Space-Pressed UNC Plans Eight Mil-SF Research Park

CHAPEL HILL, NC-The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began planning five years ago to build its own residential/research park on university property. University officials are concerned about the lack of space in this college town for companies that get started as a result of campus research.

Although Chapel Hill town committees and university panels have been working with consultants for years to create development guidelines for the research park, many town officials complain they haven’t been aware of such a plan. Early next year, planners at the university hope to present a proposal to university trustees for a campus that would employ up to 25,000 people.

The campus would also have residential facilities to accommodate 3,000 residents who would live in a village setting within the town of Chapel Hill. Offices, research labs, and neighborhood stores and services are also part of the proposal. An interim master plan stating the park would contain eight million sf of building space and over 25,000 parking spaces has been presented to UNC administrators. UNC’s main campus currently has about 13 million sf of building space.