New development in Chatham County hopes to help accommodate massive growth

Now, officials are making plans to accommodate the rapid growth.

"There will be differences; there will be changes. The density is changing. New communities require different amenities, and people have different expectations," said Chatham County Commissioner Karen Howard.

County leaders and developers are betting on live, work and play communities to attract more people.

"This development has everything in one place. That's what's drawing us here," said Karuna Beecharaju, who was visiting the area Tuesday from Boston and is looking to buy a home in North Carolina.

"Pittsboro was not on our list when we started looking," added Beecharaju. "It was never on our radar."

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But, a new development in the county has put Pittsboro at the top of the family's mind.

"The potential of having a place that's going to explode in the next five years really made us think it's an option," said Beecharaju.

Developers behind Chatham Park are building a community set to accommodate 60,000 people upon completion.

The more than 7,000-acre development will come with retail spaces, places to eat and about 22,000 housing units. About 1,650 of the living spaces will be affordable homes and apartments.

"Housing affordability is a conversation that we should be having in all of our communities," said Howard.

Howard added she's bracing for the influx of growth in the coming years.

"There's a rural character that we have, that we're proud of and that we want to retain, but we can only retain it with really thoughtful investment in development," she said.

Newcomers said they're taking note of what growing counties have to offer.

"Regardless of whether we buy a place in Pittsboro [or] Cary, we are moving to North Carolina," said Beecharaju.

The Chatham Park development is set to be complete by 2045.

"We want to ensure that, we're ready for the growth that happens and that our doors are open," Howard said. "We are ready to work and willing to think in a forward-thinking way about how do we grow."