Citizen Will

Category: EconomicDevelopment

  • Raleigh’s Carlton Place: A Downtown Affordable Housing Commitment Worth Emulating

    I’ve followed the ins-and-outs of Raleigh’s Carlton Place before the Wallace Deck/Lot #5 developments took flight. 64 of the 80 units – ranging in size from 800 to 1200 sq./ft. – are priced so those making %60 of Wake County’s median income can afford one. Market rates aren’t too shabby either (market/affordable): 1 BR/1 BA […]

  • Lot #5 Development: “…up through the ground come a bubbling crude…”

    Well, not quite “black gold” or “Texas tea” but it appears that more “refined trouble” is brewing under Lot #5 (MAP). Chapel Hill’s taxpayers will have to wait for next week’s official lab confirmation but, as of today (Mar. 20th, 2007), initial field tests of some of the nearly 30 core samples show “interesting” signs […]

  • Lot #5 Development: Two Pictures 1,000 Words Apart

    Looks like this will be the last Spring I watch these trees bloom… and the last year I’ll see Chapel Hill’s Downtown signature church steeple from the second floor roost of where I work. Cline Associates Concept Plan Drawing for Lot #5 Corner of Church St. and Frankin St., Chapel Hill, NC – Mar. 18th, […]

  • Lincoln Arts Center: The Clock is Ticking

    Nice summary of Chapel Hill’s Lincoln Arts Center’s problem locating a new home by Jesse James DeConto in today’s Chapel Hill News. Sooner or later, the popular pottery program is going to have to leave its home at the Lincoln Center, the administrative office complex of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools on Merritt Mill Road. […]

  • Lot #5 Downtown Development: Do you smell gas?

    As we know, There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things We do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know. — Donanld Rumsfeld, Feb. 12, 2002, […]

  • Trash Talk: 1 Megawatt of Waste Not Methane, Want Not Energy, April’s SWAB Report Reveals Opportunity

    To flesh out my earlier post “Trash Talk: Waste Not Methane, Want Not Energy” here’s a few comments from the April 6th, 2006 Orange County Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB). There’s a few inline comments demarcated by [CitizenWill:…]. Landfill Gas Preliminary Report (discussed after item 1) Tipton [BJ Tipton – member ] states that other […]

  • UNC’s Carolina North Lurches Ahead

    [UPDATE] Allison Gunn posted the same notice over on OP, with this additional note: “For further information about campaigns to alter the development, see the Friends of Bolin Creek website: www.bolincreek.org” . Also, I contacted Tiffany Clarke to see if they could video the proceedings. She’s currently looking into that – maybe the folks at […]

  • Municipal Networking: St. Cloud Soars Above Chapel Hill

    As longtime readers and local voters know, I’m a strong advocate for bringing community-owned information infrastructure to Chapel Hill. Simply, to create a truly free new Town Commons benefiting our citizenry. I’ve been working the issue now for over three years – banging the drum of strategic economic stimulus, social improvement – bridging the “digital […]

  • Easthom Update on Chapel Hill WiFi

    In case you don’t subscribe to Council member Laurin Easthom’s ‘blog The Easthom Page, she has an update on some possible forward motion on implementing a municipal network. Updated staff report on wireless with council discussion is tentative but hopeful for April 23. Such a report will be pretty inclusive and give us the staff’s […]

  • Chapel Hill’s Public Forum on Information Technology

    If you would like to see our Town use technology to more effectively address social issues, improve operational efficiencies and drive the cost of doing government business down, then make a date to attend the rescheduled Public Forum on Information Technology 7-9pm Mar. 21st, 2007. The event will be held in the Conference Room of […]

  • Trash Talk: The Ticking Clock

    For a problem 35 years in the making, the push to finalize the site of the transfer station seems precipitous. To echo Mark Chilton’s letter, until a county-wide assessment is made, setting a timetable now is not prudent. Here’s the draft timetable from tonight’s agenda item: It would be nice to see a concurrent push […]

  • They Count: 2007 Point in Time Orange County Homeless Census

    Cross-posted from Terri Buckner’s (TerriB’s) ‘blog LocalEcology Orange County Homelessness Fact SheetFebruary 2007 Total Number of Homeless People Counted in January 2007: 224 Homeless people staying in temporary shelter: 199 Homeless people without shelter (i.e. on the streets): 25 Homeless families: 23 Homeless people in families (including children): 60 Homeless children: 35 Homeless individuals (not […]

  • Oh,Oh Walgreen

    One of RAM Development’s Chapel Hill projects is the poorly sited Walgreen’s on the corner of MLK (Airport Rd.)/Weaver Dairy Rd [MAP]. I’ve commented ( Godzilla vs. Bambi: RAM Development and Chapel Hill) on the problematic expeditious manner this project is taking through “official” channels. Our Council’s dealings with RAM Development shouldn’t even have the […]

  • Chapel Hill 2035

    [UPDATE] The Chapel Hill News’ OrangeChat noted the growth Mar. 5th. The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Socio-Economic projections are in and, as Sally notes, they forecast a whopping increase in population. Table 1: Draft 2035 Plan Socio-Economic Projections Jurisdiction Population Employment 2005 2035 % inc. 2005 2035 % inc. […]

  • Giving Kiosk Out, Panhandling Meters In?

    Last year, the Downtown Partnership (DPC) commissioned a “giving kiosk” for Downtown. Callie Warner, my neighbor and metalsmith, designed what Liz Parham, Direcor of the DPC, described in this May 16th, 2006 Chapel Hill News column [PDF] as an “economic development tool”: This past week the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership carried a concept proposal for […]