Ken Reiter, of Durham-based Belmont Sayre, told neighbors in a meeting Thursday they revised the plan in response to feedback from neighbors and the town. A public hearing for the 2.49-acre development will continue at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 in the Town Hall boardroom.

The biggest change is the loss of a third story in one building fronting Greensboro Street. The now two-story building would have 24,000 square feet of commercial space - enough for six to eight small retail businesses, including a restaurant, Reiter said. The second floor is likely to be office space, he said.

The change leaves Shelton Station a slightly smaller project - 110,000 square feet instead of 128,000 square feet - and reduces the number of residential units from 116 to 96. The revision also removes turn lanes proposed for North Greensboro Street, which would have widened it almost to neighbors' doorsteps. Those changes have been submitted for N.C. Department of Transportation approval, because Greensboro Street is a state-maintained highway.

A second, four-story building to the rear of the project remains residential with a ground-level parking garage. Although the developer considered creating a second entrance or exit on Parker Street - a gravel road that ends at the project's southeastern corner - that did not pan out, Reiter said. The plan is still to use Parker Street as an access road for emergency vehicles. The project's goal is to build up the commercial tax base, while providing attractive but affordable housing for local workers, graduate students and others "who want to live [downtown], and this is a way for them to live here but not be in a 'student housing project,' " he said.

At least 10 percent of the units would be priced at 60 percent of the area median income and another 10 percent of the units at 80 percent of the area median income. According to town documents, monthly rent for those units would average $800 to $1,100 for a two-person household. The remaining units would be rented at market rate.

The project is designed with low bedroom-to-bathroom ratios and an income verification process to be less attractive to students, he said.

Some residents said they would like to find something positive about the project but were finding the task difficult. The main concern continued to be how much traffic it would generate and the effect on an already busy street, pedestrians and the surrounding community.

"We have these quaint little houses that sort of define Carrboro and accent its history, and now we're going to have something that doesn't do that," said Arne Gray, who owns lots at the corner of Shelton and Greensboro streets.

The project's traffic engineer, Andrew Topp, said 800 to 850 vehicles travel that stretch of Greensboro Street during the morning rush hour and a slightly higher number in the evening. The developer did consider installing a traffic light at Shelton Street, which would intersect with the project's driveway, but the final traffic count did not meet DOT requirements. Reiter said one selling point is walkability and convenience to downtown businesses and restaurants, and pedestrian and bicycle improvements are planned for Greensboro Street. Parking would be limited to 189 spaces, short of the town's requirement.

In November, the Board of Aldermen tabled Shelton Station talks but did amend the town's B1(g) conditional zoning category to allow more density in mixed-use projects - a necessary step for the project to proceed. The new category requires developers to set aside a minimum of 20 percent commercial space in mixed-use projects, half the minimum recommended in the town's Vision 2020 document. Projects must meet three of seven criteria for environmentally sensitive building and site elements, such as energy and water conservation, alternative transportation and affordable housing.

If Shelton Station is approved, the developers would be required to submit more complete plans and drawings to the town's conditional use permitting process. Those plans also would be subjected to public hearings and review by various advisory boards and the aldermen.