Aldermen, Woodhill N.C. work together to redevelop Carrboro property

A long-neglected property at 501 S. Greensboro St. is getting some much-needed attention.

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen is working with Woodhill N.C. as the company tries to develop the land.

The property has not been used in years because of a flooding problem caused by a drainage system that is too small for the amount of water that comes through the property, Alderman Damon Seils said.

The land was previously used as a light manufacturing plant, but moved because of the flooding problems.

“This property that we have purchased has been sitting there abandoned and derelict for 20 years now, and it floods, and it’s just a terrible eyesore on a main entrance to Carrboro,” said Runyon Woods Jr., a partner at Woodhill.

“An opportunity exists for us to bring light manufacturing back to the site and intermix it with restaurant and retail.”

But the proposed addition of restaurants to the property is holding up Woodhill’s plans.

The site is in an M-1 zoning district, which allows light manufacturing, but does not allow restaurants, according to the town’s Land Use Ordinance . Woods presented a potential change to the zoning laws to the board Tuesday that would allow restaurants to be built on M-1 properties.

Seils said the property’s drainage system needs to be replaced, a task that is very costly. Woodhill is looking to recover the costs by developing the land for restaurants, which can be more profitable than manufacturing plants.

“One of the reasons (Woods) was looking for an amendment to the M-1 zoning classification was that it might allow him to place some new types of uses on the property, like restaurants, that tend to have a higher return on investment,” Seils said.

The board rejected Woods’ proposal and instead decided to try to create a new M-2 classification, which would reward developers for making substantial changes to a property.

“There would be a tradeoff between the developer giving the town something, and then the town allowing the additional special uses,” Seils said.

In the case of the Greensboro Street property, the developer would fix the drainage issue in exchange for the ability to put restaurants on the property, he said.

Woods said he was fine with the idea of the new zoning classification.

“We appreciate the courtesy and the attention that the Board of Aldermen are giving to the things that we need to do and the difficulty of correcting this derelict beast,” he said.

Seils said he expects the draft for the M-2 zoning district within the next month or two. He was the only Alderman to oppose the the creation of the M-2 zone.

“I didn’t see a need to essentially duplicate the M-1 zoning district,” Seils said. “I didn’t think that was necessary, I think it was a little more complicated than it needed to be.”

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