Retail development coming to South Greensboro Street in Carrboro

While it may look like a stalled project, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes at South Green, a new retail development on South Greensboro Street in Carrboro.

The proposal for South Green was approved by the Carrboro Board of Aldermen in June 2015 and is expected to be completed between October 2018 and April 2019.

The owner, Woodhill NC, LLC, can’t continue construction on the site due to a project by the N.C. Department of Transportation, but is working to secure tenants for the shopping center.

“It doesn’t look like it, but we are pushing ahead getting leases signed,” said Gary Hill, a partner at South Green.

Hill said he hoped to announce the group of tenants that have already signed leases soon.

“The tenants that we have are local, they’re very established, and I think people will be excited about it,” he said.

South Green is planned to be 40,000 square feet of shops, with a shared free parking lot for customers of the shops.

A roundabout will also be added in front of the shopping center.

Board of Aldermen member Damon Seils said roundabouts are a way to address safety concerns.

“They slow traffic and tend to be safer for pedestrians,” he said.

But Carrboro resident Pat Garavaglia said the roundabout itself will be a safety concern.

Garavaglia lives on South Greensboro Street and said she’s seen many car accidents on the road.

“Having lived there since the early ‘80s, we have had a bus in our yard and four different cars in our yard just from coming down that hill,” she said.

Garavaglia said she was also concerned about the inconvenience of construction on the site.

“They’re going to have to move our driveway, and we’re going to lose one percent of our property, and there will be at least two days when we can’t even go home because we won’t be able to get into our property,” she said.

However, Hill and Garavaglia said they think the shopping center will be an improvement for the site.

“Compared to what’s been there for the past 20-25 years, we really think we are making a really good change for the community,” Hill said.

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