Pittsboro as we know it is about to change. Real estate development company Preston Development is proposing to build a new community called Chatham Park, a future space for businesses as well as homes.
As of last year, Pittsboro’s current population was close to 4,000 people. According to town estimates the park will be over 7,000 acres and plans to house around 60,000 residents in the next 20-30 years.
“The developers want [Chatham Park] to be significant in the same way the Research Triangle Park is,” Pittsboro town manager Bryan Gruesbeck said. “I think they want to attract developers that fit the same model.”
Their idea is to have a technology park with a community feel to it. For commercial uses, the park will contain a “downtown style village” in addition to five other smaller shopping areas. Another feature would be a total of 600 acres of parks along with a nature trail, connecting the community to the Haw River and Jordan Lake.
The town of Pittsboro has not set an official date for the town board to vote on the approval of the master plan for Chatham Park. For now, Chatham Park is still in the zoning process (organizing what part of the land will be commercial, residential, etc.) If the master plan is approved, construction of a 25,000 square foot medical office could break ground in a couple of months.
Pittsboro is mainly known for its restored historical courthouse and quaint downtown area. Some residents in the community enjoy the town the way it is.
“[The new expansion] will help Pittsboro, but it will take away the small town feel,” junior Maddie Adams said. “I lived in Cary for a while and the reason why [we] chose Pittsboro was because it was a small town.”
Other Pittsboro residents see Chatham Park as a change for the better.
“I grew up in the country on a farm, so a part of me is certainly going to miss the rural aspect,” life- long Chatham County resident and science teacher Gary Oakley said.“If there is a way to preserve that rural feel and still have economic development, that would be a positive.”
Confusion on the outcome of the new community is still present throughout Pittsboro.
“It depends on how it’s done,” Pittsboro resident Paula Anstrom said. “If they plan wisely then it could be done well, but if they let it grow without any planning it could hurt [Pittsboro] greatly.”
While some have mixed feelings about the construction of Chatham Park, the Haw River Assembly (an environmental activist organization also know as the HRA) is worried about the scale of the project and how it will affect the environment.
“We need the most amount of space possible between the water and the lakes and where these houses and businesses are being built,” Pittsboro resident and HRA member Efrain Ramirez said. “Whatever the runoff is from this whole development, it should be filtered and not go in the drinking water.”
With the new development expected to add more than 10 times the current population, the size of Chatham Park is a concern to some residents.
“I don’t want Chatham Park to overwhelm Pittsboro,” Ramirez said. “I want there to always be a traditional Pittsboro town center…. Let’s respect Pittsboro, what there is in Pittsboro and keep the historical area a vibrant community.”
Chatham Park is planned to function as a “live-work-play” community. Offices, shopping malls and homes are all set to be within walking distance of each other.
“[Offices] could lead to more daytime population in the area than what we’ve been used to,” Gruesbeck said. “It will be a less of a bedroom community.”
Chatham County Schools is anticipating the student population to double in the next 10 years according to the school system.
“[Northwood has] been growing around 100-150 students [each year],” former principal Chris Blice said. “This past year we grew around 110 [students]; I’m predicting next year we will probably grow by about 120-130.”
The new expansion will also enlarge the student population. Chatham County Schools is anticipating the school population going from 800 to 18,000 according to Indy Week.
In the years to come, eight elementary schools will be added as well as two middle schools and two high schools across the county. Northwood High School could expand in the future.
“If we [expand] we are not going to just add classrooms, we will eliminate the foreign language and the math pods and build a building that will contain those classrooms and more,” Blice said.
A problem some Pittsboro residents seem to have is limited choices for shopping and places to eat. Construction has already begun on a Bojangles that will be across the street from Northwood. A Waffle House is also approved and will be built beside KFC and Taco Bell. Chatham Park developers would like to increase the variety of shops in the community.
“A better place to go shopping near home would be a positive,” Oakley said. “There are not very many interesting places to eat without having to ride to Durham or over to Southpoint; more options or places to eat would be great.”
The town of Pittsboro and Preston Development are moving forward with Chatham Park despite opposition.
“Change is coming, change comes everywhere, so it is exciting that at least I don’t have to move to another place in the world, that place is moving to me,” Oakley said.
– By Chloe Gruesbeck and Taylor Maloch
