Chapel Hill: A town that has it all

As a public administration graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the early 1980s, Roger Stancil thought working for the town would be the ideal job. Today, as Chapel Hill’s town manager, Stancil helps run the town that many consider the “Southern Part of Heaven.” For university students and residents alike, it is the town they never want to leave. “Chapel Hill has it all – an atmosphere of learning, energetic residents, major cultural events, sports, & good restaurants,” Stancil says. “And, as the song goes, these are just a few of my favorite things.”

Nestled in the wooded center of the Piedmont, the town does seem to have it all – the quaint small town charm with a historic past, and the intellectual passion often found in a university environment.

Others also recognize the continual attraction of the town. The A & E channel has recognized Chapel Hill as the second city in its “Top Ten Cities to Have it All” and Money magazine has rated the town as the number one “Best Place to Live in the South.”

Chapel Hill grew up around UNC, the oldest public university in the nation. The history of the town and the university intersect almost seamlessly. Chapel Hill began as an unincorporated town the day UNC laid the cornerstone for its first building, known today as Old East.

That day in 1793, lots were auctioned off at a crossroads where New Hope Chapel looked over the rolling hills of the rural North Carolina countryside. Those lots became the future homes and businesses of Chapel Hill, which was incorporated in 1819.

Today town officials face the continual challenge of preserving the town’s important past while carefully shaping the future. Keeping the historic downtown district intact while coping with a growing residential and retail market is a major balancing act. Major construction on the university’s campus is also playing a big part in the future of Chapel Hill.

“Unlike a lot of towns, Chapel Hill officials set boundary limits years ago that we can only grow so far,” Stancil says. “But, we are seeing the demand for denser growth within the town limits and a great deal of development right outside the town.”

Like other counties and cities in the Triangle, Chapel Hill has grown in recent years. Chapel Hill had 48,715 residents in  the year 2000, compared with 52,000 today, according to the town manager.

Kendall Page, a Chapel Hill native and local real estate attorney, has purchased a condominium in the new East 54, a 580,000-square-foot residential, office and retail development off N.C. 54. It is just one of the many new developments going on in and around the town.

Being developed by East West Partners, the new community is on the site of the former University Inn and adjacent to the Finley golf course. When completed, it will have 153 condominiums with underground parking and a rooftop swimming pool. In addition to 60,000 square feet of retail and 113,000 square feet of office space, there will be a hotel on the site.

Page praises the location as an ideal spot for the quality development underway by Roger Perry of East West Partners. The company also developed Meadowmont, another upscale mixed use development off N.C. 54.

“This is one of the primary gateways to Chapel Hill and a perfect location for development of this type,” she says. “It is going to be a great addition to the town.”

Others, like Gail Murrow and Becky Cicale, also have discovered the continual charm of the Chapel Hill area. Both their families have recently bought homes in some of the new communities sprouting up right outside the town limits.

The Cicale family recently moved to Winmore, a new upscale neighborhood on 61 acres off Homestead Road. While actually located in Carrboro, the area has a Chapel Hill address.

Being developed by Scott Kovens, a local developer, the neighborhood will have 96 single family homes and 86 townhomes. Several townhomes will have a live/work concept built around a central town green. Prices range from under $400,000 through $900,000. The neighborhood has extensive trails and is located along Bolin Creek.

“We just fell in love with the concept of Winmore,” says Becky Cicale, who moved there with her husband Mike and two children about four months ago. She also has two grown step-children. “Historic Bolin Creek runs through the area and there are a lot of preserved areas with ‘green’ homes being built.”

The Murrow family moved to Legend Oaks last year after living in Southern Village for four years. Being developed by Orleans Homebuilders, the neighborhood is located in Chatham County, but also has a Chapel Hill address.

With 65 homesites, the neighborhood has large, wooded lots with homes starting in the $400,000 range.

“We were attracted to the larger lots and the great options offered by Orleans,” says Murrow, who moved to the community with her husband Rich and two college-age daughters. “We wanted more space and we were able to get it here.”

Others also are living in Windfall, another new neighborhood near Chapel Hill in Chatham County. Being developed by Contentnea Creek Development Company, the neighborhood also features larger lots and homes starting at $800,000.

“We offer a lot of privacy with the lots from three to five acres,” says Ashley Chapman, marketing director for Standout Properties who is handling Windfall. “It is a great location near Jordan Lake that is close to all parts of the Triangle.”

While many new residents are coming to all parts of Chapel Hill, all roads continue to lead back to the historic core of the town – Franklin Street. For many, it is the number one college street in America.

Located along side the historic UNC campus, the street is part of the charm for college students, town residents and visitors alike. It offers an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, university buildings and historic homes that are the heart of both the town and the growing community.

Many of Franklin Street’s shops, clubs and restaurants have withstood the test of time, greeting generations of college students and families. Chapel Hill’s oldest restaurant, the Carolina Coffee Shop with its classical music, and long-time clubs like He’s Not Here have served students and residents for decades.

And the street remains the central gathering spot to celebrate basketball victories every winter for both students and townspeople.

Today, new upscale residential, office and retail developments are popping up along side long-time clubs and shops. The street is evolving with the new Franklin Hotel and the Kidzu Children’s Museum with its interactive and international exhibits.

Despite all the growth and development, Chapel Hill still retains many of the unique attractions that help make it so popular. These include the Ackland Art Museum, the North Carolina Botanical Garden, Coker Arboretum and the Morehead Planetarium. The town also offers a full calendar of cultural events.

Other major attractions are the historic Carolina Inn located adjacent to the campus, The Fearrington House Restaurant in nearby Chatham County and A Southern Season, a gourmet landmark at University Mall.

For newcomers, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School System, UNC Hospitals and the town’s recreation facilities also are major pluses. UNC Hospitals opened the N.C. Women’s Hospital in February 2002 and also features the N.C. Children’s Hospital with a special school that allows children to keep up with their schoolwork during their hospital stay.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School System is considered to be one of the best in the nation. Consistently ranking at the top of the state in student test scores, the system also boasts the lowest dropout rate in the state.

For Stancil, working as the town manager of Chapel Hill is an ideal job in a perfect setting.

“Chapel Hill is a smaller town with complex urban issues,” he says. “It is a great place to live and work that continues to attract a great deal of people and development. Everyone wants to live in Chapel Hill. I am just lucky to be here.”

JANE PAIGE IS A FREELANCE WRITER

*Bell Tower, Franklin Street & Planetaruim photos courtesy of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau

*East 54 photo by Robert Campell