y. ThsTar HeelThursday, August 19, 19855
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On Thursday, . Leonard Van Ness of the
Chamber of Commerce, William Kohn,
President of the Downtown Merchants'
Association, along with Whitfield Morrow and
Walter Daniels from the Fraser Group held
a news conference to address the recent
heightened criticism of the Rosemary Square
project. The following are somejof the points
they made in favor of the development.
1. Rosemary Square is an aesthetically
beautiful project
Rosemary Square uses the archetectural
styles, colors, and textures similar to the old
university buildings on campus. The basic
design concept was to place cars away from
view so that people, not automobiles, dominate
the town landscape.
2. Rosemary Square is designed to be a
delightful haven for pedestrians.
Rosemary Square will convert what is now
a plain parking lot covered with cars into an
open pedestrian plaza with plants, rocking
chairs, tables, and other outdoor seating. It
takes an unsightly and unsafe alley and
converts it to an urban park and strollway.
3. Rosemary Square represents a major tep
in meeting Chapel Hill's critical parking needs
The Square will provide approximately 397
spaces for use by the public during peak hours.
4. The right location for Rosemary Square
is Parking Lot 1
The commercial heart of Chapel Hill for 200
years has been the 100 block of East Franklin
Street. That area, by public consent, has been
in desparate need on additional parking.
5. The Pearsall Property is not the right
site. ',. . , '
First of all, the Pearsall Property cost $1.4
million which was borrowed by the town. The
Rosemary Square site is paid for. Parking
revenues will pay f r the bonds to build the
deck, byt not to build the deck and pay for
the land too.
: Second, the Rosemary Square uses of the
inn, small shops and offices are more approp
riate to the Henderson Street site than the
Pearsall Property.
Third, the plans for the Rosemary Square
sitewould be unusable at the Pearsall Property.
They reflect that site's unique characterristics
the alleys, the Post Office f acuity, the 12
foot elevation differential between Franklin
and Rosemary Streets, and the pedestrial
orientation.
' Fourth, if Rosemary Square were to be
moved, would not the town have a strong
moral obligation by compensate the Fraser
'Development Company for their "good faith"
pre-construction expenditures for architects,
land planning, engineers, lawyers, and current
additional funding commitments which have
been made by the company to carry out its
obligations under the development agreement
with the town?
6. Rosemary Square will not create major
traffic congestion problems.
The town commissioned a "Traffic and
Parking Study of the Town Center Develop
ment" by Traffic Systems International Ltd.
of Atlanta, who concluded in May of last year
that "essentially, the additional traffic gener
ated by (Rosemary Square) can easily be
accomodated by the existing sreet system."
We believe that Rosemary Square would be
nothing but a welcome addition to downtown
Chapel Hill. One thing is certain: a living town community. Those who want Chapel Hill to
will never stay ; the same. Chapel Hill will ... be a better place in which to, live than it is
continue to grow and that growth can be either . today : should support well designed sensitive
sporadic and haphazard, or can be planned downtown revitalization such as Rosemary
growth which addresses -the problems of the Square.
T Rill 111
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