0739 - 1609 East Franklin, Chapel Hill, NC
Coulter Jewell Thames, PA
September 3, 2008
- 1 -
1609 E. Franklin St – Howard Perry & Walston Office Building
Response to Town Council Comments, Concept Plan
Issues addressed at the Town Council meeting on Monday March 19 2007 include:
1. A councilmember wanted a stairway between the project and Velma Road.
2. A local resident wanted a 50’ planted buffer between Velma Road and the parking
lot of this development, and no access from the project to Velma Road.
3. A councilmember suggested a shared driveway access with the adjacent Ballet
School property.
4. A councilmember praised the preservation of the large trees in front of the
proposed building and asked that the owner of the facility be educated about
maintaining continued tree health.
5. A councilmember expressed concern about the lighting and landscape buffers.
The proposed project does not include a connection to Velma Street as the existing residents are
against such a connection and as there are no sidewalks on either side of Velma. The way the
site has been laid out, it would be easy to add a sidewalk with stairs from the back of the parking
lot to Velma in the future. Looking at the area map, the connection to Velma would not be useful
for the average pedestrian and the local residents are concerned that tenants of the new project
will park on the street in their neighborhood and walk to the building, thereby increasing traffic on
the local neighborhood streets. Anyone walking from the Velma neighborhood to Franklin Street
or the shops and offices across Franklin Street, could walk over to Elliot then south to cross
Franklin Street at the traffic light where there is a signalized pedestrian crosswalk. And the way
the project is currently laid out, tenants of the new building will be accessing the site from E
Franklin Street and staying out of the local neighborhood streets.
The owner of this project has discussed the issue of a shared driveway with the Ballet School
owner. The neighboring owner has no desire to change their present access and driveway
structure and is not currently willing to share a driveway. The project plans show the location of
an access easement which would allow the adjacent owner in the future to make a connection
from this site to theirs. The location of the driveway into the new office site is lined up directly
across from the only other driveway in this part of E Franklin Street.
Six large trees in the front yard of the new project will be saved and protected during construction.
Some existing evergreens along the east and west property lines will remain. Lighting will be
designed to avoid spillover to the adjacent properties and additional landscape buffering will be
installed to the east, the west, and between the parking lot and Velma Road.
0739 - 1609 East Franklin, Chapel Hill, NC
Coulter Jewell Thames, PA
September 3, 2008
- 1 -
1609 E. Franklin St – Howard Perry & Walston Office Building
Response to Community Design Commission Comments, Concept Plan
The concept plan for this project was presented to the Community Design Commission on
January 24, 2007.
#1: Commissioner Robin Whitsell stated that she like that 2-story scale. She applauded
the preservation of the specimen trees along E. Franklin St. She thought that the
architecture was boxy and angular.
Noted. The building was broken into smaller components and courtyards have been added to
soften the presentation.
#2: Commissioner Mary Margaret Carroll liked the architecture.
Noted.
#3: Commissioner Amy Ryan asked what uses were being proposed. The applicant
replied that it would contain some retail areas, but mostly office. She agreed that fitting
parking on the site was a problem. She felt that too many compact spaces were being
proposed. She loved the architecture and the applicant’s proposal to save the specimen
trees. She thought that the infill architecture was challenging and liked the 2-story aspect
of the design. She thought the tree island was too big.
The parking has been reconfigured to reduce the total number and percentage of compact
spaces. The new building and site layouts continue to preserve the large canopy trees along E.
Frankin Street. proposed development is of a character and scale that will maintain and/or
improve the surrounding property values. We expect this new office building to become a
welcome addition to the character of Franklin Street. The tree island in the parking area remains
large to satisfy requests from the Urban Forester and to keep the impervious area as low as
possible.
#4: Commissioner Chris Culbreth thought the building would look great with the addition
of window boxes and that the contemporary architecture is beautiful. He thanked the
applicant for a well-done presentation.
Noted.
#5: Commissioner Laura King Moore liked the way the applicant had corralled the
buildings in the back. She also loves the building.
Noted. The location of the buildings on site remain well set back from E. Franklin Street.
#6: Commissioner George Cianciolo likes the project. He believed that the sloping site
offers good lighting opportunities that could create some creative options.
Noted. Lighting will be further developed at the Zoning Compliance phase and will be creative as
possible while minimizing light spillage off site and following Dark Skies concepts.
#7: Commissioner Gretchen MacNair supported the use of the outdoor space. She
recommended that the entry be spotlighted with landscaping, lighting, and architecture.
The outdoor space, entries, and courtyards remain large in the redesign. They will be lit, and
landscaped.
0739 - 1609 East Franklin, Chapel Hill, NC
Coulter Jewell Thames, PA
September 3, 2008
- 2 -
#8: Commissioner Jonathan Whitney wants to see a stair connection to Velma. He
thought that even though it was not supported with the last Special Use Permit it is critical
to the community.
The proposed project does not include a connection to Velma Street as the existing residents are
against such a connection. The way the site has been laid out, it would be easy to add a
sidewalk from the back of the parking lot to Velma in the future, though that walkway would likely
include a set of stairs as the slope is steep. Looking at the area map, the connection to Velma
would not be useful for the average pedestrian. Anyone walking from the Velma neighborhood to
Franklin Street or the shops and offices across Franklin, could walk over to Elliot then south to
cross Franklin Street at the traffic light where there is a signalized pedestrian crosswalk.