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The Meadowmont plan, 1994

How East West Partners brought its Meadowmont plan for the DuBose property on N.C. 54 to Chapel Hill in 1994, from the first filing and Pete DuBose’s death through two public hearings and the council’s review committee.

In 1994 East West Partners filed its plan for Meadowmont, a village-centered community on the DuBose property along N.C. 54 that the Daily Tar Heel called the biggest development in Chapel Hill's history. After two public hearings, the Town Council set up a committee to review how much development the land should hold.

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On April 12, 1994, after nearly three years of planning, East West Partners filed a land-use plan and rezoning request with Chapel Hill for Meadowmont, a complex of apartments, single-family homes, shops, offices and 60 acres of conservation land on the DuBose family property along N.C. 54 east of town. The new group Citizens for Livable Communities urged caution. On May 29 David St. Pierre "Pete" DuBose, a 1921 UNC graduate and longtime University donor, died at 96 at his home on the Meadowmont estate. He had willed his house and 27 acres to UNC in 1988, and his children planned to develop the rest.

On October 5 the company's president presented a revised plan at a public hearing at Town Hall; the Daily Tar Heel said it would be the biggest development in Chapel Hill's history. It left out the University-owned DuBose house and centered on a village center of housing, shops and offices. At a second hearing on November 2 the plan for 425 acres straddling N.C. 54 called for up to about 2,000 homes, 1.5 million square feet of commercial space and about 500,000 square feet of office space. Council member Joe Capowski said it was designed for much more shopping than a village, and the council asked Town Manager Cal Horton to draft answers to its questions. On November 14 the council created an advisory committee, led by the planning board, to meet with the developers in January on how much development the land should hold.

In the chronology

Events in this storyline, in date order. See these 5 dated events in the chronology →

  1. East West Partners files its Meadowmont plan with Chapel Hill The developer submitted a land-use plan and rezoning request for Meadowmont, a 430-acre complex of apartments, single-family homes, shops, offices and 60 acres of conservation land on the DuBose family property along N.C. 54 east of town, in Orange and Durham counties, after nearly three years of planning. Town review was expected to take months, and the new group Citizens for Livable Communities urged caution. Place: DuBose property, N.C. 54, east of Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Meadowmont, N.C. 54, Orange and Durham countiesSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, April 19, 1994, p. 3
  2. David St. Pierre DuBose, owner of the Meadowmont estate, dies David St. Pierre 'Pete' DuBose, a 1921 UNC graduate, Durham hosiery executive and longtime University donor, died at his home on the Meadowmont estate east of Chapel Hill on May 29 at 96 and was buried there on June 1. In 1988 he had willed his 34-room house of 1933 and 27 acres, valued at $2 million, to UNC; his children planned to develop the remaining 450 acres with homes, stores, offices and a hotel. Place: Meadowmont, off N.C. 54, east of Chapel Hill · Also named: David St. Pierre DuBoseSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, June 2, 1994, p. 4
  3. Chapel Hill Town Council hears the revised Meadowmont plan at a public hearing On Oct. 5 East West Partners president Roger Perry presented a revised plan for Meadowmont, a planned community on the 445-acre DuBose property along N.C. 54 that the Daily Tar Heel said would be the biggest development in Chapel Hill's history, at a public hearing and work session at Town Hall. The plan left out the University-owned DuBose house, centered on a village center of housing, shops and offices and added possible Rainbow Soccer fields; a resident who spoke wrote that comment was largely skeptical and that the council's next session on it was set for Nov. 2. Place: Town Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Roger Perry · Also mentions: DuBose property, Meadowmont, N.C. 54Search the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 6, 1994, p. 1
  4. Chapel Hill Town Council holds a public hearing on the Meadowmont plan for the Dubose property East West Partners presented its revised master plan for Meadowmont, a community on the 425-acre Dubose property straddling N.C. 54 in eastern Chapel Hill, built around a village center and calling for up to about 2,000 homes, 1.5 million square feet of commercial space and about 500,000 square feet of office space, with the land rezoned from Residential-1 to a mixed-use district. After residents spoke for and against parts of the plan and council member Joe Capowski said it was designed for much more shopping than a village, the council asked Town Manager Cal Horton to draft answers to its questions and set the next hearing for February 20. People: Cal Horton Place: Chapel Hill Town Hall · Also named: Joe Capowski · Also mentions: Meadowmont, N.C. 54Search the index · The Daily Tar Heel, November 3, 1994, p. 1
  5. Chapel Hill Town Council sets up a committee to review the Meadowmont proposal The council created a short-term advisory committee, led by the planning board, to evaluate East West Partners' proposal to develop 425 acres of the DuBose property astride N.C. 54, a plan the paper said could bring up to 2,000 homes. The committee was to meet with the developers in January on the kind and amount of development the land should hold. People: Cal Horton Place: DuBose property, N.C. 54, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: N.C. 54Search the index · The Daily Tar Heel, November 16, 1994, p. 3

Places in this history

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Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Reading on the places and people in this storyline

No indexed work is about this storyline itself yet. These are about the sites and people its dated events name, those named most often first, so they may discuss the storyline only in part. Follow a link to find a copy or view the material.

About The Mountain (Christopher Barbee plantation, now Meadowmont) · named in 2 of this story’s entries

Meadowmont (Chapel Hill Historical Society vertical file)

Meadowmont, the planned development on the east side of Chapel Hill, in newspaper clippings, photocopied articles and a magazine article. Undated folder in the Neighborhoods series of the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Vertical File Collection (CHHS.001).

Wider background: Growth, Land & Planning · the most widely held histories of the theme this story belongs to; they may not discuss it

American Indians in North Carolina: Geographic Interpretations

Ross, Thomas E. · 1999 · Karo Hollow Press

Thomas E. Ross's geographic study of American Indians in North Carolina. It examines Native peoples' history, cultural assimilation, and social and economic conditions across the state, with statistics. Published by Karo Hollow Press in 1999, eleven preliminary pages and 242 pages with illustrations and maps.

Chapel Hill, N.C. History of Town Lots (1790-1930s)

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2014

Deed transcripts for the town lots of Chapel Hill and adjoining land from 1790 to the 1930s, compiled by Stewart E. Dunaway. Each transcript keeps only the working facts: grantor and grantee, price, acreage and the metes and bounds of the parcel. Self-published in 2014 as Issue 1G, 702 pages with maps and facsimiles.

Hillsborough, North Carolina : history of town lots : the complete reference guide

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2016

Stewart E. Dunaway worked through Hillsborough, N.C., lot by lot, giving each town lot a synopsis of its history, a plat showing where it sits and transcripts of the deeds he could locate for it. The second issue runs to 720 pages with illustrations, maps and facsimiles.

Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2015 · Stewart E. Dunaway

Stewart E. Dunaway's 2015 addendum to his history of Hillsborough's town lots, adding deed records arranged by lot number and further town history, with the expansion of the 1890s covered for the first time. Self-published in North Carolina as version 1.0, 446 pages with illustrations, facsimiles and maps. Topics include deeds, court records, land titles and real property in Hillsborough.

Hillsborough District Court Civil Action Concerning Land (1778-1806)

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2011

Stewart E. Dunaway's abstracts of civil suits over land heard in the Hillsborough District Superior Court between 1778 and 1806. The district covered Orange, Wake, Granville, Caswell, Person, Chatham and Randolph counties, and the papers concern boundaries, ownership and disputed tracts. Published through Lulu in 2011, 337 pages with illustrations, maps and facsimiles.

The Research Triangle: From Tobacco Road to Global Prominence

Rohe, William M. · 2011 · University of Pennsylvania Press

William M. Rohe's history of Research Triangle Park and the region around it, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2011. Topics include regional planning and the economic and social conditions of the Research Triangle Park region, one corner of which is Chapel Hill and the university. 298 pages with illustrations and maps.

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North Carolina Land Grant Entry Book ... Orange County

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2010

Stewart E. Dunaway's two-volume edition of the Orange County land entry book, the register in which settlers first claimed vacant land from the state before a grant was surveyed and issued. Volume one covers the first thousand entries, all made in 1778; volume two runs from 1779 to 1795. Each entry is reproduced from the original in the State Archives with an abstract of its contents. Self-published through Lulu in a second version dated 2010, two volumes at 28 cm with facsimiles and maps.

The school that Jack built : city and regional planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1945-2012

Kaiser, Edward J. (Edward John) · 2013

Edward J. Kaiser's history of the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1945 to 2012, published by the department in 2013. The title nods to John A. Parker, 1909 to 2001, who figures in the book. One hundred eighty-six pages with illustrations and portraits at 28 cm.

Farewell forever, old road to Durham : lessons from the history of transportation planning in the North Carolina Piedmont

Chilton, Mark · 2012 · Hand Made Books

Mark Chilton's short history of transportation planning in the North Carolina Piedmont, drawing lessons from earlier projects. Subjects include the Cape Fear Navigation Company and river navigation, and the railroads of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, including the State University Railroad Company whose spur brought trains to the two towns. Chilton was mayor of Carrboro when the book appeared. Published by Hand Made Books, Carrboro, 2012, 92 pages with illustrations, maps and portraits.

Ejectments of Orange County, N.C

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2010 · Stewart E. Dunaway

Stewart E. Dunaway's four-volume set of ejectment cases from Orange County, reproducing the original documents and maps from the North Carolina State Archives with partial transcriptions. The volumes cover 1778 to 1814, 1817 to 1832, 1833 to 1849 and 1850 to 1902. Ejectment suits contested title and possession of land, and the cases include surveys and plats. Self-published in 2010.

Jesse Benton Letters (1780-1790)

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2009 · lulu.com

Stewart E. Dunaway's transcription of letters exchanged between Jesse Benton and Thomas Hart from 1780 to 1790, concerning Hart's affairs at Hartford, his place at Hillsborough. The letters concern the economic and social conditions of Hillsborough in the eighteenth century and the Revolution in North Carolina. Self-published through lulu.com in 2009, 68 pages with illustrations and facsimiles, and part of the library's Wall Local History Collection.

A Generosity of Spirit: The Early History of the Research Triangle Park

Link, Albert N. · 1995 · Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina

Albert N. Link's early history of Research Triangle Park, published in 1995 by the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina. Topics include research parks, research institutes and industrial research in the state, with the park's own history at the center. 149 pages with illustrations and maps.

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