In preparation for the university’s biggest expansion in its modern history, UNC leadership announced its early steps in creating a mixed-use development on hundreds of acres roughly two miles north from campus.
An official release from the university on Wednesday formalized Chancellor Lee Roberts and his administration’s vision for the Carolina North property in Chapel Hill, laying out a plan to develop roughly 230 acres to create a “learn-live-work-play” area that helps advance UNC’s academic, housing and business footprint. The oldest public university described the project as its largest expansion effort “since the cornerstone of the Old East building was laid in 1793,”framing it as a “generational investment” in both UNC’s academic mission and relationship with the broader Chapel Hill community.
“We have a fundamental obligation to the people of this state,” Roberts wrote in the announcement. “As North Carolina continues to be one of the fastest-growing states in America, the demand from qualified North Carolina students is only going to increase. If we do not create the physical capacity to serve more of them at the same level of excellence, we will either have to turn away thousands of our own citizens or diminish the quality of the education we provide. Neither is acceptable for the state’s flagship university.”
During Wednesday’s committee meeting of the Board of Trustees, Roberts and his administration requested $8 million in advance planning spending authority to begin creating a broad design and drafting requests for construction proposals. The first phase of the project, according to the university, will “evaluate a mix of student housing, academic and research space, multi-family residential, hotel and ground-floor retail.” UNC indicated much of that phase, and the entire Carolina North project, will rely on public-private partnerships to be completed.
A map in UNC’s presentation to the university Board of Trustees displaying the entire Carolina North property in Chapel Hill, with the future development area shaded in yellow. (Photo via UNC-Chapel Hill.)
This graphic, presented by UNC on Wednesday, shows the size of main campus’ two quads within the footprint of the developable Carolina North property. (Photo via UNC-Chapel Hill.)
Roberts indicated that the initial phase will aim to add roughly 2,200 undergraduate student beds and graduate student housing to both address UNC’s need for student housing and expanded academic spaces for STEM-related courses and research. He also said the opportunity poised by the property not only presents a unique situation to help students across North Carolina, but to the town of Chapel Hill — as smart planning on the land could help alleviate the community’s affordable housing crunch.
“Carolina North presents an exciting opportunity for the Town,” Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson said in Wednesday’s release, “as we work together with the University to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future — to meet our housing goals, enhance our transportation network, and continue to build on the excellence that has defined Chapel Hill for many generations.”
“This campus extension is an unparalleled opportunity for our students and North Carolina’s future and a powerful catalyst for long-term growth,” wrote Malcolm Turner, the chair of the Board of Trustees. “By creating a place where education, research and industry intersect, the University is strengthening its role as a driver of innovation, entrepreneurship and investment across the state. This kind of forward-looking development benefits our students, fuels job creation, attracts new partners and reinforces Carolina’s competitiveness for decades to come.”
Notably absent from the initial announcement and plans for Carolina North is any mention of a future sporting arena. The site was one of six options listed by the university in a study on the future of the Dean Smith Center, and was reported by Inside Carolina in Feb. 2025 as the preferred option for UNC’s administration. Since then, former UNC players, decision-makers and fans have pushed back on the notion of relocating the men’s basketball program’s arena — culminating in a “Renovate, Don’t Relocate” campaign that recently garnered public support from former UNC men’s basketball coach Roy Williams and former Tar Heel star Tyler Hansbrough.
The project will have a Stakeholder Advisory Committee to discuss priorities and decisions with the administration, which was revealed on Wednesday. UNC trustee Brian Allen, public law professor and ncIMPACT founder Anita Brown-Graham, President and CEO of the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro Aaron Nelson, UNC Director of Local Relations Ivy Taylor and Director of Special Projects Marcus Ginyard will join Executive Director for Real Estate Development for Carolina North Tiffany Lacey on the group.
Roberts’ administration’s presentation to the Board of Trustees during Wednesday’s committee meeting said if the advanced spending authority is approved, UNC will issue an RFQ later in January for “a multidisciplinary design team to plan, design and support construction” for the Carolina North development. The full board is expected to take action on the agenda item on Thursday.
Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.
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