844 units coming to Pittsboro in preliminary phase of major development

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PITTSBORO — Pittsboro commissioners have approved a preliminary subdivision of a development that will bring 844 single family units to the town.

The major subdivision is expected to be around 362 acres, a little less than half of the expanse of the total development, which is called Del Webb at Chatham Park — formerly the Townsend Tract.

Though the development — located east of Sanford Road/N.C. Hwy. 87 S. and southwest of Moncure Pittsboro Road — is referred to as “Del Webb at Chatham Park,” it is not a part of the larger 22,000-home Chatham Park master plan.

It was approved at the board’s meeting last week.

According to a town staff analysis document, the three land parcels in the preliminary plat are in the northern part of the Del Webb development, and the proposed density of the plat is 2.33 dwelling units per acre. The majority of the units are intended for those 55 and above, the plan for at least 80% of the units to be occupied by such residents. The median lot size is 7,111 square feet.

As the town considers a merger of water and wastewater utility systems with the city of Sanford, the town’s staff memo on the preliminary plat also states that water in the subdivision will be provided by Pittsboro, while sewer treatment will be provided via Chatham Park’s portion of the Sanford force main line.

At the Aug. 8 commissioners meeting, the town’s Planning Project Manager Molly Boyle said the sewer doesn’t have to be available at the time of preliminary plat approval, but does have to be available at the time construction gets approved.

The preliminary plat item was pulled for discussion during the meeting, when Commissioner John Bonitz highlighted his concerns regarding requirements for parks and recreation, pedestrian access along Sanford Road and the phasing of the project.

The preliminary plat is expected to have around 75 acres of open space, which is roughly 20% of the subdivision. At the moment, Chatham Park investors have plans for a 40-acre regional sports complex near the subdivision. Proposed pedestrian access in the Del Webb development also includes 5-foot sidewalks along both sides of interior roads, and along U.S. Hwy. 15-501 and Moncure Pittsboro Road.

The board’s approval of the preliminary plat at the Aug. 8 meeting encompassed phases 1 through 4 of Del Webb at Chatham Park. Phase 1 has 254 lots, phase 2 has 102 lots, phase 3 has 172 lots and phase 4 has 316 lots.

With regard to the phasing of the project, Bonitz said his major concern was about impacts to downtown traffic around the town circle, particularly as Chatham Park Way South is not complete as the Del Webb at Chatham Park project proceeds.

Kevin Dean, a transportation engineer with Kimley-Horn, a planning and design consulting firm, spoke to Bonitz’s concerns at the meeting. Dean said the firm completed a traffic study for the build-out of the project, and noted that one of the benefits of senior adult housing — which will be the case for most of the homes in this subdivision — is a lower trip generation when compared to single family homes.

“Being senior adult housing, that’s only generating around 100 to 120 total peak hour trips in the morning and in the afternoon,” Dean said. “So in reality, what we’re looking at is something closer to only two additional trips per minute for the hour, so not as significant volume traffic.”

Chris Raughley, vice president of Land Entitlements and Development for PulteGroup, the project’s developer, was also present virtually at the Pittsboro commissioners meeting on Aug. 8. During the meeting, Raughley said if sewer access becomes available in late 2023, he anticipates the first home in the project to be built by the middle of 2025.

“And we would start selling at that point to start closing loans in late 2025,” Raughley said.

He also said given that timeline, he believes Chatham Park Way would be online before the Del Webb development is finished with its first phase.

“So for us, that’s pretty exciting, because we actually prefer to have that part reopened as well, just because that does solve the same problem that the question is being asked about, which is getting people to some of the conveniences in town without having to route that traffic through downtown,” Raughley said.

Reporter Maydha Devarajan can be reached at mdevarajan@chathamnr.com and on Twitter @maydhadevarajan.

development, Del Webb, Chatham Park, housing