The University is embarking on its largest expansion in history with the Carolina North campus extension, a sign of how UNC-Chapel Hill is growing to serve the state. | Photo Credit: Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill
- UNC-Chapel Hill’s Board of Trustees selected Ayers Saint Gross to lead the master planning process for the Carolina North campus expansion.
- The selection comes as UNC launches a new stakeholder advisory committee intended to provide public-facing feedback on access, innovation and community integration.
- UNC says the advisory committee will meet in public forums every two months and is advisory only, with no decision-making authority.
- Carolina North is planned as a 230-acre “live, work, play and learning” district on University-owned land along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — In May, UNC-Chapel Hill made progress on its Carolina North campus expansion project, naming a stakeholder advisory committee and selecting a master plan designer to help shape the project’s layout, infrastructure and phased development.
The University announced the creation of the Carolina North Stakeholder Advisory Committee, a group of representatives from the University, community, alumni and students charged with providing feedback on how the 230-acre expansion aligns access, innovation and community integration, according to an article from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“Carolina North is a generational opportunity to build on our mission, our values and our responsibility to serve the state of North Carolina,” Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said, according to an article from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
UNC said the committee will meet in public forums every two months and emphasized the group is advisory only and does not have decision-making authority. Two days after the committee announcement, the UNC Board of Trustees unanimously selected Ayers Saint Gross, a Maryland-based firm, as the master plan designer for Carolina North after reviewing 17 proposals.
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Nate Knuffman told trustees the firm showed “strong alignment” with the University’s request for qualifications and will help develop a land-use plan for the site, according to an article from Chapelboro.com.
The firm’s scope includes a traffic impact analysis, drainage study, concept plans for utilities and sustainability benchmarks, with the master planning process expected to take 12 to 14 months. UNC previously worked with Ayers Saint Gross on the University’s 2019 physical master plan.
On the Carolina North project website, UNC describes the project as its largest campus expansion since its founding, covering 230 acres of “live, work, play and learning” spaces. The planned first phase includes shared spaces for learning and community, research and bioengineering facilities, student and family housing, and retail, dining and entertainment.
This article is based on reporting originally published by UNC-Chapel Hill on May 12, 2026; reporting originally published by Chapelboro.com on May 14, 2026; and project details published on the Carolina North website.