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A local congregation is moving ahead with plans to build a new church and up to 10 homes in southern Orange County near the Chatham County line.
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Holy Trinity Anglican Church of Chatham Inc., has explored the possibility of a housing project in the area for several years.
The 1651 Old Lystra Road project would include a 10,000-square-foot, two-story church with a bell tower, play area, trails and roughly 150 parking spaces — doubling the size of an existing church on U.S. 15-501. About 40% of the 12-acre site could be preserved.
It could also add two single-family homes on roughly one-acre lots along Old Lystra Road, with up to eight affordable, duplex tiny homes for people transitioning from homelessness on the church’s portion of the site.
The church would continue to operate its food pantry and manage a “giving garden” in Chatham County that serves UNC-Chapel Hill students and staff, according to project documents.
Both Chapel Hill’s Town Council and the Orange County Board of Commissioners will consider the project, because it is located in the town’s joint planning transition area and requires a zoning change to allow for more dense construction.
The governments will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday for a joint public hearing at the Southern Human Services Center, at 2501 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill. The commissioners could vote on the project Sept. 15, and the council has a second hearing scheduled Sept. 23.
Chapel Hill has identified the area around U.S. 15-501, just south of the town limits, for residential growth to meet a critical shortage of diverse and affordable housing options.
South Creek, a mixed-use development across from Southern Village, is under construction now and could add up to 706 condominiums and townhomes, plus commercial space. Holy Trinity Anglican Church is currently housed in a roughly 5,000-square-foot building next to the South Creek development.
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In 2023, the town worked with the county, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority to expand the urban water and sewer service area to the Chatham County line.
The revised Water and Sewer Management, Planning and Boundary Agreement opened up 360 acres on both sides of U.S. 15-501 for dense growth and multifamily projects. Developers have to pay to extend OWASA water and sewer lines to their projects.
Holy Trinity Anglican Church of Chatham Inc., bought the Old Lystra Road site from Chapel Hill resident Peter Slomianyj in January 2025, county records show. Documents note the church would rely on well water and septic systems.
The project could face questions about increased traffic and stormwater runoff. Documents show the project is designed to limit grading of the land, most of which has steep slopes, and address runoff from a 100-year storm. The church would be built into the slope, creating “ground-floor” access on the upper and lower floors, documents stated.
It is not located within walking distance of bus transit yet, but church members will be encouraged to carpool, they said.
Slomianyj also sold 35 acres on U.S. 15-501 to Flintrock Knoll LLC that same month, records show. Chatham County-based Bold Development owns Flintrock Knoll and submitted a concept plan for townhomes and a small commercial building for review in 2025.
Bold Development has not submitted an official application for the Flintrock Knoll project.
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