The Town of Chapel Hill recently shared an update on its timeline to start turning dirt at its property off Legion Road – a long-standing project that aims to build an affordable housing neighborhood and formally designate some of the land as a town park.
After facing permit-related delays through 2025 to start deconstructing the pond at the center of the 36-acre property, the town is now preparing to begin its removal as part of creating a new layout. When completed, the project on the former American Legion site will feature around 168 units of affordable housing on the acreage fronting Legion Road. Further back on the land will be a wetland space and a public park connecting Chapel Hill’s existing Ephesus Park.
“It is really exciting progress,” Mayor Jess Anderson told 97.9 The Hill on Thursday. “And, of course, it’s bittersweet for something [to be] going away and [the town] trying to replace it with something equally as special and great.”
Anderson’s bittersweet feelings refer to the impending removal of the three-acre pond, which is a defining feature on the current site. It was man-made in the 1960s, with many trees growing tall along its edges and wildlife using its water. But an engineering and hydrology assessment completed in 2024 recommended either re-sizing the pond’s earthen dam and spillway or removing it to install a constructed wetland and better comply with modern safety requirements. The town staff opted to go with the latter, meaning a redesigned wetland area will be used for stormwater management and at the site of the pond’s source.
Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson during a Chapel Hill Town Council meeting in December 2025. Anderson was one of eight town council members who voted in 2022 to have the town’s Legion Road property include both affordable housing and designated public park space, but recently told 97.9 The Hill she acknowledges that seeing the site change will be difficult for nearby residents. (Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
The future of the pond became a key sticking point for many community members during the town council’s earliest discussions of how to use the property, with community members occasionally still emailing and advocating elected officials to keep the water feature. With that, Anderson said she recognizes that the upcoming changes people will see on the property during early stages of removal will be difficult.
“Of course, I know that many in our community have strong attachments to the pond – understandably so,” said the mayor. “And I just want to assure people that a great deal of thought and planning has gone into these decisions. We don’t take them lightly. It really is a safety risk.”
This aerial rendering shows the general layout of Chapel Hill’s future affordable housing and park at the 1714 Legion Road property. (Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.)
(Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
The town’s updated construction timeline now details how fencing will be installed in the coming weeks around the Legion Road pond and parking area at the former American Legion building. That will establish the construction zone as workers eventually remove the dam, pond and surrounding trees — while maintaining access to the nearby Studio A DanceArts building and Ephesus Park trails. To handle any rainfall and stormwater as the dam is taken apart, a new outlet pipe will be constructed where the dam is currently located and will remain in place for the next couple of years.
Chapel Hill staff said they expect the removal phase of construction to finish in less than a year, with construction on the affordable housing community beginning as early as 2028. While the delays in 2025 made it so the local government missed applying for the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program this year, staff said they are planning to apply next year.
With that timeline, Anderson cautioned community members to not expect for the housing and park to be finished quickly – but also to not overreact to the construction site that will be active for many months.
“This transformation is going to take time,” she said. “It’s going to happen in phases and there will be a period where the former pond area serves also as the [staging area] for the construction for the affordable housing development. I know for some, it’s not going to be easy to watch. So, I’m just asking for everyone’s patience as we work toward the long term of welcoming new neighbors and seeing this property continue to serve our community in a different, but equally exciting way.
“Hang in there,” Anderson concluded. “And don’t worry. It won’t look like an awkward teenager forever. It will eventually look pretty great.”
Community members with thoughts or questions on the project are encouraged to use the town’s engagement website, which has a dedicated webpage for the Legion Road property.
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