Town council frowns at university building plan

Chapel Hill Town Council members had a few suggestions Wednesday for a University project planned at the site of the old Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house on Finley Golf Course Road.

The project will provide space for temporary office use by tenants of campus buildings as their original buildings undergo renovation.

Suggestions from the council focused on the image the building could project and the ways in which it would interact with the street.

The plan is not yet definite, and the University still has wide latitude in its end form, said Peter Krawchyk, facilities architect for the University.

“This is a very conceptual plan,” he told the council.

“We’ve probably done less than 10 percent of the total time it will take,” he added after the meeting.

One common complaint was that the 16,000-square-foot building, which Krawchyk said is modeled after North Campus dormitories, is trying to resemble something it is not.

“It needs to look like what it is,” said council member Sally Greene.

Mayor Kevin Foy shared similar sentiments.

“It just seems odd — it’s got the chimneys,” he said.

Most council members suggested that the proposal look more like an office building, but council member Mark Kleinschmidt disagreed, saying a design more reminiscent of a domicile should be allowed.

But he recognized that his voice was alone in its disagreement.

“Hell, if I’m one of nine, that’s a minority,” he said.

Council members also suggested that the project feature a door and sidewalk leading directly to the road to ease use of public transit.

Another suggestion of the council was that the University rearrange the property so the site’s driveway would not cross a transit corridor, which runs along the north edge of the property.

The corridor is currently empty but is designated for construction of public transit.

Council members expressed appreciation that efforts had been made to avoid pushing into the corridor with the rest of the project.

Council members also said they had no problem with the structure being closer to the road than most of the fraternity houses nearby.

Bruce Runberg, UNC associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction, said he appreciated the comments received.

“It really gives the opportunity to talk with the folks that make the final review and approval,” he said.

Krawchyk was also pleased with the council’s feedback.

“We’ll take their comments into consideration and see how we can include them into the project,” he said.

This would not be the first time the project’s development plan has morphed.

Originally, the house was to be renovated for the project, but an analysis of the building determined that the structure was so damaged that remodeling the house would be more costly than demolishing the structure and starting again.

“The frat won out over the structure of the building,” Krawchyk said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.