New York-based Beechwood Organization begins construction on $500M South Creek development in Chapel Hill, N.C. Project will offer 815 housing units, 80-acre nature preserve, retail spaces, and amenities. Affordable housing options planned. Mayor sees it as transformative for Chapel Hill.
Photo courtesy of Beechwood Carolinas
South Creek could add 21,000 to 52,000 sq. ft. of commercial and retail space to Chapel Hill. Developers anticipate signing tenants who will complement businesses already located across U.S. 15-501 in the Market Street district of Southern Village.
A new neighborhood offering more places to live, work and catch a bus to the campus of the University of North Carolina (UNC) and downtown Chapel Hill got its official launch Sept. 10 across from Southern Village.
At a ceremonial potting bench in a clearing just off U.S. Highway 15-501, representatives from New York-based Beechwood Organization and Beechwood Carolinas joined Chapel Hill Mayor Jessica Anderson to break ground on South Creek, a $500 million, 43-acre mixed-use development with an 80-acre natural preserve.
The N.C. Native Plants Society gathered plants from the land earlier this summer, some of which were potted during the event. The plants will be saved and replanted in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in nearby Durham, noted Aaron Nelson, president of the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro.
Construction crews will start the groundwork at South Creek later in September, the Raleigh News & Observer reported Sept. 12.
To kick off the project, which could eventually have as many as 815 homes — made up of apartments, condominiums and townhomes — work will begin on South Creek's first six-story apartment building. It will include 92 units to go along with 10,000 sq. ft. of ground-floor retail space across U.S. 15-501 from Southern Village's Market Street business district.
Steven Dubb, principal and president of the Beechwood Organization, based in New York State, noted that a 6,000-sq.-ft. standalone restaurant also will be built next door to the apartment structure. The eatery will feature a terrace overlooking Wilson Creek and the park, he told the News & Observer.
Dubb also added:
- Work on the initial seven-story condominium building, with 68 homes, could start in 2025.
- The apartments and condominiums will be a mix of one, two and three bedrooms while the townhomes will have three bedrooms.
- The condominiums are planned to encompass seven stories, and the townhomes will be three stories with rooftop terraces.
- Two levels of parking are planned in the apartment and condominium buildings. The ground floor of the townhomes will include a garage.
- Residents of South Creek will have access to three swimming pools, a fitness center, fire pits, a dog park, demonstrating kitchens, a podcasting studio, community gathering areas, and an amphitheater and stage.
The full buildout of South Creek will take several years, with the end result being 92 apartments for rent and 606 condominiums and 100 townhomes for sale. The market-rate townhomes and condominiums could cost from the $300,000s to over $1 million, Beechwood officials said.
Additionally, about 100 housing units — 15 percent of the condominiums and townhouses, and 10 percent of the apartments — will be priced at below market rates.
Roughly half of the affordable housing will be sold or rented to people earning 65 percent of the area median income (AMI) and the other half will be sold or rented to people earning 80 percent of AMI — up to $59,360 a year for an individual or $76,320 annually for a family of three. Housing vouchers will be accepted.
South Creek's business district is proposed to include 21,000 to 52,000 sq. ft. of commercial and retail space, with a public lawn and a plaza for outdoor dining. That retail mix should complement businesses in Southern Village, which include Weaver Street Market, coffee shops, restaurants, retail and entertainment.
The 80-acre public nature preserve and trails, as well as Wilson Creek, will be an amenity for residents and the public, Dubb said. More green spaces will be located near the Sumac Road intersection, where new co-working and pop-up business space is possible.
South Creek to Replace An Earlier Development
The South Creek project will occupy a similar footprint that the Chapel Hill Town Council approved in 2015 for Obey Creek, which was expected to bring about 700 apartments and over 1 million sq. ft. of retail, offices and hotel rooms to the site.
That project's developer went through a multiyear public process to secure a development agreement from the town before failing to find the retail and office tenants needed to start construction.
As a result, in 2021, the site was sold to Beechwood Obey Creek LLC, a subsidiary of Beechwood Organization, for $7.25 million, Orange County records showed.
Dubb told the Raleigh news source that Beechwood originally came to Chapel Hill with a plan for 350 senior townhomes, but the town council asked for more density and a diverse housing mix for individuals and families.
He said that the request was unlike what Beechwood had encountered in other communities that also wrestled with housing and affordability, but only "pay lip service to the issue and kick the can down the road."
Mayor Believes Project Will Transform Chapel Hill
At the recent South Creek groundbreaking, Anderson predicted that the affordable housing and 80-acre park development will "truly be transformative."
"It's a huge win for Chapel Hill and an amazing model of what Complete Community is all about," she said, referring to the town's strategy for housing that serves all residents and neighborhoods that do not require a car to get around.
According to Nelson, it is not difficult to get a project done in Chapel Hill "if you engage the community and the neighbors, if you work with the Town Council, if you show the community that you share their values, if you ... read the plans for our community in advance.
"[Beechwood] has done that and came out of some council meetings with lipstick all over them. Everybody was enjoying bringing to our community what we long desired."
The South Creek project represents Beechwood's first foray into North Carolina, Dubb said, after spending the last four years working to identify a new state in which to expand. He added that over the 40 years it has operated on Long Island and built its brand, it watched an increasing number of New Yorkers move to the Tarheel State's Triangle and Charlotte regions.
"We thought that maybe our buyers, if they're looking for a home in the Carolinas, will recognize Beechwood and feel some comfort with the brand … therefore making our entrance into the area easier," he explained.
Today's top stories
