Plans begin for repurposing of Greene Tract near landfill

With the June closure of the Orange County Landfill looming, officials from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the county are setting their sights on repurposing a nearby piece of land.

The Greene Tract, a 169-acre area adjacent to the Rogers Road neighborhood, was jointly purchased by the three governments in 1984 but has sat untouched ever since.

In 2002, the three governments began taking steps toward identifying the appropriate uses for the land, but reaching a decision hasn’t been easy.

Former Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy worked with the Greene Tract Work Group to determine existing pressures in the area and said he thought the site called for high-density development.

“We decided the best use would be a public park, open space and affordable housing,” he said.

Following the work group’s recommendation, the three municipalities earmarked 18.1 acres of the site for affordable housing and designated 85.9 acres to be used for open space.

Now 11 years have passed and Chapel Hill Town Council Member Jim Ward said the decision to extend public water and sewer lines to the historically black, low-income Rogers Road neighborhood caused him to revisit proposals for the still unused site.

Ward said he’s interested in hearing about selling the tract to potential developers who might bring office and retail space to the area.

“If the government sold pieces of the land perhaps for development, those funds could be used to support the extension of water and sewer to the historic Rogers Road neighborhood,” he said.

But Ward said the three municipalities are still in the early stages of planning for the Greene Tract, and the council hasn’t had any formal discussion about the site.

Ward said he also wanted to see parts of the land preserved as open space or for public recreation.

“It would keep that beauty and high quality of that natural area intact,” Ward said.

Carrboro Alderman Jacquelyn Gist echoed Ward’s sentiments at a March 5 Carrboro Board of Aldermen meeting.

“I hope that we don’t give up on the open space,” she said. “I think the best thing to do with it is nothing.”

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said he’s interested in seeing a school built on the site, as well as additional affordable housing units.

“I think the critical issue is really what the infrastructure costs would be in developing that area of the tract,” he said.

But Jeff Nash, spokesman for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said a new school would not be an option in the near future.

“We’re still in the process of opening our newest school,” Nash said. “I don’t anticipate anything else over the next couple of years. There’s really nothing on the burner there.”

Orange County Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier said with budget woes and the impending changes for the landfill, the Greene Tract will play a key role in development because it is one of the area’s few remaining unused assets.

“When you look at fiscal constraint and community needs, you look at all your assets and we have an unused asset,” she said.

Pelissier said she’s interested in expanding affordable housing into that area but knows that finding the right purpose for the area will take time and call for all three governments to work together.

“We are very preliminary, we aren’t really anywhere at this point in time,” she said. “Our options, we’re just not there yet.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.