Preservation Bulletin

Dear Preservation Friends,

Many of you have been asking me about the future of the Former Library/Museum at 523 East Franklin Street and the Old Town Hall at 100 West Rosemary Street. Town Council will discuss both at their meeting tonight at 7:00 pm.

Last June, Town Council received a report from its Real Property Asset Review Group that lists the properties the Town is considering selling. You may find that report here.

At tonight's meeting, the Town Council will consider a resolution to authorize the Town Manager to sell the Former Library/Museum through Preservation North Carolina. PNC holds a preservation easement on the property and is well-qualified to find a preservation-minded buyer with a creative adaptive reuse plan for the building.

However, Town Council will also consider a resolution to allow the Town Manager to explore options to sell the Old Town Hall. This resolution is somewhat vague, and does not emphasize the importance of exploring options for adaptive reuse or long-term protection (such as a preservation easement) for the building. As one of Chapel Hill's only individually listed National Register structures, and an architectural landmark for our downtown, it's critical that we come together to tell Town Council and the Town Manager that a preservation easement must be placed on the building before the Town considers selling it.

All the information to be considered tonight may be found here.

Please take the time to either write to Mayor Kleinschmidt and our Town Council at [email protected] or speak at the meeting tonight at Southern Human Services, 2501 Homestead Road, at 7:00 pm. Let them know that our community values the Old Town Hall and that we must take action to protect this architectural treasure of our downtown.
 

Yours in preservation, 

 

Cheri Szcodronski

Executive Director  

 

Preservation Chapel Hill
610 East Rosemary Street
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514
919 942-7818