Campus & Community Media invited to special briefing about University Square redevelopment Oct. 15
| Media invited to special briefing about University Square redevelopment Oct. 15 |
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| Tuesday, October 13, 2009 | |
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Thursday (Oct. 15) 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Suite 133-G, University Square 123 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill Cousins Properties Incorporated, which is partnering on the redevelopment of University Square with Chapel Hill Foundation Real Estate Holdings, will discuss the redevelopment at a media briefing immediately before the first of two public meetings on Thursday (Oct. 15). Public input will guide the development of a concept plan to be submitted next spring. The media briefing will be led by Gordon Merklein, executive director of real estate development for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and John Goff, senior vice president of development at Cousins Properties Incorporated, a national developer based in Atlanta that specializes in mixed use projects. Also available for questions at the briefing will be David Manfredi, architect and founding principal of Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston, the firm selected by Cousins to help plan and design the project. The first meeting, primarily for University Square tenants but open to the public, will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Suite 133-G of University Square, next to Ken’s Quickie Mart. The second meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the same location. These public meetings are the next step in a process that began more than a year ago, when the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Town of Chapel Hill announced the University’s interest in the 12-acre tract, which is now the site of University Square shopping center and Granville Towers student housing. Among the goals for the redevelopment are moving retail businesses closer to Franklin Street and creating a seamless connection from West Franklin Street to campus. Because the property is not owned by the University but by Chapel Hill Foundation Real Estate Holdings, a not-for-profit corporation founded by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Foundation to assist with real estate projects for the University and its affiliated organizations, it would stay on the town’s tax rolls and produce revenue for the town. News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |