Town House Razed, Glen Lennox Begins Evolution

Posted on Sept. 12, 2018

The sites of two apartment complexes that have sheltered generations of UNC students are undergoing huge changes.

The biggest immediate change came for Town House Apartments. The brick complex built in the 1960s that stretched between Hillsborough Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has been razed to make way for the new Grove Park Apartments, to open in 2020. Meanwhile, at Glen Lennox, a 20-year redevelopment is beginning just off Fordham Boulevard.

At the Town House site, the former 111 apartments will be replaced by 339 at Grove Park: 83 one-bedroom units, 96 two-bedrooms, 65 three-bedrooms and 95 four-bedrooms. Each will feature a bathroom for every bedroom, washer and dryer, stainless-steel appliances and floors with the look of hardwood. Amenities will include a pool, fitness room, game room, and a rooftop lounge with a big-screen TV room. Greystar, the Charleston, S.C.-based company building Grove Park, will manage the complex.

At Glen Lennox, Grubb Properties, which has owned the 440 apartments and shopping center since the mid-1980s, will start by putting up a 215-unit apartment building, a 100,000-square-foot, four-story office building and a clubhouse, and adding a green space.

The project, which will keep the Glen Lennox name, will incorporate elements acknowledging some UNC history. The first office building will be named The Gwendolyn, in honor of Gwendolyn L. Harrison, the first African-American woman admitted to UNC, pursuing a doctorate in Spanish. (See “A Pedigreed Doctoral Student, Sent Packing on Her First Day” in the March/April 2018 Review, alumni.unc.edu/CARarchive.)

Glen Lennox opened in 1950 with 314 cottages and had the ultimate 440 units by 1953. The adjacent retail plaza opened in 1952 as Chapel Hill’s first shopping center.

Eventually, single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums will be added to the site, which is roughly at Fordham Boulevard (U.S. 15-501) and Raleigh Road (N.C. 54). Additional retail development may occur, said Tim Jezisek ’09 (JD, MBA) of Grubb. The new offices will face Fordham; the apartments, near Fordham, will be at Flemington and Brandon roads.

In this first phase, nearly 50 of the one-story brick cottages on the 70-acre site will be torn down; Grubb plans to preserve at least 100 cottages over the 20 years. Some bricks from demolished cottages will be used in the new buildings.

Town House had 111 apartments; Grove Park will have 339, ranging from one to four bedrooms, with each bedroom having its own bathroom.

Two Shops Join Franklin Street Pizza Lineup

MidiCi Italian Kitchen/Neapolitan Pizza has opened at the corner of Franklin and Columbia streets under Top of the Hill, featuring the style of pie with a thin, crispy crust made famous in Naples, plus an array of pastas, calzones and other Italian fare. 100 E. Franklin St., Suite 100 || mymidici.com  ■  At Pizza Press, new in Carolina Square, customers work with “editors” to “publish” pizzas with their choice of ingredients or select from house specialties with names like The Times, The Tribune and The Chronicle. Local franchise general manager Andreas Handrinos said the shop also is working with The Daily Tar Heel staff to develop “a half-and-half pizza to show there are two sides to every story.” 123 W. Franklin St., Suite 120 || thepizzapress.com

Under One Roof, Many Flavors

Persian stew, vegetarian tamales and handmade chocolates are among the fare available at Blue Dogwood Public Market, a collection of small food shops on West Franklin Street.

The market has shared kitchen and other facilities that make it economical for small operations to have a high-profile location. “They wanted to be on Franklin Street, but the rents are outrageous, and then to outfit a whole kitchen is very expensive,” said Sarah Boak, one of four partners in the market, which opened in June after three years of planning. “We’re trying to be the place where you can grab fresh, local food quickly that’s not fast food.”

Vendors so far include:

The Bar, beer, wine and cider to complement the Blue Dogwood food options. bluedogbeer.com  ■  Chocolatay Confections, handmade chocolates and confections with all-natural ingredients, such as dark chocolate sea-salt caramels and milk chocolate sunflower cups. chocolatayconfections.com  ■  Left Bank Butchery, locally sourced, sustainably raised, pastured beef and pork, house-made sausage, bacon and charcuterie. leftbankbutchery.com ■  Pizzelle Bakery, gluten-free traditional sweet and savory Italian recipes with a Southern flair, such as torta caprese with chocolate and pecans, and focaccia with pimiento, bacon and mascarpone spread. pizzellebakery.com  ■. Rumi Persian Cafe, Persian dishes, such as khoresh-e bamieh (okra and tomato stew) and adas polow (basmati rice with lentils, raisins and cinnamon). rumicafe.weebly.com  ■  Soul Cocina, Latin American-inspired plant-based options such as tamales, sweet potato and plantain empanadas, and pasteles de yuca. soulcocinatriangle.com  ■  Vegan Flava, vegan soul food from mostly raw or living ingredients, such as barbecue jackfruit, “fish” cakes and collard wraps. veganflavacafe.com

The market, which has counter and outdoor table seating, eventually plans to expand to about a dozen vendors, Boak said. 306 W. Franklin St. ||  bluedogwood.com

Merritt’s Brings BLTs to Campus

Merritt’s Grill began serving its legendary BLTs and pimento cheese sandwiches at Lenoir Hall with the start of the fall semester. Those and the rest of its sandwich menu are available for lunch on weekdays in the food hall’s bottom floor. The original store at 1009 S. Columbia St. serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday, plus dinner Thursday through Saturday. || merrittsblt.com

Updates

Perennial Cafe celebrated its first anniversary in August by adding beer and wine to its beverage list. Owner Mimi Hock ’08 said the signature beverages will remain espressos and teas with fresh herbs and spices — such as mint and rosemary — to create flavors like iced mint latte and the London fog (Earl Grey tea with lavender and vanilla). 403 W. Franklin St. || perennial.cafe  ■. Vegan restaurant Living Kitchen closed its Elliott Road shop in June, but posted on Facebook that it might open in another location.

— LJ Toler ’76

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