James Carnahan's blog
A full-service library has been at the top of Carrboro's community facilities wish list for decades. So, the recent announcement of a contract to purchase a 2.7-acre site at 210 Hillsborough Road (see map) was, in some ways, welcome news. Unfortunately, however, it is not clear that this site will fulfill Carrboro's dream of a place downtown for the community to gather and learn.
In the initial news reports Buckhorn was touted as “a center like The Streets at Southpoint” (N&O, Jan 12). Over a million square feet of retail, hotel & movie theater uses are proposed on 128 acres at the intersection of Buckhorn Road and I40/I85. At the west end of one of the County’s Economic Development Districts (EDDs), this was for many years the site of a thriving flea market. Some of the materials submitted by the developers hint at the inclusion of residential and office uses, but most of their documents and statements to the press indicate that their interest in these is very low. They estimate the County would realize $7.2 million a year in sales & property tax revenues. But what might these revenues cost us?
That a development of such magnitude is being considered for the County raises questions like these:
Guest Post by James Carnahan
A Concept Plan for Carolina North, the June 29 presentation by the Village project, will be re-broadcast Monday, August 1, 7 to 9pm on local cable channel 18 in Carrboro & Chapel Hill. This concept plan represents a year-long, unfunded effort by the local non-profit walkable community advocacy group to offer an alternative view of how UNC's Horace Williams property might be developed.
Not meant to be definitive, the presentation is primarily intended to answer the question, "what would Carolina North look like if citizen input were incorporated?" and to encourage the University to utilize a facilitated collaborative process to further develop its plans for the new campus. Key differences are a multi-modal transportation approach making possible greatly reduced parking and dependence on the automobile, 4 times the housing proposed in the Ayers/Saint/Gross plan, and a half-mile long reservoir for holding rainfall harvested from rooftops, that doubles as a outdoor recreation space.
James Carnahan is the Chair of The Village Project.
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