C hapel Hill and Carrboro should consider implementing tax-based incentives to promote the development of additional office space.
With businesses struggling to find suitable office space in the two municipalities, this would help to offset some of the inconveniences of local bureaucracy that make building office space so unattractive to developers.
The extended time that it takes to get projects approved by the local governments is one such significant barrier to development.
The incentives, while initially decreasing the municipalities’ tax revenue, would ultimately have a positive impact on the local economy.
Additional office space would attract new businesses to the area while also ensuring that some businesses wouldn’t be enticed to leave when trying to find space to expand. The additional economic activity provided by these firms, which could be taxed, would make up for any funds lost during the construction of the buildings.
Recent construction in the area has largely been centered on additional housing and retail space.
While the planned University Square redevelopment pledges to diversify the nature of its buildings’ use, including office space, other developments such as 140 West Franklin have neglected to allot similar space.
Even a single floor of office space in the latter development could have been hugely beneficial, and with the somewhat slow selling of the condominiums, it doesn’t seem as though the residential plan was a complete success.
Businesses looking to relocate to Chapel Hill are essentially at the mercy of developers, and incentivizing these developers to create space for them would benefit both the local economy and the businesses.
