Shaping Our Future: A Transportation and Land Use Initiative
We provided market and affordable housing analyses to the Town of Chapel Hill in support of two parallel planning efforts shaping the community's future growth and development standards.
Town of Chapel Hill
Transportation & Land Use, Planning, Planning and Economic Development
Market Analysis, Housing Needs Assessments, Housing Strategies & Implementation
Chapel Hill, NC
SOM
As part of a larger planning team, we contributed detailed market insights to both the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) planning project — which established principles for development and urban design along a proposed north-south bus rapid transit corridor — and the Land Use Management Ordinance update, which translated a community vision into new development regulations.
Work Completed
Assessed demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and trends
Evaluated existing housing supply and recent trends, and forecasted future housing needs by product type and price point
Conducted a housing affordability analysis identifying the number and composition of cost-burdened households and income-restricted units needed to meet unmet needs
Analyzed the impact of the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill on the local housing market
Evaluated existing office supply and employment trends and forecasted future office demand
Analyzed current retail supply and consumer spending trends to forecast future retail space needs
Defined strategies to expand, protect and diversify the housing stock, promote affordability, and facilitate equitable growth
Evaluated the financial feasibility of zoning relief and other policy incentives to create on-site affordable housing and other community benefits
Results
The Town Council officially adopted the TOD Plan in February 2023. In 2024, we continued working with the Town to evaluate the financial impact of zoning and policy incentives on affordable housing production.
