Agenda - 12-10-2002-9c - Laserfiche WebLink

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Proposal for Funding for the Purchase of Sunrise Road Property 4 In July 2002, Habitat for Humanity, Orange County (HHOC) signed a contract with the Thelma T. Clark Estate for the purchase of a 16.45 acre tract of vacant land on Sunrise Road in Chapel Hill. The land is suitable for the development of a significant number of units of affordable homes. The current zoning is R-2, which allows for up to 4 units per acre. At the current zoning, as many as 64 affordable homes could be built on the site using a cluster design. Since HHOC is interested in collaborating with other non-profit providers to build a mix of housing types on the site, HHOC could in the future decide to request a rezoning of the property from R-2 to the Town of Chapel Hill's R-SS-C zoning district in order to achieve a higher density. However, HHOC's request for funding to the County and to the Town of Chapel Hill to acquire the property does not depend on the approval of such a zoning change. The property presents viable development opportunities for affordable housing at its current density of 4 units per acre. The acquisition of this property has been approved by the HHOC Board of Directors, and conforms to the goals and objectives set by the HHOC Board in its long-range plan adopted in August 2001. This plan calls for acquiring land in 2002-2003 in the OWASA service area and the Chapel Hill- Carrboro school district in order to serve our applicant households, the majority of whom currently live and/or work in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. The plan also supports a continued and more extensive cooperative relationship with Orange Community Housing and Land Trust beyond the first home that HHOC plans to build in 2003 on OCHLT-owned land. The contract price for the 16.45 acre tract is $400,000. It's current appraised value as determined by an independent appraisal completed for HHOC in October 2002 is $411,000. A condition of the contract is that funding for the purchase must be committed no later than December 31, 2002, and that closing is to take place in February 2003. At the time that the contract was signed by HHOC and the seller, HHOC staff and Board anticipated that Orange County affordable housing bond funds would be available for land banking activities within this time frame. However, the schedule for RFPs for land banking activities has been delayed, and land banking will not be included in the initial round of RFP's for affordable housing bond funds. Therefore, HHOC is requesting that the Town of Chapel Hill and Orange County provide $300,000 from other available sources for affordable housing to partially finance the purchase of the property. HHOC will provide $100,000 from its own privately funded sources as a down payment on the property. HHOC has also used its own funds for the predevelopment costs incurred to date, including fees for an appraisal, for an environmental assessment, and for a title search. The property is located on Sunrise Road, across from the new YMCA Children's Center at Carol Woods. The site enjoys easy access to the major employment centers in southern Orange County, including iJNC and its hospitals. Bus service is currently available on Weaver Dairy Road, less than one-half mile from the site. The nearest shopping is located less than two miles from the site, at the Timberlyne Shopping Center. East Chapel Hill High School is less than one mile from the site. The property is located in a mixed residential neighborhood that includes an upper-end residential subdivision, Chandler's Green, as well as several older homes and a commercial business, the Potted Plant, along Ginger Road, aone-lane gravel road. The topography of the site is level to gently rolling. There is a small intermittent creek on the property, as well as high-tension power lines within a 68 ft. Duke Power easement across the front corner of the property. The northeast corner of the property abuts I-40. These factors will influence how the property is developed but they do not make the property unsuitable for residential development. The site will be served with sanitary sewer and water by OWASA, and will require a pump station to extend sanitary sewer. OWASA has indicated that they will approve a pump station to extend sewer service to the site.