By Beth Mechum and Kirk Ross
Staff Writers
In late 2007, before swearing in newly elected Carrboro Board of Aldermen member Lydia Lavelle, the board and several citizens said so long to longtime board member Alex Zaffron, who had opted not to seek re-election.
Zaffron, who helped guide a change in board policy that would result in a new direction for downtown, said he was content to leave, in part because several projects were in the pipeline that would turn into reality the vision of a denser downtown with mixed-use multi-story projects.
Throughout the next year, the town reviewed and approved a handful of those projects, including the massive 300 East Main Street, which includes a hotel, parking deck and new buildings along East Main Street and the rail line.
But less than two years after the changing of the guard, a sagging economy and tight credit have put several of those projects on hold, and just before their summer recess the board of aldermen granted extensions on conditional-use permits for a half-dozen projects town-wide, including some of the centerpieces of the new downtown.
Nathan Milian of Carr Mill Mall said one of those projects, the four-story, mixed-use Alberta, is ready to roll, with plans and engineering completed, a general contractor selected and marketing and presales already started.
“There are things that are in play that are out of our control, so the things that are in our control we completely have our arms around and ready,†he said. “I think we don’t have that far to go to get going. Our main concern at this point [is] if we have contracts with people, can they hold up their end of the deal.â€
If they can’t, Milian said, “I don’t think it’s necessarily their fault. The issue is the lending climate is awful for residential, and its even worse for condominiums.â€
Milian said he sought an extension of the Alberta permit to give more time for credit markets to loosen and build presales.
He said he’s watching how sales at two Chapel Hill projects — East 54 and Greenbridge — go. If those projects, begun before the downturn, sell well, it would give lenders greater confidence about the local market.
“We are at the mercy of the financial institutions who lend money,†Milian said, “and if Greenbridge looks like they are getting close, if their buyers are able to secure mortgages and close on those residential units there, then that might give some comfort to the lenders who are doing that project, and to other users, that urban-type condominiums are places that they can lend to.â€
Main Street Properties partner Laura Van Sant said she is starting to see some signs that lenders are gaining confidence. Van Sant said she expects work to start on the first phase of the 300 East Main project early next year.
“We’re feeling pretty good about it,†she said, with financing coming together that would allow for the demolition of the old Performance Bicycle building and houses behind it, the construction of a 150-room hotel and the first phase of the project’s multi-story parking deck.
Van Sant said after all the efforts that went into the project, it was a difficult but necessary decision to wait out the storm before going forward.
“We wanted to make sure the economy was not falling off a cliff,†she said. Plans now call for the first phase of the project to be wrapped up by 2011.
Some developers don’t seem to be moving forward at all. These days, the only thing happening at the already-approved site for downtown’s Roberson Square is an informal skate park.
The five-story condo, retail and office project has been on the market for about a year. The plans calls for 18 condominiums, 11 office spaces and 11 retails spots, with a central courtyard and 65 parking spaces. The property is listed at $1.9 million.
Outside of downtown, other Carrboro projects are on hold as well.
Bud Mathews said he’d like to sell his building on N.C. 54 that he once intended to renovate and rent out.
“We’ve demoed it, we’re waiting for reconstruction,†he said, “basically it’s a useless building right now.â€
He’s also been fighting with the county tax office on the tax value of the property.
“That’s the problem with this economy. I’m a perfect example,†Mathews said. “My realtor said I might be able to get $500,000 for it, so I’m selling for that.
But no one really knows if it’s worth that. It’s not an income-bearing piece of property, and they said, ‘But you have it for sale, so we are going to go ahead and tax you on your sale price.’ But I don’t understand. How can you tax me on something that hasn’t been sold yet?â€