Carolina North will transform local community

Leaders at UNC-Chapel Hill envision the 230-acre Carolina North development as a transformative campus extension, bolstering and creating opportunities for Tar Heels.

But the learn-live-work-play space won’t just benefit those who study or work at the University. It will also provide opportunities for Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the surrounding area’s residents, serving as a place of community and an economic, innovation and housing engine.

“It really is this once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only support UNC’s mission but also help shape the future of Chapel Hill,” said Chapel Hill mayor Jess Anderson. “From the town’s perspective, we’re looking forward to being a close partner as things come together, helping shape a really connected, vibrant place.”

The largest expansion of campus since the cornerstone of the Old East building was laid in 1793, Carolina North will be built on and around the former site of the Horace Williams Airport, off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Groundbreaking is scheduled to begin late 2027 on the project, which will include academic buildings, student and family housing, research and bioengineering buildings, shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and nature spaces (including existing trails).

Ivy Taylor ’98 (MRP), UNC-Chapel Hill’s local relations director, is the former mayor of San Antonio. In that role, growth often meant “sprawl.” But in Chapel Hill, there’s a “unique set of circumstances” surrounding the development of Carolina North, she said.

“It’s not often that a town would have this amount of undeveloped land that is close to everything, the heart of the community,” said Taylor. “It’s more desirable to develop where all that infrastructure already exists. It’s a very exciting opportunity.”

Located 1.6 miles north of UNC-Chapel Hill’s main campus, Carolina North will benefit from another strong University-town partnership: Chapel Hill Transit.

The fare-free bus system, subsidized by UNC-Chapel Hill, is planning a rapid transit line that will limit traffic and help people move throughout town quickly, including to and from Carolina North.

“We have a lot of great collaborations, and that’s why I think we’re so well positioned to work together on this,” said Anderson, who also serves as a professor of the practice in Carolina’s public policy department. “Transit and connectivity are central to how we think about growth in Chapel Hill.”

The University has committed to providing affordable housing at Carolina North, in addition to student and multifamily housing. In doing so, the development will increase the number of UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Health employees living close to work and help achieve local affordable housing goals.

“Housing is such a critical issue here, and it’s something that doesn’t just impact the town or the University — it impacts both,” Anderson said.

With public-private partnerships, Carolina North will create economic impact for the town and region through job creation and business development.

Already a research powerhouse, UNC-Chapel Hill plans to expand its scope at Carolina North, accelerating discoveries, creating a collaborative environment and fostering innovation and commercialization opportunities. This work will build off existing efforts like the Innovate Carolina Junction and Launch Chapel Hill.

“We have these exciting entrepreneurs, projects and startups coming out of Carolina students, faculty and staff,” Anderson said. “Often when they get to a certain size, they relocate elsewhere because that’s where the space is. Having a way to capture that innovation is critical.”

Taylor said community stakeholders will be included on a community advisory committee along with University leaders, trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. The committee will be chaired by Aaron Nelson, president of The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro; Anita Brown-Graham, professor and associate dean for strategic initiatives at the UNC School of Government; and UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees member Brian Allen.

Carolina North will not just strengthen the University but improve quality of life in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the surrounding communities. Anderson is hopeful that the strong relationship between Carolina and Chapel Hill will ensure that happens.

“We really value the University’s leadership,” Anderson said. “We’re looking forward to continuing to work together to make sure Carolina North grows in ways that benefit both UNC and the broader Chapel Hill community.”