FROM Committee on the Old Post Office
Council Member Kevin
Foy, Chair
Council Member Joyce
Brown
Council Member Pat Evans
SUBJECT: Report on Preservation and Use of the Old
Post Office Building
DATE: December 11, 2000
The purpose of this report is to present proposals
for the preservation and future use of the Old Post Office building at the
corner of East Franklin and Henderson Streets.
We recommend that the Council adopt the attached
Resolution, specific provisions of which would:
The Committee on the Old
Post Office was appointed by the Town Council to develop proposals for the
preservation, enhancement and future use of the building. In conducting its work, the Committee has
reviewed the site, met with representatives of the District Court of the State
of North Carolina, the U. S. Postal Service, and the Franklin Street Teen
Center, and reviewed relevant records and reports.
The Old Post Office building
at the corner of East Franklin and Henderson Streets was constructed in
1937. It is a 17,700 gross square foot,
two-story structure with brick and limestone walls set on a concrete
foundation.
The building served as the main Chapel Hill Post
Office until 1979, when it was acquired by the Town for a payment of $250,000
and a 25-year no-cost lease to the Postal Service of about 3,000 square feet of
space and a limited area for vehicle access and parking.
The main-floor area leased to the Postal Service has
been in continuous use for retail customer service since 1979. The District Court of the State of North
Carolina has made continuous use of the main-floor courtroom and related office
and work facilities since 1979. The
District Attorney occupied offices on the lower floor until this past year when
he relinquished the area, because it no longer was needed. The Franklin Street Teen Center first
obtained permission to use an area on the lower floor in 1984 and has operated
programs in the space continuously since that date. The Town uses areas on the lower floor for storage of records.
The small plaza in front of the Old Post Office is a
traditional gathering place for citizens, a site used for peaceful assembly in
support of or in opposition to a multitude of causes and issues. The rear of the building now is utilized for
vehicle access, parking, and, refuse collection equipment; there also is a
small lawn with a magnolia tree.
Sketches are attached that show the layout of the
building space, the plaza and the rear of the building.
As a part of the 2000-2005 Capital Improvement
Program adopted last spring, the Council authorized ten-year installment
financing for several renovation projects, including limited repairs of the Old
Post Office. A total of $240,000
(engineering, construction, construction management, and interest costs) is
allocated for repairs to the exterior of the building, including roof
replacement and repair of windows and masonry.
The Manager expects that this work will be undertaken this fiscal year.
The funds available would address only the most critical exterior repair needs. Total building repairs needed on the exterior and interior, based on continuing present uses, would cost about $1,130,000 for construction (not including engineering, construction management and interest costs).
We believe that the Old Post Office building and site
is a valuable asset that should be preserved and enhanced as a community
gathering place and as a useful community facility.
Postal Service: The Post Office in the building serves many
citizens and businesses with postal boxes and other retail postal
services. It is a successful business
site for the Postal Service. We believe
that having a post office in the downtown will continue to be a valuable
service for the community in the future.
The present lease of space to the Postal Service
will expire on August 14, 2004 (please see the attached lease). Chapel Hill Postmaster Robin Lockhart has
stated that the Postal Service is interested in obtaining another long-term
lease. The present lease requires the
Town to provide utilities, maintenance and custodial services at no cost to the
Postal Service. No lease payment is
required. We believe that a lease more
favorable to the Town and still acceptable to the Postal Service could be
agreed upon, and that an initial term of at least 10 years would be in the
Town’s best interests.
We recommend that the Council direct the Manager to
negotiate a long-term lease for consideration by the Council.
District Court:
Chief District Court Judge Joseph Moody Buckner reports that the court
room and other facilities provided at the Old Post Office building continue to
be of value to the Courts. (Please see
the attached letter.) Cases regularly
scheduled in Chapel Hill include traffic offenses, minor crimes, small claims,
domestic disputes, and civil arbitrations.
We believe that having court operations in Chapel Hill is convenient for
Chapel Hill citizens and for all those who have business with the courts,
including our police officers and local attorneys.
We understand that according to North Carolina General
Statutes, counties have primary responsibility for providing courtrooms and
related judicial facilities. A
municipality may provide court facilities with the approval of the
Administrative Office of the Courts, after consultation with county officials. Where a municipality provides facilities, a
part of the cost of court is remitted to the municipality.
Consistent with state law, the Town receives court
fees each year, in recognition of the Town’s provision of court facilities.
Revenues from this source were about $32,000 in the last fiscal year. We note however, that fees received clearly
are not sufficient to pay the fair share of costs for utilities, custodial
service and capital maintenance of the property.
There is no lease agreement for the court
facilities, nor is there any agreed-upon long-term plan for the use of the
facilities. We believe that both a
lease and a long-term use plan would be of value to the Courts, the Town, and
to Orange County. In our discussions,
we observed that development of a long-term use plan might make it possible to
agree on renovations and improvements that would benefit all the parties,
especially if there is agreement on a funding plan.
We also noted the possibility that a long-term plan
for court use of the site might include the possibility of development at the
rear of the building. As we understand
it, contemporary court facilities do not rely so much on large courtrooms, such
as the one at the Old Post Office, but more on a larger number of smaller facilities. We believe it might be possible to develop
such facilities and related offices at the rear of the site. In addition, we note the possibility that
the portion of the parking deck plaza that is designed to accommodate a small
building might also be suitable for court use.
Advantages and disadvantages of such development would have to be
weighed by the Council, of course.
We recommend that the Council adopt the attached
Resolution requesting that the Orange County Board of Commissioners and
appropriate Court officials, in consultation with the Council, develop a
long-term use plan for court facilities at the Old Post Office site. We further recommend that the Committee be
authorized to present the Resolution to the County Commissioners and to the Chief
District Court Judge as a petition of the Council.
District Attorney: The
District Attorney no longer uses offices formerly reserved for him and his
staff on the lower floor of the building, and expects no need for offices at
the site in the foreseeable future.
However, the needs of the District Attorney might change if the use of
the building by the Court changes.
We recommend that the Manager determine an
appropriate use for the space formerly occupied by the District Attorney, with
the understanding that long-term use of the space might revert to the Court or
the District Attorney in the future.
Teen Center: The
Franklin Street Teen Center lease will expire on December 31, 2000; but the
Council has authorized the Manager to make annual renewals, so long as renewal
would be consistent with the Town’s needs and interests. (Please see the attached lease.) The Manager expects to renew the lease for
another year in January.
The Teen Center pays no rent, but provides its own
custodial services.
Like all social services programs, the benefits of
the Teen Center are difficult to quantify.
The Teen Center provides an environment free from drugs and alcohol
where Chapel Hill teenagers can engage in more wholesome pastimes than might
otherwise be available to this age group.
Consistent with the Council’s past practice, we
recommend that the Council continue to provide space to the Franklin Street
Teen Center unless the Council determines in the future that a more compelling
community need requires the use of the space.
Welcome Center and Downtown Commission Office: The Downtown Commission has been seeking a good location for a
Welcome Center and office since it was forced to move from its quarters by the
deconstruction of the former Hudson-McDade House, once located in the first
block of West Franklin Street. They
recently were displaced from their location in the Bank of America building and
now are temporarily located in an office on the lower floor of the Old Post
Office, where the District Attorney formerly had offices. (This arrangement was authorized by the
Manager as a temporary use so that the Welcome Center operation would be able
to continue.)
The Downtown Commission earlier attempted to work
out an arrangement that would have resulted in a small Welcome Center in the
lobby of the Old Post Office.
Objections about the insertion of such a facility in the lobby area
ultimately led the Commission to search for other options.
We believe that it is desirable to have a Welcome
Center in the downtown to serve visitors to our community and that the Old Post
Office would be a good location for such a center. In our inspection of the building, we determined that it would be
possible to locate a Welcome Center in an area now used by the Postal Service
as a break room for employees. The
break room could be replaced by space now designated as a Court conference
room, with minimal modifications. The
Court conference room space could be replaced by a minor reconfiguration of
space behind the courtroom.
At our request, the Manager discussed this
possibility with Chief District Judge Buckner and Postmaster Lockhart. Both agreed that the arrangement was
feasible and stated that they would have no objection. We believe that such an arrangement would
provide a community benefit at minimal cost.
We understand that the Downtown Commission has funds that could be used
to pay for the modifications.
We recommend that the Manager be authorized to
negotiate necessary agreements with the Court, the Postal Service, and the
Downtown Commission to allow installation of a Welcome Center at the Old Post
Office, with final design details and other terms subject to approval by the
Council. We also recommend that the
Council direct the Manager to negotiate a lease with the Downtown Commission
for consideration by the Council.
The Town is fortunate to own the Old Post Office, a
building and site of great value to our community. We believe that the building should be preserved and enhanced as
a community facility and gathering place.
Cooperation among the Town Council, the County Commission, the District
Court, the Postal Service, the Downtown Commission, the Teen Center and all
those who have an interest in this valuable public asset is needed to develop a
long-range use plan for the facility.
We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution.
ATTACHMENTS
1.
Sketch
of main floor of Old Post Office (p. 8).
A
RESOLUTION REGARDING PRESERVATION AND FUTURE USE OF THE OLD POST OFFICE
(2000-12-11/R-17)
WHEREAS, the building and site at the northwest
corner of East Franklin and Henderson Streets in downtown Chapel Hill is a
valuable community facility and gathering place; and
WHEREAS, the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill desires to preserve, enhance and plan for the future use of this public asset;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the
Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby:
This the 11th day of December, 2000.