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dial IisPA <br /> SCHOOL <br /> Development <br /> 1 <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> To: Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director, Long-Range Planning & Administration Division, <br /> Orange County <br /> Cy Stober, Planning & Inspections Director, Orange County <br /> From: Marcia Perritt, Director, Development Finance Initiative <br /> Date: August 6, 2024 <br /> Re: Proposal to Provide Pre-Development Services for the Greene Tract <br /> UNC-Chapel Hill Development Finance Initiative <br /> The UNC Chapel Hill School of Government (SOG) established the Development Finance <br /> Initiative (DFI) in 2011 to assist local governments and their partners in North Carolina and <br /> beyond with achieving their community economic development goals. The SOG is the largest <br /> university-based local government training, advisory, and research organization in the United <br /> States. DFI partners with communities to attract private investment for transformative projects <br /> by providing specialized finance and real estate development expertise. <br /> Request for Technical Assistance <br /> Orange County requested technical assistance from DFI in May 2024 to conduct pre- <br /> development feasibility analysis and attract a private development partner to the Greene Tract, <br /> a key community development priority for the County and its partners. The Greene Tract is an <br /> approximately 164-acre property located off Eubanks Road in Chapel Hill, near the historic <br /> Rogers Road community. The parcel is jointly owned by the Orange County and the Towns of <br /> Chapel Hill and Carrboro. These local government partners are working together to establish a <br /> long-range plan to guide development and preservation activities on the site, as outlined in a <br /> 2021 conceptual land use plan and a 2021 Interlocal Agreement between the three entities. <br /> Most recently, the County and the Towns launched a ten-month process to co-create a shared <br /> vision and master plan for the Greene Tract alongside the community, with support from <br /> consultants Thomas & Hutton, VHB, and Gensler. <br /> While that visioning work is helpful in gaining consensus among key stakeholders for a general <br /> development concept, to make the concept become a reality, it should be tested through <br /> feasibility analysis and brought to the market—that is, the concept should be proven in a way <br /> that would satisfy developers, investors, and lenders that the vision is feasible given current <br /> market and development conditions. DFI is able to conduct this necessary feasibility analysis <br /> and create a market-feasible program of development, while regularly seeking feedback and <br /> engagement with community stakeholders and the three local government partners. Once a <br />