Developer bringing more dense housing to Durham with Aura project in downtown
One of the latest housing developments underway in downtown Durham is from an out-of-state developer who is establishing its presence on the Triangle’s busiest corners.
The upcoming 509 Aura development on 509 N. Mangum St., from Dallas-based apartment developer Trinsic Residential Group, is slated to begin construction work soon.
The firm is known for building high-density residential properties in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Washington and Oregon.
In Durham, the roughly 264,000-square-foot project will have 183 market-rate apartment units ranging from studio to two-bedrooms, according to plans filed to the city and county. Part of Aura 5019 includes 192 parking spaces across a 78,000-square-foot parking garage at the base of the building.
The estimated investment of the 8-story project is around $60 million, according to Ryan Stewart, a Durham native who is the Carolinas development director for Trinsic Residential Group.
Preliminary work on the project began over a year ago, and the apartments are expected to be completed in 2023, Stewart said.
Developers closed on the land last month for $3.2 million, Durham County records show.
No zoning changes are needed for the development and site plans were approved this year, allowing for work on project to begin sooner on the 1.17 acres, Owen Burkhard, Trinsic development associate, told The News & Observer.
A small building currently on the site that used to belong to Advance Auto Parts will be demolished.
Aura in Chapel Hill
Trinsic Residential Group currently has six residential projects active in the area, three of which aren’t public yet, developers said.
One of them is the Aura Chapel Hill development, a four-story apartment and retail building approved for one of Chapel Hill’s busiest intersections. The development was approved in July after a long and contentious rezoning process with the town council, The N&O previously reported.
The other is Aura Farrington 54, which Trinsic is currently planning to be a 250-unit garden-style apartment development on Farrington Road in southwest Durham off of N.C. 54 and Interstate 40.
Aura 509 is among the latest of downtown Durham housing developments underway as real estate firms seek to build densely in the city’s core. Two years in the making, New York City-based developer Lambert Development is investing over $500,000 in The Vega, a six-story condo building to be built next to the skate park. It would connect to Durham Central Park.
Raleigh firms White Oak Properties and CityPlat are planning to build the Kress Condos on 162 West Ramseur St., next to the historic Kress building. Near Motorco Music Hall, the locally owned Elmwood Development plans to build a five-story apartment building on 704 Rigsbee Ave., according to previous N&O reporting.
On West Geer Street, Raleigh-based Beacon Street Development filed plans this year for a 7-story development with 40 condo units across from the Historic Durham Athletic Park.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 3:33 PM.
