Town Council approves 53 affordable housing units along Homestead Road

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

By Adam Powell
Correspondent

On the evening of Wednesday, April 23, the Town of Chapel Hill’s Council unanimously approved a conditional zoning application for Maddry Meadows, an affordable senior living community for 55-and-older residents at 2510 Homestead Road.

Raleigh-based DHIC, a non-profit developer for affordable housing, received fast-tracked approval by town leaders for its third development in Chapel Hill. DHIC also previously constructed 149 affordable apartments more than a decade ago in what became Greenfield Place and Greenfield Commons, and also in 2023, conceived 160 apartments at 1714 Legion Road for a development that will be constructed in the coming years. DHIC also constructed the Willard Street Apartments in Durham, among other local affordable housing projects.

Project adjacent to Seymour Center, Homestead Aquatic Center

The site at 2510 Homestead Road, located in a suitable location near area transit and various services, will feature a multi-use path and greenway connection. The building will feature on-site property management, a multi-purpose room, a work and computer center, common areas along the main perimeter, and an elevator. The site was deemed particularly attractive for senior housing due to its close proximity to Orange County’s Seymour Senior Center, located at 2551 Homestead Road, as well as the adjacent Homestead Aquatic Center, located just off Homestead Road at 300 Aquatic Drive.

“It (the site) has great access to Chapel Hill transit,” said Patrick Nerz, a senior project manager for DHIC in a presentation to the council. “It’s on the HS line and a quarter mile from Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and the NS route and future BRT (Bus Rapid Transit line).

“We’ve been we’ve been working on on this project for quite some time, to try to acquire (the land) and to use it for this purpose,” Nerz explained. “And it’s got everything we look for in that it is really close to employment opportunities. It’s got great access to transit, and it’s very close to services and amenity rich. We think it’s an excellent location for affordable housing.”

Plans call for 53 affordable units, one-quarter for residents at 30% AMI

DHIC envisions a three- to four-story, split-level building with 53 units for residents aged 55 and older, earning at or less than 60% of Chapel Hill’s Area Median Income (AMI). For local residents, the range starts at just under $49,000 for individuals or approximately $55,500 for couples in the area. There will also be approximately 13 to 14 units available for residents making 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which comes out to just over $24,000 annually for a couple.

“Half the building will be three stories,” Nerz explained. “Half will be four (stories), which kind of just makes sense in the topography of the site. 53 units (are planned for construction), with the mix of studio, one bedroom and two bedrooms. It is intended to be a 55-plus age-restricted community, or it will be a 55 plus age restricted community with all units affordable to households earning 60% of AMI or less. The project will have onsite property management, multi purpose room with a kitchen, (and a) computer center. There’s a library, screen porch and multiple gathering and seating areas throughout. And of course, one of the things that attracted us to the location was the Senior Center across the street. So we’ll be coordinating with them to make sure that our residents are connected to all the great services that they provide.”

“The goal is to have a southern contemporary feel and to break up the massing (of the building) with different materials and some some roof line changes, so that it has kind of a neighborhood feel, even though it is a single building,” Nerz added. “We think that the building is really well located on site. It follows kind of the natural topography of the site. As you come down Homestead Road, you’ll be able to see that kind of roof articulation.”

As part of the conditions for constructing the project, DHIC will be seeking Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LITHC), and will also be receiving over $1 million from the Town of Chapel Hill’s affordable housing fund. The project is aligned with this town council’s aims to significantly increase local affordable housing, and to do it in an expedited timeframe. While many development projects take a year or more to go from the initial design phase to council approval, Maddry Meadows was approved after submitting the project to town planners in November.

Maddry Meadows will be the third residential project in Chapel Hill for Raleigh-based DHIC, a non-profit developer that specializes in affordable housing. This location was deemed highly attractive for senior affordable living due to its proximity to the Seymour Center, along with its proximity to local transit services.

Council members praise speedy process, ask questions about RCD intrusion, elevator

“With our expedited review process for affordable units or developments like this, I know one of our goals was to get it down to four to six months. Could you give some insight as to what the actual timeline was,” inquired Council Member Paris Miller-Foushee.

“I think our first application was in mid-November,” Nerz said in response. “So to my mind, the process has worked as anticipated. It’s been a pretty streamlined process, as far as rezoning goes.”

Nerz indicated that DHIC is not looking to impact the adjacent Resource Conservation District (RCD) by keeping the building’s footprint and most of its surface parking outside of this sensitive area. However, a small portion of the surface-level parking will intrude into the RCD, a point that concerned a couple of the council members.

“We made every effort to keep what the building is outside of the RCD,” Nerz explained. “We’ve got a little bit of impervious surface plan for the RCD to the north of the building, so that the fire trucks can get aerial access to the roof, but not a lot. A lot of this site is already cleared and just grass. So our plan is to make it grass again, so it’s grass and vegetation. We’re not taking down the majority of the area of disturbance in the RCD – (it) is not wooded. It is grass, and will be grass and vegetation again.”

The project was approved unanimously, with council members emphasizing the proposed development’s alignment with Chapel Hill’s comprehensive plan and affordable housing goals. But there were some concerns addressed by council members about the RCD situation.

“Thank you to the applicant for agreeing to put in that walking path from Homestead (Road) up. I think that’s wonderful,” stated council member Melissa McCullough. “There is a lot I love about this project. But one thing I was wondering was I’m not excited about the intrusion into the RCD, and I’m wondering if it would be possible to go up another floor and decrease the incursion into the RCD.”

“I think that going up (in height) would raise costs to the point that the project would not be economically feasible,” Nerz said in response to the councilwoman. “It’s a tough site with a split building that adds cost. And going up another story – I think we’d have to transition to a different kind of building type, construction type, to go to the five-story level. I think it would not be economically feasible.”

“What happens if that elevator were to break down?” asked another council member, Camille Berry. “The reason I asked about this – in a different project, considering the population that you’re going to be serving, and they’re probably going to want to age in place there, then an elevator is going to become increasingly important. The elevator is very important.”

“We do everything we can to get the elevator back up and running. There’s no service elevator,” said Nerz in response. “When we only have one (elevator) in a senior building, we need to make sure that as soon as anything comes up, then we were on it, to get it back up and running.”

Following the council inquiries and the unanimous approval, Mayor Jessica Anderson praised DHIC for bringing it before city leaders, as well as the fast-track process that allowed the concept to become a reality in less than six months.

“We are always so happy when we see you (DHIC) on our agenda,” the mayor said to Nerz. “Thank you for bringing this project, and we’re very excited. And thank you to the staff for getting it through so quickly. We really appreciate it. This is a great addition, so well done.”

Adam Powell has been a correspondent for The Local Reporter since 2023. A 2001 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Powell has served as managing editor of multiple local publications, including the News of Orange County, the Mebane Enterprise, the Caswell Messenger, and the ACC Sports Journal. Powell has won more than 20 North Carolina Press Association Awards throughout his journalism career for Excellence in Education Reporting, Excellence in Sports Columns and Features, and Excellence in Video Production. He has also been recognized by the North Carolina School Public Relations Association (NCSPRA) for Excellence in Education Writing and for his newsletters representing Rockingham County Schools and the North Carolina Cyber Academy. The author of four books. Adam currently resides in Mebane with his wife Julie and children Colt and Jenna. This reporter can be reached at:Information@TheLocal Reporter.press