Pittsboro’s historic Reeves Farm is vanishing under bulldozers for a $19.6 million “walkable” suburban development. The 500-acre transformation promises 600 residential units, trails, and green spaces – complete with a Disney partnership. But locals aren’t buying the sales pitch. With median home prices hitting $425,000 and only 7.5% designated as affordable housing, longtime residents fear being priced out of their own community. The true cost of “progress” extends beyond dollar signs.
Pittsboro is getting a major suburban makeover, and this time, they’re doing it right. At least that’s what developers are claiming as they transform 500 acres of the Reeves Farm into what they’re calling a “walkable paradise.” The irony of flattening farmland to build walkable neighborhoods isn’t lost on locals.
The purchase price of $19.6 million by Edward Holmes Jr. and the Keller family marks a massive transformation of this rural land. The changes are sweeping through this small North Carolina town like a summer storm. Chatham Park‘s massive expansion, complete with a splashy Disney partnership, is turning pastoral landscapes into planned communities. The NoVi neighborhood alone is cramming in 600 residential units – everything from single-family homes to townhouses that look like they were ordered from a suburban catalog. The development includes Encore by Weekley, an established section dedicated to active adults over 55.
Sure, there’s a shiny new YMCA and miles of trails. Developers are quick to point out their commitment to green space – 22 acres here, 30 miles of trails there. But some residents are asking: What’s greener than the farmland we’re paving over?
The town commissioners, at least, managed to squeeze out a 7.5% affordable housing requirement, though that’s cold comfort for those watching their rural community transform. With a median home price of $425,000, many longtime residents worry about being priced out of their own community.
The developments come with all the buzzwords: mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented, multimodal trails. They’re building neighborhoods where people can walk to get their coffee, assuming they can afford the homes near the coffee shops.
Downtown Pittsboro, with its antique shops and local breweries, sits nearby – a reminder of the small-town character that attracted people here in the original place.
Job growth is the carrot being dangled in front of concerned citizens. Chatham County’s economic development program promises prosperity, while cultural touchstones like the Chatham Mills Farmer’s Market soldier on.
It’s a familiar story: progress marching forward, leaving muddy bootprints on tradition. The question isn’t whether Pittsboro will change – it’s already happening. The real question is whether these “walkable” suburbs will deliver on their promises or just become another collection of cul-de-sacs with sidewalks to nowhere.