Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
CC` SMATEGY 5 <br />6.5 Summary Conclusions <br />81 <br />The Town of Chapel Hill appears to have many competitive advantages over other office <br />markets, particularly as it is an integral component of a highly recognized international <br />brand — The Research Triangle" — which in turn offers an array of interwoven <br />infrastructure from which the Town benefits. This infrastructure includes the <br />concentration of academic institutions, research facilities, transportation and climactic <br />elements which make it an attractive place to live and work. By extension the <br />infrastructure also includes a depth of human capital constituted by a highly educated <br />demographic that few regions can match. <br />Chapel Hill's individual competitive advantages are cited at various points in this section <br />and elsewhere in the report and do not bear repeating here. However, these advantages <br />have had an impact on demand, which in turn have fueled growth in the office market <br />over time and contributed to historically low vacancy rates, high lease rates, etc. <br />Constraints noted herein have also had, and will continue to have, their effect <br />There are some essential questions raised by the demand discussion: Will demand <br />continue to filter into the Chapel Hill market and manifest itself in new construction, <br />additional tax base, and ensure low vacancy rates into the future? Or, will aggressive <br />competition from outside areas erode Chapel Hill's demand base, weaken the existing <br />office market, slow development of planned projects and impede overall absorption? <br />The answer is that the future of office demand and related occupancy, development etc. <br />can — and possibly should - be influenced through a variety of means that are further <br />discussed in the final chapter of this report. However, they can be summarized by three <br />words: Policy, Positioning, and Promotion. <br />38 <br />