UNC’s major Carolina North development continues to move forward. As the project enters its first phase of development, the university has hired consultants to create a ‘place vision,’ which they describe as a ‘North Star’ for the project.

Carolina North Expansion Plans

The university has hired consultants from Gehl and other companies to work on the place vision for Carolina North, with plans for it to be complete at the end of the summer. The place vision is a way of discovering what the DNA of a place is, what’s working in the community, and what the needs are in the community.

Tiffany Lacey, UNC’s Executive Director of Real Estate Development, explained that the place vision is really the narrative story of how people will experience Carolina North in several years’ time. It’s really important to set this north star to guide our future decision making, not only in the master planning, but what academic programs need to be up here, what athletics programs, and also what community-facing uses and retail will be up here.

Community Involvement

Gehl and other consultants spent the week in Chapel Hill, speaking with residents, students, business owners, UNC administrators, and Carolina North Forest trail users. The need to expand enrollment, create modern facilities, and address the challenge of insufficient housing supply in the town of Chapel Hill are some of the factors driving the Carolina North expansion.

Carolina North includes 947 total acres; the proposed development site is 230 acres, covering the footprint of the former Horace Williams Airport. Carolina North Forest is about 750 acres with more than 20 miles of trails; those will remain protected and untouched by the development.

Original reporting: WRAL Raleigh — read the source article.