By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
CARRBORO – In a move that will bring a major transformation to the intersection of Jones Ferry Road and West Main Street, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen gave unanimous approval to the redevelopment of the PTA Thrift Shop on Tuesday.
The project includes the redevelopment of the PTA Thrift Shop’s 1.4 acres, currently home to its shop and executive offices. As proposed, the redevelopment includes two new buildings totaling more than 26,000 square feet and 71 parking spaces. The first building – three stories encompassing about 21,000 square feet on the site of the current shop – will house the PTA Thrift Shop, its offices and a drop-off and processing area for donations, in addition to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ Pre-K and Head Start offices on the third floor. The second building, about 5,000 square feet to the east of the larger building, will be leased out as retail, restaurant and office space.
Leasing space will provide a new stream of revenue for the thrift shop, enabling it to give more back to the schools, executive director Barbara Jessie-Black said. Last September, the PTA Thrift Shop gave $265,000 to the schools.
The project will also enable the thrift shop to hire seven additional full-time employees, Jessie-Black said, while providing much-needed space to make the thrift shop’s operations more efficient.
“This is going to make us a much cleaner and a much better neighbor from an aesthetic standpoint,†she said.
Though the board held a public hearing on the project, no one from the public spoke regarding the development.
To fund the project, the PTA Thrift Shop is conducting a capital campaign with a goal of raising $5.6 million, including $1.7 million from within the community. Thus far, the campaign has raised about $167,000.
For more information, visit ptathriftshop.com