiving Applications
The Town of Chapel Hill is now receiving applications for the recently created Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force. The Task Force is the idea of Mayor Kevin Foy and is charged with making recommendations to the Council "regarding the design, timing, scale and appropriate location of higher density, mixed use" and "sustainable development along major transportation corridors in Chapel Hill." The Task Force will consist of 11 members, five citizens-at-large and six members from various town boards and commissions. If you are interested in applying to be a part of this important task force, click here.
The Triangle
Chatham Gearing Up for Mixed Drink Referendum Supporters and opponents of mixed beverage sales in Chatham County are preparing for a show down at the ballot box on May 5. The vote will determine whether Chatham County will allow businesses to sell mix drinks, something supporters say would be an economic boon to the county. Supporters also point out that DWI arrests in dry communities such as Asheboro are higher than in Greensboro or High Point, which allow mixed drink sales. Opponents say the sale of mixed drinks will lead to more alcohol-related vehicular accidents. For the full story from the Herald Sun, click here.
More Development Eyed at Southpoint
WRS Realty Inc, a developer of Wal-Mart shopping centers, has made an offer of more than $20 million for a 55-acre plot of land near Southpoint Mall in Durham. The 55-acres are west of Fayetteville Road in the Kentington Heights neighborhood. While a deal has not yet been reached, Kentington residents have sought to sell their land for some time to a commercial developer. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here. Local Option Sales Tax Clears House
The North Carolina House of Representatives approved House Bill 148, local option sales tax, on April 22. The bill would allow voters in all North Carolina counties to approve a sales tax increase for transit-projects. Specifically, it would allow voters in Forsyth, Guilford, Wake, Durham and Orange counties to approve a half cent sales tax increase and a $2 increase in car registration fees. Voters in the other 94 counties to approve a quarter cent sales tax increase. Mecklenburg County already won approval and used its half cent sales tax increase to fund an ambitious light rail project in its downtown. The next step for the bill is approval in the Senate. For the full story from the News and Observer, click here.
State and Nation
New Commercial Tenants Leasing Smaller SpacesRobert Bach, Chief Economist with Grubb and Ellis, reported last month that real estate tenants nationwide are using less space per deal. Bach sites that the average industrial lease signed in the first quarter of 2009 was 22,974 sq ft, which is the lowest its been this decade. In the office category, the average lease signed was 12,808 sq ft which is 50 percent smaller than the quarterly average from 2000 to 2008. The report states three reasons for the reduction in square footage: 1) Tenants signing new leases may have recently laid off staff and are "right-sizing" their space, 2) Tenants may be less optimistic about future expansion plans and are less aggressive in the amount of space being leased, 3) Smaller companies are scooping up the good deals being offered by landlords while larger companies are waiting for the economy to improve. From Grubb and Ellis "Weekly Market Insight"
The Real Estate Report is produced monthly by the Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtors
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