A mix of historic, artsy and rural in The Triangle
As the oldest section of North Carolina's Research Triangle, Hillsborough blends history with creativity and outdoor adventure. This small town along the Eno River and in the shadow of Occoneechee Mountain was established in 1754, but this community’s story started well before. It was first a village for the Occaneechi people. Nonprofits, including The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, are preserving and uncovering this once-forgotten piece of the town’s past with projects, such as the Full Story initiative that uplifts Black and Indigenous voices. “Some stories have gone undiscovered or unheard over time,” says Amanda Boyd, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Telling the full story is one of our project initiatives to counterbalance that and tell local stories from local people.”
Today, Hillsborough is home to nearly 10,000 people, some of whom are descendants of the Occaneechi tribe. Dotted with public art, this community has become a sanctuary for creators and is well-known for the beginnings of NASCAR, well-preserved Colonial and Revolutionary War-era architecture and an affinity for barbecue.
With Chapel Hill about 12 miles south, many residents work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The university and the UNC Health System are top employers for Orange County, and UNC Hospitals has a campus in Hillsborough. Healthcare and education are the town’s top industries, and commuting to the tech businesses in Research Triangle Park in Durham is common for this region.
Churton Street in downtown Hillsborough is a great place to see local artist.
Commuting to Research Triangle Park is is common for people in Hillsborough.
UNC and the UNC Health System are top employers for Orange County and Hillsborough.
UNC is a 5 minute drive from Meadowmont.
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Homes, from historical to modern
Home prices across the Research Triangle are rising, including in Hillsborough, where the average sale price has risen 5% between 2023 and 2024. As of October 2024, the median home price is $495,000, compared to the national average of $416,700. But buyers will find a wide range of price points, from investment properties starting at $100,000 to custom builds on several acres going for over $1 million. “The current market is certainly picking up,” says Kellie Garrett, a new homes consultant with Davidson Homes. “There’s a lot of activity in Hillsborough, and the area continues to grow.” Homes sell on average after 40 days on the market, which is on par with the national average of 44 days. Craftsman homes dot the Waterstone neighborhood, while new builds are found in the Collins Ridge subdivision. The Historic District features renovated bungalows, ranch-style homes and some preserved Colonials. With the Eno River flowing through Hillsborough, many homes have a risk of flooding. Homeowners are encouraged to purchase flood insurance as most homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood damage.
Hillsborough is actually one of the oldest towns in North Carolina, founded in 1754.
Hillsborough Historic District is a national historic district located at Hillsborough,NC.
Hillsborough is a 20 minute drive to downtown Durham,NC.
Craftsman homes dot the Waterstone neighborhood in Hillsborough, NC.
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Strolling alongside the Eno River
The Riverwalk Greenway is one of the most used green spaces in town. This 3-mile urban greenway runs alongside the Eno River and is a small piece of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail. In addition to exercise, the greenway is a key pedestrian path between several neighborhoods. Gold Park is accessible from the trail. With 24 acres, it features a multi-purpose field, playground equipment, a dog park and a pavilion. One of the most visually striking elements of the park is its pollinator garden and bee hotel, built after Hillsborough became the 35th designated Bee City in the nation in 2016. The town hugs Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, a habitat believed to have been preserved since the last ice age. While hiking to the tallest point in Orange County or fishing in one of the two ponds, adventurers may be able to catch sight of the brown elfin, a rare butterfly native to the area.
Hillsborough is home to Occoneechee Speedway, one of NASCAR’s last remaining dirt speedways from its inaugural season in 1949. The track was originally a horse track. Today, it’s a walking trail.
A proposal to build an accessible greenway called the Ridgewalk is in the design phase. Current plans indicate that part of it will be a raised boardwalk and railroad crossing connecting downtown to a future train station. Barring delays, this first section of the greenway will be completed around the same time as the new train station in 2028. Later phases would extend the trail to Cates Creek Park in the Waterstone neighborhood, which now has a new skatepark that opened in July 2024.
The Riverwalk is a paved, urban greenway located in downtown Hillsborough.
A small part of the Mountains-To-Sea Trail runs through Hillsborough
You can run or walk around the old track at Historic Occoneechee Speedway Hillsborough.
Cates Creek Park, in Hillsborough has a skateboard park.
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Longtime local businesses and the Hillsborough Hog Day BBQ Festival
Along downtown's West King Street, Hillsborough has a thriving creative scene with boutiques, gift shops and galleries showcasing works from independent artists. Many establishments here have been around for a while, such as Saratoga Grill, serving seafood for over 25 years. Since 2003, residents have frequented Wooden Nickel Pub to sip a draft beer in their communal outdoor seating space. Hillsborough BBQ Company is a local favorite, serving pit-cooked pork barbecue and traditional fixings, including hushpuppies. While it’s better known for its abundance of locally owned restaurants and shops, there are a few chain stores, such as Walmart and Food Lion.
Starting in 1983, the Hillsborough Hog Day BBQ Festival brings together masterful chefs and offers a taste of the town’s signature barbecue over two days each September. Meanwhile, the Handmade Parade is a Mardi Gras-style outdoor party with elaborate costumes, live music and stilt-walkers and giant puppets roaming about. Holiday gatherings include Halloween spirit tours led by the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough and a lantern walk celebrating the winter solstice. The abundance of farms in town lends itself to the Eno River Farmers Market, open year-round on Saturdays.
South Churton Street in downtown Hillsborough, NC is home to many local stores and restaurants.
For more than 25 years Saratoga Grill has been serving greta food in downtown Hillsborough.
The Wooden Nickel has been the neighborhood pub of Hillsborough since 2003.
Hillsborough BBQ Company combines traditional regional specialties with unconventional options.
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Easy access to The Triangle and beyond
Interstates 85 and 40 pass through the town for direct routes to Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill. Orange County operates several fixed bus routes accessible from Hillsborough, including the Hillsborough Circulator, a free bus system that loops around town, and the Orange-Durham Express or ODX, which provides a direct route to Durham in the mornings and evenings. Raleigh-Durham International Airport is about 27 miles away.
Town officials are working with the state and Amtrak to build a train station on a 20-acre site along Hillsboro’s railroad corridor. Planning and design work is underway, with construction to start in 2027.
Interstates 85 and 40 pass through Hillsborough making commuting easy.
RDU, is an international airport that serves Raleigh, Durham, and is close to Hillsborough.
Fare-free buses run throughout Hillsborough.
Hillsborough officials are working with the state and Amtrak to build a train station.
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Achievement at Orange County Schools
Orange County Schools serves 7,200 Hillsborough students and earns an overall grade of B-plus from Niche. The district is seeing recent success with 12 of 13 schools meeting or exceeding achievement and growth expectations for the 2023-2024 school year. Hillsborough Elementary and Cedar Ridge High, both earning A-minus ratings, are two standout schools. Hillsborough Elementary operates on a year-round schedule and accepts School of Choice applications, while Cedar Ridge High offers an International Baccalaureate program. Hillsborough is home to Orange County’s alternative high school, Partnership Academy. The town also has several private schools for young children, including Pinewoods Montessori and Little School of Hillsborough.
Hillsborough Elementary is a public school located in Hillsborough, NC.
Cedar Ridge High It is one of two high schools in the Orange County, NC in Hillsborough.
Partnership academy serves around 30 students in grades 9-12 in Hillsborough, NC.
Pinewoods Montessori School is a private school located in Hillsborough, NC.
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A city with a low rate of crime
Hillsborough receives a CAP Index crime score of 3 out of 10, compared to the national average of 4 out of 10. In 2023, Hillsborough Police investigated 31 incidents of violent crime and 438 property crimes, compared to 50 incidents of violent crime and nearly 600 property crimes in 2022.
Hillsborough’s green investments
Several projects are in the works for Hillsborough, including widening South Churton Street from I-40 to the Eno River, renovating the aging Adron F. Thompson Water/Sewer Facility that dates to the 1930s, and repairing sewer lines in the Lawndale Basin in the northern part of town.
Sustainability and protecting the environment are important pillars of the Hillsborough community. Homeowners can convert their lawns to pollinator habitats, much like the pollinator gardens found at local parks. The town is tackling stormwater runoff through raised garden beds, cisterns and vegetated ditches along roadways. In addition to being a Bee City, Hillsborough is also a Tree City, committed to urban forestry.
Hillsborough experiences all four seasons with hot and humid summers. Winters are typically mild, but the town usually receives a few inches of snow each year.
Hillsborough is in the process of replacing sewer lines from the 1930's.
As a designated Bee City, Hillsborough has bee hotels throughout the city.
Sustainability is an important pillars of the Hillsborough community.
Several projects are in the works for Hillsborough, including widening South Churton Street.
I’m Mike Chiarelli, a North Carolina Top Producing REALTOR® and Broker-in-Charge with over 20 Years of Professional Experience.
Having worked in real estate the past decade and the corporate world for many years prior, I have honed my expertise in consumer marketing, market analytics, and high-stakes sales and negotiations.
My journey in the real estate realm began at a young age when I developed foundational skills in residential construction, working as an electrician’s journeyman starting at 12 years old. This early start allowed me to lead electrical construction crews in both residential and commercial projects after high school. After college, I put my applied mathematics and statistics degree to good use, working in the direct marketing, business intelligence and information services industries, for and with leading F500 firms such as Sony, MasterCard, Citi, SAS etc.
Transitioning from the corporate world, my wife, Michele, and I embarked on an entrepreneurial venture, acquiring a HomeVestors franchise. For five years, I thrived as a professional Home Buyer, where I successfully managed the acquisition, rehabilitation, and resale or wholesale of over $10M in real estate in the Raleigh Durham MSA. In other words, I put my “money where my mouth was” in brokering many deals for myself and family prior to getting licensed to help and represent others with a high degree of competence.
Since obtaining my real estate license in 2018, I have further expanded my portfolio and expertise, facilitating over $30M in residential resale and new construction transactions. This journey reflects not just my proficiency in the industry but also my commitment to delivering exceptional results and personalized service in the dynamic world of residential real estate.
I’d be honored to represent you and your family safely navigate your next real estate transaction. -Mike
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