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57 <br />CC SMATE'GY 5 <br />2. Gain a practical sense of what projects are mature and fully leased; and, what projects <br />are new entries to the market - some with high vacancy rates, and others with apparent <br />low vacancy. <br />3. Gain a future - looking sense of what projects may be planned for entry into the market <br />over the next several years. <br />4. Gain an understanding of infrastructure that can and will influence the office market <br />including: proximity of neighborhoods and life -style opportunities; retail; restaurants and <br />commercial support businesses; roads and public transportation routes; and, parking, etc. <br />Summary Observations <br />The site analysis resulted in the following observations pertaining to the objectives as <br />summarized above: <br />1. The physical character of office buildings in Chapel Hill is generally of very high <br />quality. Design tends to be of a traditional nature, although modern architecture and <br />highly creative design elements are also in evidence. Materials tend to be high - quality <br />and traditional in nature as well- brick and masonry construction for the most part — in <br />keeping with Chapel Hill's overall design theme. Offices are well merged into the <br />environment, either in campus like settings with extensive landscaping; or, in more urban <br />settings in which structures appear well suited. <br />2. Most office buildings appear well activated (leased) although a few newer <br />developments remain only partially occupied. In the latter cases the impression of the <br />consultant is that it could take the capture of only a few key tenants to fully lease up these <br />properties. Evidence of new offices under construction appear smartly planned in their <br />particular environment, properly parked, oriented in most cases toward support <br />infrastructure such as service retail, banks, shops, restaurants, etc. The importance of the <br />University as an economic driver is never far from the business consciousness of the <br />community. The importance of location in this regard — either through physical linkage, <br />or less defined connections — is apparent. <br />3. The site analysis took into account the location of proposed new projects such as the <br />future redeveloped University Square that will clearly have a significant role in defining <br />the office development climate and supply of space in the coming years. That particular <br />project will have a multiplier role as a mixed -use project that adds to the critical mass of <br />activity in downtown Chapel Hill, and bolsters the synergistic relationship between the <br />University itself and the Town. <br />4. Another observation arising from the site analysis was the fact that there is a relatively <br />limited amount of land remaining available for office development (or other uses) within <br />the Town limits. Land that does remain available for opportunity sites appears often <br />constrained by the existence of hard edges that limit potential growth (e.g. existing <br />buildings, parks and recreational areas, roads, etc.) environmental and conservation <br />14 <br />