The 435-acre Chapel Hill housing development, located on the north side of N.C. 54, provides more than 500 housing units for residents. According to the Meadowmont Web site, there are 258 apartment units in the mixed-use development and more than 1,000 housing units under way.
Resident units range from $123,000 to $850,000.
East West Partners Management Co., Meadowmont's developing company, proposed the mixed-use development, which lumps housing with other facilities such as schools and grocery stores, to the Chapel Hill Town Council nine years ago.
According to recent council legislation, all developments must include 15 percent affordable housing -- an issue that has prompted debate between the candidates.
Council member and mayoral candidate Kevin Foy said prices of $110,000 to $120,000 constitute affordable housing. He said the existing percentage of affordable housing in Meadowmont is not enough for the growing town of Chapel Hill. "Let's not pretend we are building a real community with million dollar houses for minimum wage workers," Foy said.
Foy, who estimated in a press release that the affordable housing percentage in Meadowmont is at 3 percent, said the council now is required to enforce that 15 percent of developments include affordable housing. "We require this (policy) of developers. Before it was on the books, but never enforced."
But council member and mayoral candidate Lee Pavao said Meadowmont will be beneficial to Chapel Hill. "Meadowmont is fantastic for Chapel Hill," he said. "The town has raised $6 million in tax revenues from the build out. There are 22 acres for the school site and 70 acres for a park."
Pavao also said the mere existence of affordable housing is a positive step for Chapel Hill. "No development before has had affordable housing," he said.
But Foy said he is not convinced that this will be enough to adequately serve residents. He also addressed price discrepancies between proposed prices and current prices. The prices presented to the Town Council nine years ago were much lower than those advertised today, the press release stated. "They said one thing and did another to get approval."
