UNC Health plan saves Chapel Hill forest, but planned state road remains a threat

Tammy Grubb

More UNC Health patients will be able to get outpatient care with parking at the Eastowne medical campus after a Wednesday vote, rather than having to navigate the busy hospital campus.

The Chapel Hill Town Council’s 8-1 vote will allow UNC Health to add several new buildings and parking decks inside the Eastowne Drive loop over the next 20 years. The campus is located off Interstate 40 and U.S. 15-501 (Fordham Boulevard).

The plan saves 12 acres of a natural heritage forest — subject to future N.C. Department of Transportation plans for a connector road across I-40 to New Hope Commons. UNC Health has also agreed to give $5 million toward a zero-interest affordable housing revolving loan fund.

The loan fund could create at least 500 affordable homes in Chapel Hill over the next 20 years, or it could be combined with additional public and private money to build even more housing, said Sarah Viñas, the town’s Affordable Housing and Community Development director.

UNC Health opened its first new Eastowne building in decades in 2021. Construction of a second building could begin right away, officials have said.

But Wednesday’s decision came with tradeoffs, council members said. UNC Health will retain about eight acres of the forest, which is part of a key wildlife corridor, for a future parking deck.

The first of roughly a dozen planned buildings and parking decks opened last year on UNC Health Care’s Eastowne campus in Chapel Hill. UNC Health already has enough need to fill a second building, project officials have said.
The first of roughly a dozen planned buildings and parking decks opened last year on UNC Health Care’s Eastowne campus in Chapel Hill. UNC Health already has enough need to fill a second building, project officials have said.

Mayor Pam Hemminger said she’s “hopeful” the conservation easement will provide some protection for the rest of the land in the face of state road plans. Local and NCDOT officials will talk June 27 about new plans for the I-40/U.S. 15-501 interchange and a reconfiguration of the I-40 access ramps.

UNC Health’s 1.1 million square foot proposal is “drastically reduced” from the original plan, which had up to 2.8 million square feet, including a mix of housing, retail and hotel beds, plus a medical building with a parking deck in the forest, which are allowed under the current zoning.

Housing an ‘enormous problem’

UNC Health “will make an unprecedented financial contribution to affordable housing in our community, but it’s also, I believe, a first where UNC Health is acknowledging its willingness to work with the town on mutually solving an enormous problem, which is our affordable housing crisis,” Council member Michael Parker said.

The investment of well over half a billion dollars will create jobs, support high-quality health care, and create housing for some of the 43,000-plus people who commute into town every day for work, council members said.

The town doesn’t own the property or control its future, but the approved plan will create a better place than envisioned, Council member Jessica Anderson said.

“I don’t think that holding up this project or having it go elsewhere makes any sense at this point, given that the property could be built on today or, apparently, it could have an off-ramp going through it, according to some folks, which is horrific,” Anderson said.

Council member Adam Searing, who voted no, suggested a better option would have been for the N.C. Botanical Garden to talk about preserving the land in return for an affordable housing fund, because the parking deck would not have been part of that discussion.

“I don’t like the fact that (the parking deck and the affordable housing plan) are joined together. I’m all for negotiation and compromise, but boy, joining these two things in this proposal, I think, is a mistake,” said Searing, who announced last week he is running for mayor in November.

The latest site plan for UNC Health Care’s 1.1 million square foot Eastowne campus expansion plan was approved June 21, 2023. The campus, located at U.S. 15-501 and I-40, would preserve up to 12 acres of a natural heritage forest (in red).
The latest site plan for UNC Health Care’s 1.1 million square foot Eastowne campus expansion plan was approved June 21, 2023. The campus, located at U.S. 15-501 and I-40, would preserve up to 12 acres of a natural heritage forest (in red).

Project details

▪ Developer: UNC Health

▪ Location: 50 acres at Eastowne Drive, Fordham Boulevard and Interstate 40.

▪ Zoning: Office and institutional; the rezoning allows more dense development

▪ Current use: UNC Health medical buildings and parking deck

▪ Proposed use: 1.1 million square foot campus, with seven medical buildings and up to five parking decks

▪ Affordable housing: UNC Health will provide $5 million to create a zero-interest, revolving loan fund for preserving and creating affordable housing.

▪ Environment: The plan preserves a stream and landscaping buffers within the Eastowne Drive loop, along with 12 acres of the natural heritage forest, between Eastowne Drive and Interstate 40. A large, public green is also part of the plan.

▪ Property taxes: As a public entity, UNC Health does not pay taxes on its land, but it does sometimes make a payment to local governments. UNC Health will continue to pay $148,608 to Chapel Hill, $218,724 to Orange County and $46,998 to the city schools in lieu of property taxes

▪ Getting around: New pedestrian and bicycle paths, as well as a future bus-rapid transit stop on U.S. 15-501. Surrounding streets will be upgraded, and traffic studies will be completed as each additional building is submitted for approval.

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