Carrboro's Planned Cultural Hub Loses ArtsCenter

Parking and construction schedule listed as concerns

By Tristan Dufresne 1/28/19 4:21PM

CARRBORO — The ArtsCenter, an educational public arts classroom and performance venue that serves as a hub to the town's performance and arts education life, has pulled out of a multi-use project slated for development by the Town of Carrboro.

Nearly nine months after the Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved what has become known as the 203 Project — a library building, concert venue and cultural center the Sundial previously reported on — the development (which has yet to break ground) has lost one of its stakeholders in the ArtsCenter. The ArtsCenter is currently situated at 300 East Main Street, in a plaza whose recent development includes a hotel and the area branded as "East Main Square."

The 203 Project building is planned to include not only the Orange County Library Southern Branch, but also Carrboro's Recreation and Parks offices, a teen center, a virtual justice center (associated with NC Central University's Virtual Justice Project, offering online pre-law and legal information classes) and the local radio station WCOM (the station currently broadcasts from a station located at 300 East Main Street).

The project's development is approved on town-owned land at the southeast corner of Roberson Street and South Greensboro Street, over what is currently a paved lot offering 88 unmetered parking spots and an additional 12 unmarked parking spaces along the street.

The ArtsCenter's marketing director, Patrick Phelphs-McKeown, said the decision came "after much consideration" in a press release on January 15. The ArtsCenter cited scheduling issues as well as other concerns, including parking, a problem looming over the town as a whole as well as this municipal project.

The same ArtsCenter statement quotes executive director Dan Mayer saying, "Over the years, the Town of Carrboro has built a close professional relationship with The ArtsCenter, and although The ArtsCenter has chosen to not participate in this project, we look forward to continuing to build that relationship and working together on future collaborations."

The ArtsCenter is still planning to move from East Main Square, where it owns its building. Mayer, who spoke to the Sundial by phone, said, "The town is trying to resolve how much parking to build, where to build parking, who pays for the parking, how much parking will be needed for the building itself. All that discussion is taking time, and we are on a faster timetable than they are… We're hoping to open [our own new facility] in three to four years," and the town may not make that timeline. Construction may not begin till 2020.

"We needed to take charge of this on our own," said Mayer said. Development of the 203 Project parking will be complex, "and our parking needs are much simpler."

The 203 Project will replace municipal parking at the intersection of South Greensboro Street and West Weaver Street, across from Open Eye Café. While current construction schematics do indicate that at least some on-site parking will be provided, both at ground level and below, parking consultant Ian Banks of the Nelson\Nygaard civil planning firm told the Sundial that the exact number of spots the project will include has yet to be determined: "That's still part of the architectural process and will be baked into the final design of the building."

When the exact blueprint is settled on, including parking spots, it will be presented to the Board again. In September of 2018, the firm Perkins+Will Global submitted three basic designs, and, after public input meetings, "The Commons" was chosen. The building will therefore be three floors and 45,000 square feet, with the library on the second floor.

The parking plan presented to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen by Nelson\Nygaard representatives in October of 2018 only specified how the issue will be accommodated during the construction process. One agenda document from the presentation states, "The goal will be to provide spaces that are open and easily identifiable to the customers of the downtown."

The document continues, "A key strategy in doing this will be to move employees, park and ride, or other longer-term parking out of core downtown lots including , Century Center, Armadillo [Grill], and Jean Ward's lot," which is attached to Carolyn Jean Ward's office for realty on 111 Cheek Street. "Implementation of this plan will require participation on everyone's part."

Carrboro is the most population-dense municipality in the state, and the town population is not expected to decrease. Parking at key private businesses in the town center, such as Carr Mill Mall and Weaver Street Market, have already been approached by town officials for permission to use their available parking during off hours. Fitch Lumber Company on North Greensboro Street and Piedmont Healthcare on Lloyd Street have already agreed to allow parking after business hours and on the weekend. The CVS by Carr Mill will be approached after a new owner arrives, one who will already be talking about shared and leased parking options with private lot owners.

"At this stage, I don't think anything is off the table," Banks said by phone. "The town realizes that there isn't one silver bullet that will provide parking; there's going to be a number of different strategies."