Aura could add apartments to this corner of Chapel Hill. Council delays second vote.

Chapel Hill residents won’t learn until next week the fate of a controversial project that would bring housing, shops and a restaurant to the northeast corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Estes Drive.

Mayor Pam Hemminger announced at the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting that the second vote for Aura Chapel Hill will move to Monday, June 28, so all council members can be present. Council member Jessica Anderson was absent Wednesday.

The council voted 5-3 last week to approve the project, but lacked the supermajority — six of eight votes — required for approval on the board’s first vote. Only a simple majority is required to approve the project in the second vote.

Texas-based Trinsic Residential Group wants to build 419 apartments and townhomes, and over 15,800 square feet of commercial space, as well as a future stop on the town’s North-South bus-rapid transit line.

Over three acres would be dedicated to public green space, including a central plaza with fenced-in playground, a Central Park for holding activities and events, and a Woodlands natural area around a stream on the site.

The three- and four-story project will replace a 15-acre former tree farm that was clear-cut in 2018.