TITLE: Title
Public Hearing on Concept Plan Options for Possible Co-Location of The ArtsCenter and Town of Carrboro Offices and Recreation and Parks programs at 203 South Greensboro Street Property Including Contemplated Orange County Southern Branch Library
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is to provide the Board of Aldermen with an opportunity to receive public comment on concept plan options for possible co-location of The ArtsCenter and the contemplated Orange County Southern Branch Library at the Town’s 203 S. Greensboro Street property.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning and Manager’s Office
CONTACT INFORMATION: Trish McGuire, pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org <mailto:pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org>, 919-918-7327; David Andrews, dandrews@townofcarrboro.org, 919-918-7308
INFORMATION: On June 20th, the Board of Aldermen received a presentation on the concept plan for the 203 S. Greensboro Street property. Agenda materials are available at this link <https://carrboro.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3084136&GUID=676CEE1B-088E-457F-93FB-6CD4076789EC&Options=&Search=>. The concept provides for possible co-location of several principle uses including Town offices (specifically those needed for the Recreation and Parks Department), The ArtsCenter, and contemplated Orange County Southern Branch Library. Additional supplemental and related potential uses include a Virtual Justice Center, an initiative of North Carolina Central University School of Law (<http://law.nccu.edu/technology/virtual-justice-project-2/virtual-justice-project/> ), a seed library (<http://seedlibrarian.com/>), WCOM radio (<http://wcomfm.org/> ), and a teen center. A parking deck containing between 280 and 300 spaces is included in the concept plan to provide for the parking generated by the new uses on the property, and to replace and augment the existing surface spaces provided on this property.
As the Town considers this new project, options for obtaining temporary parking spaces to replace those currently on site are being explored and preliminary outreach to secure temporary alternative parking has been made. Some options include use of downtown lots shown to have excess capacity during periods of peak usage and use of outlying tracts. Staff has begun reaching out to property owners and has opened conversations with representatives of UNC-Chapel Hill, and is exploring how transit or other on-demand travel assistance services may support use of the temporary parking areas.
Eighty-eight spaces exist on the site now. Based on recent efforts, the replacement value of these spaces could be estimated to be $350 per space/year, and range from $29,750 to $44,625 for a 12- to 18-month construction period
Staff has utilized a number of different media approaches to provide outreach for this hearing.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: Fiscal and staff impacts associated with considering this information are minimal.
RECOMMENDATION:r It is recommended that the Board of Aldermen receive public comments on the concept plan options.