Erwin Road Development

The Chapel Hill Town Council returned from summer break on September 1, 2021 to talk about a hotel expansion and townhomes proposed for a busy corridor near Fordham Boulevard and Erwin Road. Summit Hospitality Group applied for a permit  to add 54 suites to the 108-suite Extended Stay Residence Inn Hotel, built in 2003 at the corner of Erwin Road and Dobbins Drive. A two-story office and residential building would replace  a four-story hotel building. The 17.7-acre project also would add 52 two- and three-story townhomes to a wooded lot north of the hotel near the future home of Christ Community Church.

 Project official Scott Radway said the developer revised the plan after suggestions the council made in June. The changes reduced parking and impervious surfaces, such as driveways and rooftops, and increased stormwater controls. They also added over 9,900 square feet of recreation space, plus a $38,220 payment toward public recreation facilities elsewhere, he said. The revised plan also increases the landscaping buffer to 100 feet between the hotel and Summerfield Crossing homes, and to 60 feet between the townhomes and Summerfield Crossing, he said. The council approved the conditional use permit in October 2021 after the developer agreed to offer town homes to the stock of affordable housing, and substantial improvements to contain potential flooding.

 STORMWATER, FLOODING, PONDS

Stormwater and flooding remained the biggest issues for surrounding residents, especially to the east at Summerfield Crossing, where floodwaters already inundate yards and infiltrate some homes in heavy downpours. The developer is pledging to improve the conditions by filling an existing farm pond and removing an old dam, as well as expanding a stormwater basin at the hotel. The farm pond “was created essentially to water farm animals that were on the property. It was not engineered or designed in any fashion to be a stormwater treatment facility for water quality or water volume or anything like that,” Radway said.

Council member Amy Ryan encouraged the developer to see the basin as a potential amenity for hotel guests and nearby residents. “You’ve got a pond here that there’s an opportunity to make some amenity space, even if there’s just a path around it or benches or something,” Ryan said. “Little kids love to go out and look for frogs or see cattails. To make it a purely engineering structure is a real lost opportunity.” Council members also supported the idea of a swale — a landscaped, marshy area for collecting and filtering rainwater — between the hotel and Summerfield Crossing. Summerfield’s homeowners association has used them in the past to help with flooding, staff said.

 The council will hear more details about the size and location of the swale, and about potential alternatives in October. The developer also could provide more information about a proposed 50% to 75% reduction in stormwater runoff. Council member Hongbin Gu questioned that figure, especially with the amount of steep slopes that could be disturbed and the extra impervious surfaces, such as parking lots. The impervious surfaces would cover only about 35% of the hotel and townhome sites combined — less than the 50% impervious surfaces allowed for a residential development, Radway said. The steep slopes, he said, were created when the pond and roads were built to serve the former farm.

 NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS

Linda Brown, a resident of Summerfield Crossing, said she would like to see the forest and pond remain, but the reality is that land will be developed at some point. “Given the plans that have come before us before, this is one of the best ones,” she said in advocating for the swale behind her neighborhood and a 100-foot buffer with trees and shrubs to help absorb the stormwater runoff. “During thunderstorms and/or sustained rain events, as stormwater flows from Erwin Road down to Woodbridge Road, Woodbridge becomes a river. In spite of recent improvements in stormwater infrastructure by the Summerfield Crossing HOA, homes are still threatened. The new development will increase impervious surface, making matters worse.”

 Other residents questioned the number of condos planned and whether taller buildings would be in harmony with the surrounding homes, apartments and townhomes, as well as the possibility of more traffic. Some noted that the hotel’s original permit limited the number of suites that it could have and building heights. The developer is trying to “scuttle” the original permit, Windhover neighbor Michael Hoppe said, calling the talk of walkable and green spaces “hogwash.” “Summit Hospitality Group tries to cram too much in too small a place,” Hoppe said, noting potential problems with traffic, runoff, building height and perceived incompatibility with adjacent neighborhoods. “[It appears]) that the developers don’t care about creating a desirable Chapel Hill. What seems to drive them is pure and simple — making as much from their investment as possible,” he said.