Wood Partners is set to break ground this month on Alta Meadowlands, a 301-unit apartment community planned for Hillsborough's Meadowlands Business Park, with completion expected in spring 2028. The project sits near UNC Health's Hillsborough campus and is a short drive from Interstates 85 and 40, putting it within easy reach of Chapel Hill and Durham.
According to citybiz, the development marks Wood Partners' first project in Hillsborough and its fifth active undertaking in the Triangle region. The company partnered with GrayCo Capital Advisors on the deal and acquired the site from Duke Health, the outlet reported. Caitlin Shelby, managing director at Wood Partners, said Hillsborough has “a growing workforce with limited multifamily residential options,” adding that Alta Meadowlands will give people who work in Orange County “a high-quality home at an attainable price” near downtown Hillsborough, Durham, and Chapel Hill.
The 301-unit figure in this latest announcement differs from an earlier development agreement that the town of Hillsborough described as allowing up to 333 multifamily units on the site, with 10% of those designated affordable, according to a Town of Hillsborough facility listing. What prompted the shift from that earlier ceiling to the current count isn't addressed in available records.
Affordable Units and Infrastructure Commitments
Alta Meadowlands will reserve 10 percent of its homes as income-restricted, per the citybiz report. That echoes commitments described months earlier by News of Orange County, which reported that a commissioner said 10 percent of units at the site would be income restricted for households earning between 60 percent and 79.9 percent of area median income. The same outlet reported that Wood Partners pledged to contribute up to $2 million of its own money toward upgrades to Hillsborough's water and sewer system.
The earlier coverage also described infrastructure commitments tied to the development agreement. The development agreement includes a $1.828 million contribution for stormwater improvements. Per the News of Orange County report, the project includes a pedestrian pathway connecting a nearby senior apartment community to the Sportsplex and Senior Center — a commitment citybiz also described, saying Wood Partners will build a sidewalk path connecting the senior housing community behind the site to the Sportsplex.
The developer previously said it was exploring ways to donate or repurpose materials from a house and barn on the property that could not be retained, the local outlet's report noted. News of Orange County also reported that the development could add approximately $20 million in taxable property to Hillsborough's tax rolls, a benefit citybiz echoed in describing the project's expected contribution to Orange County's property tax base.
What's Inside the Community
Alta Meadowlands is planned to include 146 one-bedroom homes, 135 two-bedroom homes, and 20 three-bedroom homes, according to citybiz. Units will feature granite countertops, shaker-style cabinetry, and vinyl plank flooring, and the community will include a clubhouse with a fitness center, co-working space, gaming areas, and lounge areas, along with a swimming pool, dog park, and pet spa, per the same report.
The outlet also described the project as Hillsborough's first higher-density, elevator-served apartment community, sited adjacent to the Orange County Sportsplex and near a bus stop and I-85. Emilee Collins, a Pickett Sprouse Commercial Real Estate broker who represented the seller, said she was pleased the property would serve workforce housing, noting that housing is in short supply locally and that Alta Meadowlands will provide Orange County workers an affordable, appealing home, the report states. Mark O'Neal also represented the seller in the transaction, according to citybiz.
A Tight Rental Market Across Orange County
The new units arrive amid strained housing conditions across the county. A February 2025 analysis from the Triangle Community Foundation found Orange County's median rent at $1,425 per month, compared with $1,245 statewide, and pegged the county's rental vacancy rate at 4 percent — below the 5 to 10 percent range the report characterized as a balanced market. The same analysis estimated a 9,555-unit housing deficit for low-income residents and found that 84 percent of low-income renters in the county could not find housing within their means.
Separate reporting from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency found that 71 percent of low-income households in Orange County experienced housing cost burden, among the higher rates recorded statewide. Against that backdrop, Alta Meadowlands joins a growing list of Wood Partners projects in the Triangle, including the 357-unit Alta Watkins in Morrisville, the 336-unit Alta Bethpage and 312-unit Alta Durham Summit in Durham, and the 280-unit Altera Heights in Apex, according to citybiz.
Wood Partners describes itself as a national multifamily development and construction company headquartered in Atlanta with offices in 17 major markets, ranking among the five largest multifamily developers in the United States, per the outlet's report. The company says it has been involved in the acquisition and development of more than 115,000 multifamily homes and currently owns more than 80 properties representing roughly 25,000 homes, with a combined capitalization of $24 billion. Separately, GrayCo, Inc. is described as a Richmond, Virginia-based multifamily investment management company that has invested in garden and mid-rise properties across the southeastern United States since 1992.
