Morrisville Town Center Plan - 2007

Chapter 3: Detailed Design

Overview The Detailed Design presented in this chapter builds on the Concept Design outlined in Chapter 2. It adds another level of detail to translate the conceptual vision into a more specific physical design for the Town Center. In the process, it addresses a number of additional planning considerations, such as the location of parking required to support the different uses proposed, and the connections needed between existing sidewalks in order to create a linked pedestrian network. The resulting Detailed Design includes three key components: the planned land use, transportation network, and public spaces/ historic sites in the Town Center area. Each of these components is described in more detail in this chapter. Detailed Design The overall physical design for the Town Center reflects Morrisville’s origins as a rural crossroads community and depot village. The development pattern is more spread out than what one might often see in a newly created Town Center (see Map 5, page 35). In contrast to a place that is built from scratch on a cleared site, the Morrisville Town Center is an authentic place. This plan tries to respect the history of the place and weave it into the physical design for the area to maintain and enhance the distinctive character of the community. Section 1: Land Use The land uses outlined in the Town Center Plan vary across the project area. The plan includes nine districts, each with somewhat different characteristics. These are depicted on Map 6, page 37, and described below. 1) Historic Crossroads Village: This district includes the area along Church Street, Page Street, Franklin-Upchurch Street, and the area extending north and south along Chapel Hill Road (NC 54) from the intersection with Morrisville-Carpenter

Road. This is the historic village that grew up around the original crossroads and train depot. Its character is defined by historic structures, a tight pattern of narrow streets, mature trees, and the railroad tracks. About 20 structures in this area are considered historically significant. These include the oldest standing home in Morrisville (the Page House), several structures from the post- Civil War economic renaissance (including the Pugh House, the Page-Hamilton House, and the Weston-Edwards House), a number of buildings from the turn of the century (including the Page Cottage, Ellis Rooming House, First Baptist Church, and Christian Church), and a handful of mill houses built in association with Samuel Horne’s knitting mill in the early twentieth century (see Guide to Historic Morrisville in Appendix 2 for more information about these places).

Intersection of Chapel Hill Road and Morrisville-Carpenter Road: The most visible location in the historic village area is the intersection of Chapel Hill Road (NC 54) and Morrisville-Carpenter Road/Aviation Parkway. A prominent structure in this location is the Built around 1870 for Morrisville merchant and postmaster James M. Pugh, the Italianate structure pictured here at the corner of Chapel Hill Road and Aviation Parkway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, it helps to mark the gateway into the Town Center area. (Photo: Ben Hitchings, Town of Morrisville)

23 │ Town Center Plan

January 2007