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Board waits on 300 East Main

Posted on September 18, 2008 by Staff

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

After hours of public comment, discussion and presentation from developers, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen on Tuesday postponed a decision on the proposed 300 East Main Street project.

Board members said they had additional questions about the development, and continued the public hearing and postponed a vote on the project until a special meeting on Sept. 30. The board opened the public hearing on Aug. 26.

The 507,500-square-foot project is on 5.24 acres extending from the intersection of Main and Boyd streets near Nice Price Books to the present municipal parking lot on the corner of Main and Roberson streets. It includes a 150-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel, a five-story parking deck, a central pedestrian plaza, three large commercial buildings and extensive changes for Cat’s Cradle and The ArtsCenter.

The developer, Main Street Properties of Chapel Hill LLC, first brought a site plan to the board in 2004.

Board members raised questions regarding the specifics of the project, including water conservation tools, shade requirements, traffic calming, signage during construction, lighting details and more.

Board member Jackie Gist said she wanted more time to work with the developers to ensure the project is perfect.

“This is a permanent change to the face of Carrboro. It’s something that, once it’s done, we can’t go back on,” she said.

Gist said she was specifically concerned about parking and traffic issues downtown.

“I am not comfortable kind of writing a blank check.… I would like some things in place that give us more control as it goes along,” she continued. “I want to know what it’s going to look like.”

Board member Joal Hall Broun said the board should make a decision soon on the project.

“There needs to be some standard process, because this project isn’t going to be the only one this size,” she said. “We’re setting a precedent by what we do.”

Sherman Richardson, one of the partners in the eight-member corporation, urged the board to make a decision on the project.

“This is a vast project, but it will work,” he said. “I would not be risking everything I possibly have to prove it.”

One of the reasons the board should make a decision on the development sooner rather than later, Richardson said, is that Cat’s Cradle needs to expand and is being offered space in Durham that is already available.

“I’m sorry, but we really need to get on with this thing,” he said.

“Growth is going to happen,” he continued. “We can do it in this manner … or we can do it the way Chapel Hill has done it. Downtown Chapel Hill has been gutted.”

Richardson said he has strong ties to Carrboro and that while he knew the proposed development was scary for Carrboro residents, he knew it could work well in the community.
“Give us a little bit of credit. We’ve been here a long time,” he said.

“What is Carrboro? Is it just the pretty lawn out there? No, it’s something that will evolve, and does evolve,” he said.

Residents spoke both for and against the project, citing the need for development and a larger commercial tax base, as well as the need for more greenspace in the project’s design and potential traffic problems.

Jack Haggerty, a local architect, encouraged the board to take more time before voting on the project and said the application seemed incomplete.

“I believe that there are a number of questions that are left unanswered,” he said. “Within the public hearing, the design is changing. That is troubling to me.”

James Carnahan, chair of the Carrboro Planning Board and a strong proponent of dense development downtown, said he believed the project would change Carrboro and encourage more pedestrian traffic.

“This is really an exciting project. It is truly transformative,” he said, adding that the development will be instrumental in “creating a more walkable place.”

“The projects we’ve approved are terrific,” he said. “They are mostly residential projects. What’s great about this and really transformative is this is a big commercial project.”

Jenny McMillan, a local business owner, said that while she thought the project offered good things to the town, the board should take more time before approving it.

“Whatever we do downtown, we’re going to be living with it a very long time,” she said. “What’s the rush?”

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird spoke at the public hearing in strong support of the project.

“This is the embodiment of the essence of Carrboro right here,” she said. “I think that what we are doing is going in an exciting direction.”

Kinnaird also pointed out that the project could provide tax relief to property owners in Carrboro by increasing the commercial tax base.

“Carrboro is a destination. We all know that,” she said. “What we have is exciting to people, and they will come.… People are going to be excited when they see what new things Carrboro has to offer.”

The board voted to hold a special meeting on Sept. 30 to continue the public hearing, but will limit it to the responses from staff regarding questions raised by the board. The board is expected to make a decision regarding the project at the special meeting.

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