All posts for the month September, 2014

Downside of up-zoning

I give credit to Arctic explorer Robert Peary for words that have been guiding principles in my life: “Find a way, or make one,” and, more frequently, “Do it now.” So I share the impatience of many residents of Rogers Road who want water and sewer service extended to that area, like we promised we’d […]

Courtyards dissed

What do some members of Town Council have against the 20 percent of Chapel Hill residents who are at least 55 years old? Last Monday night, the developers of Courtyards at Homestead presented their proposal for an age-restricted community of 63 moderately priced one-level cottages clustered on 18 acres that back up to Carolina North […]

Safety or spin?

In early September, eight members of the town’s communications team won national awards for two public relations pieces they produced. The City-County Communications & Marketing Association bestowed Silver Circle Awards for the “Mayors Innovation Project Video” in the category of Promotional Videos and the “CaPA How-To Guides” in the Internal Printed Publications category. The video […]

Who wins?

You can’t make this stuff up. The Urban Land Institute of the Triangle lists Timber Hollow Apartments as a nominee to win an award for affordable housing. Ron Strom of Blue Heron Asset Management self-nominated his project, which Blue Heron sold to Eller Capital (after pocketing nearly $6 million profit from his $12.6 million investment […]

Hurry up and wait

Whether you’re building a multistory apartment complex or adding a deck to your home, your budget and timetable hinge on the Inspections Department. The mayor would have us believe the SUP process is responsible for the high cost of development in Chapel Hill. Builders will tell you the cost impact of the Inspections bottleneck. The […]