Project Overview

The Tanyard Branch Trace project will include 48 new affordable housing units on Town land that was prioritized for affordable housing in 2018. The community is in close proximity to transit and the Town’s greenway system and is within walking distance of a Town park and the Chapel Hill and Carrboro downtowns.

Background

In June 2018, the Town Council prioritized three Town-owned sites for affordable housing and authorized the Town Manager to pursue affordable housing on those sites. Staff then worked with an engineering team to explore what type of development might be possible on those parcels. After staff presented the results of the feasibility analyses to Council in September 2019, Council indicated support for moving forward with planning for the Jay Street site.

In November 2019 Council authorized the Town Manager to seek an affordable housing partner with whom the Town could begin negotiating an agreement to prepare a proposed plan for the site. In February 2021, the Town entered into an Memorandum of Understanding with the Taft-Mills Group, working in collaboration with the Community Home Trust, to begin planning for the development of the Jay Street site.

VISION

Town Staff proposed the following goals for the Jay Street site based on Council feedback, Council’s FY2020-22 Strategic Goals & Objectives, and the Town’s affordable housing policies and goals:

• Provide housing affordable to a range of income levels with priority for units serving households earning 60% or less of Area Median Income

• Maintain long term affordability

• Minimize need for Town funding through leverage of outside funding

• Utilize environmentally friendly and sustainable principles for development

• Facilitate connections within the community and surrounding neighborhood

Project status

The Town Council approved a conditional zoning application for the project on April 27, 2022, which proposed 48 units of affordable rental housing and a community building on the site.

In August 2023, the project received a 9% Low Income-Housing Tax Credit award by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency that will bring more than $10 million to the project. The development team is working on finalizing plans and obtaining the permits and financing needed before starting construction in 2024.

The developer has engaged the surrounding community and key stakeholders throughout the project planning process. Information about those meetings, future opportunities for input, and other project information can be found on the Community Home Trust’s Tanyard Branch Trace project webpage.