"What do you think about Franklin Street?"

Thorp told the Friends of Downtown last week that he may not have anticipated the question, but it made sense.

"I said, 'There's no way to imagine UNC Chapel Hill without Franklin Street and there's no way to imagine Franklin Street without UNC Chapel Hill."

Now, downtown merchants and supporters are hoping Thorp can restore some of the street's glory.

He told the merchants he's working on it.

He and his wife have approached Wachovia about the university filling the vacant bank space at the corner of Franklin and Columbia streets.

Owner Joe Riddle has a long-term lease on the space and no incentive to find a new tenant, but Thorp has an in: He and Riddle grew up together.

"If we would come up with something, I think he would be receptive to helping us," Thorp said.

More than 90 people attended Thursday's meeting at the Franklin Hotel, one of the group's biggest crowds, to hear the chancellor.

He told them the university also hopes to put a store for the Ackland Art Museum in the old Schoolkids Records storefront down the street.

Nic Brown, communications director for the Ackland, said it's too soon to announce.

"It's something that we've definitely been interested in for a while," he said. "We've been discussing that space specifically for several months."

"It would be great to have this storefront presence on Franklin Street, and we are right around the corner."

Of course the biggest change coming downtown could come with the UNC Foundation's purchase of the University Square shopping center, which Thorp said should be finalized this summer. He offered few specifics, though UNC has said it plans to put a major parking structure there and upgrade the center.

Asked about art gallery owner Bill Hester's recent decision to leave University Square, Thorp said he didn't think that should reflect on the university. Hester had said his business lacked the support it needed to succeed downtown.

"I'm not sure that incident is an indicator of UNC's attitudes toward how we intend to manage University Square," he said. "I think there may be other factors there."

In other business, Thorp said he is unhappy with the current lighting on McCorkle Place, the quad beside the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. UNC switched to more energy-efficient lighting, but it has made the quad dimmer.

"We've made one set of changes," he said. "I think we've concluded that won't be enough, so I think we're going to make another change."

He also said UNC would continue pushing for more lighting in the neighborhoods around campus, even though he acknowledged residents don't always want more light shining through their windows.