Editor's note: The following letter from Grubb Properties President Clay Grubb was sent to Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy and the Chapel Hill Town Council June 24. On June 25, the Town Council voted to begin the process for considering a Neighborhood Conservation District for the Glen Lennox area.


We at Grubb Properties fully appreciate the importance of Glen Lennox to the Town of Chapel Hill. It is a community with a strong history of strategic significance to the Town. With your help we can ensure that it has an equally strong and significant future.

Unfortunately, our fond memories of Glen Lennox no longer reflect this rental community's current condition. The reality is that communities need to change and evolve to remain relevant and full of life. The proposed Neighborhood Conservation District (NSD), if it results in a recommendation to preserve the status quo, would guarantee Glen Lennox's continued decline.

That is not to say that surrounding neighbourhoods should have no voice in the redevelopment process. In fact, we prefer the notion of an inclusive, broad based area study. This process would solicit input from all stakeholders and produce a mandate consistent with the town's economic and land development objectives.

We are willing to postpone our concept plan review process in support of such a study, if this study is initiated quickly, and provided the proposed NCD is also postponed until the study's conclusion. Alternatively, we would postpone our review process to allow for a study if the Glen Lennox Apartments and Shopping Center are excluded from the proposed NCD.

It is imperative that we seize this opportunity to address the multiple interests and concerns of the entire community and develop the strongest plan for the future of Glen Lennox and the Town of Chapel Hill.


Current Condition

The Glen Lennox Community is currently in a state of decline.

The apartments, initially constructed in 1949, are outdated and compete poorly in today's marketplace. They are undersized in comparison with other competing apartments in the area and provide insufficient bathroom and kitchen space. They do not provide adequate electrical outlets for today's technology-driven lifestyle or sufficient ambient lighting and they are extremely inefficient with respect to energy use. They do not comply with the accessibility standards set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and some of the building materials used at the time of construction have since been deemed hazardous. All of these factors depress our rental rates and force us to offer expensive and ever-increasing concessions to maintain occupancy.

At the same time, maintenance expenses increase every year just to keep the apartments habitable. They are plagued with water infiltration issues and moisture control problems.

If Glen Lennox is not allowed to change in a way that benefits the Town of Chapel Hill then it will continue to decline.


Conservation District

The proposed NCD seeks to prevent any change or renewal of the Glen Lennox Community. It would effectively block any attempt at the redevelopment, thus guaranteeing the community's continued deterioration.

Furthermore, the three neighbourhoods (Oakwood, Flemington and Glen Lennox) included within the proposed NCD are not consistent with respect to any of the "distinctive features" stated in article 3.6.5(a)(4) of the Chapel Hill Land Use Management Ordinance. Glen Lennox is dissimilar from the surrounding neighborhoods on every one of the state criteria. In fact, these neighborhoods were developed separately by different companies with different design objectives and intended uses.

Even though we disagree with the establishment of an NCD for the entire area proposed (including Glen Lennox) we fully support the Oakwood neighborhood and the Flemington neighborhood in their efforts to become recognized as NCDs. These neighborhoods (excluding Glen Lennox) meet the intention of the NCD ordinance as they were developed at the same time, with similar architectural themes and have one homogeneous land use (single family residential).


Area Planning Study

A thoughtful, inclusive and comprehensive planning study is a far superior method of achieving the town's stated land use and economic development goals than the proposed NCD. We support a study of this type because we are confident that this balanced and unbiased approach would yield a mutually beneficial outcome for the redevelopment of Glenn Lennox. The study could also modernize a 20 year old Entranceway Plan, incorporating current conditions and considering the evolution of the N.C. 54 corridor over the past two decades while developing the best possible plan for the future.

Glen Lennox sits at one of Chapel Hill's major activity nodes (U.S. 15-501 and N.C. 54). Its destiny must be decided through a wide-range of involvement and careful study. We can collaborate to ensure that the outcome fits well within the broader land development goals of Chapel Hill to the benefit of all her citizens. Although the proposed study would postpone our redevelopment process it is clearly the best way to ensure a truly beneficial result for the Town of Chapel Hill.

We welcome the opportunity to participate in such a study.


Proposed benefits

This corridor study will provide a guideline for "smart" redevelopment consistent with Chapel Hill's Comprehensive Plan and economic development principles. We would use that guideline to revitalize the Glen Lennox Community and improve its contribution to the town as a whole. Through the preservation of some of the existing apartment on tracts of land adjacent to the surrounding single family neighborhoods the creation of new "green space" and the retention of many of the community's signature trees and new Glen Lennox would pay homage to the site's historic character while infusing new life.

The inclusion of office, retail and hotel uses would significantly boost the town's commercial tax base and encourage residents to walk to shops, restaurants and work. The new community would provide housing for many income groups (including affordable housing), offering homes for owners and renters in single or multi-family style units. It would be a Transportation- Oriented Development that would utilize existing bus lines to limit traffic impacts and increase public transportation ridership. A revitalized Glen Lennox would also be more environmentally sustainable through improved energy efficiency and the implementation of "green" technologies.

Our vision is a rejuvenated and vibrant Glen Lennox. A neighborhood that will maintain its unique and diverse character while at the same time reclaiming its status as a sought-after place to lice and a cornerstone of the Town of Chapel Hill.