140 West aims to revitalize downtown area

On the hunt for a condominium, Bill Spiegel first heard about the 140 West Franklin development more than two years ago from an unlikely source: a salesman for Greenbridge, the new Rosemary Street development just blocks away.

“He mentioned two other condominium projects,” said Spiegel, a 1971 UNC graduate and former asthma researcher. “The one that was the least far along was 140 West Franklin. Being downtown really appealed to me — and the fact that it wasn’t happening very soon.”

And after delays in the permitting process, development and town officials celebrated the start of a project more than 10 years in the making at a Jan. 5 ground-breaking ceremony held at the complex’s location at the intersection of West Franklin and Church streets. Caterpillar machines and blue work tarp have replaced the vehicles and parking machines that once inhabited the town-owned Parking Lot 5, signaling the start of construction.

The $75 million complex, which is being constructed by the Ram Development Company, combines public, commercial and living spaces with the goal of recharging the downtown atmosphere. The structure will stand eight stories tall at its highest point and contain 140 units of upscale condominiums, 28,540 square feet of ground-level retail space and 337 private and public parking spaces.

The complex is a half-mile from the Greenbridge mixed-use development, which finished construction in October, and is just 2 miles from East 54, a self-proclaimed “urban village” of luxury condominiums, shopping and dining.

Mike Hammon, the chief development officer for Ram Realty Services, said 140 West’s location sets it apart from the other complexes.

“Each development has a unique project,” he said. “I think what we’re trying to create is this sense of community.”

Nearly 100 people gathered in a tent set up in the lot as Ram Realty Services Chairman Peter Cummings, Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and Town Manager Roger Stancil spoke on how the development would help recharge the downtown atmosphere by connecting East and West Franklin streets.

“It was this space that really added to the argument that downtown just missed the mark,” Kleinschmidt said in his remarks to the crowd. “We’ve done a lot of heavy lifting to get here.”

Stancil said the ground-breaking was a testament to the work put in by both town and development officials, especially since much of the planning occurred in a sluggish economy.

“There aren’t many places these days that are having this kind of ground-breaking in their downtown,” Stancil said.

Principal Architect John Felton of Cline Design Associates was on hand for the ground-breaking and said his team worked hard to incorporate both a historic and modern feel to the building.

Felton’s firm was chosen through a competition in 2004 to design the private-public venture, a task he said was no easy feat.

“It’s definitely a longer process because you’ve got so many people’s opinions to take into consideration,” he said.

Construction documents were completed in 2009, Felton said. A year later, developers received zoning permits from the town that allowed them to move forward with the project.

Shari Meltzer, Ram’s director of marketing, said 68 of the 140 condominium units have been sold. She said company officials expect a positive sales reaction to the ground-breaking.

“People want to see it, touch it, know that it’s real,” Meltzer said.

Spiegel, a Chatham County resident, said he can understand the concerns of a skeptical public because he had his own doubts when he first considered buying a unit.

“Right after they started taking contracts, the economy really went down,” he said. “When they asked me for my 5 percent down, I said no.”

Spiegel purchased a unit in 2009, after Ram re-bid contractors and lowered their housing prices by 30 percent. Prices now range from one-bedroom units in the $200,000s to terrace homes that start at $600,000.

Speigel said he’s excited about his investment, though he doesn’t know what he’ll use the apartment for when construction finishes in late 2012.

“I’ll be happy to live here or whatever makes sense two years from now,” he said.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.