A new Triangle developer will build an apartment complex on the edge of Durham
A residential developer with a bullish presence in the Triangle is adding a new project in the southwestern edge of Durham County to its real estate portfolio.
The Carolinas division of Trinsic Residential Group, a firm based in Dallas but with activity across various states, will soon break ground on Aura Farrington 54, a traditional garden-style apartment complex on Farrington Road near the intersection of N.C. 54 and I-40, aimed for completion in early 2023.
Plans for Aura Farrington 54 include 250 apartment units across three four-story buildings on around seven acres with 400 surface parking spaces.
The complex, valued at about $63 million, will include expected amenities like a clubhouse, pool deck and a dog park, project plans show.
The land for the project, which includes several parcels on Farrington Road, Rutgers Place and Crescent Drive, sold earlier this month for $8 million, according to county records.
The development will be in an area with the apartment communities Blu on Farrington and Overture Chapel Hill from local developer Beacon Properties Group.
Trinsic Residential Group expanded to the Triangle last year and is making itself known with plans to build new apartment housing in the busiest parts of Chapel Hill and Durham. Construction is starting soon for its mixed-use Aura Chapel Hill development on Estes Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and for 509 Aura at 509 N. Mangum Street in downtown Durham.
“I can’t think of the case where we have three projects within such a short distance with such distinct ‘personalities’ and histories,” Trinsic Carolinas development director Ryan Stewart told The News & Observer. “They say every deal is different and in this case, it really is ... each offers something unique to the market and the broader community and all of them will have the high level of finishes typical of our Aura-branded projects.”
Stewart noted that the Aura Chapel Hill project involved a long rezoning process and millions of dollars in concessions through negotiations with the town council. These include 37 units of affordable housing as part of 419 apartments, off-site roadway improvements, bike and pedestrian pathways, subterranean parking and underground stormwater retention.
The 509 Aura project in Durham required no rezoning and didn’t involve these development features, while Aura Farrington 54 includes some of them, Stewart said.
Trinsic’s development will be adjacent to Farrington 54, an upcoming apartment and affordable housing development from Beacon Properties Group and Charlotte-based Laurel Street Residential. It was originally the sole project for the land, part of which was purchased by Trinsic for the Aura project, which is separate.
Beacon Properties Group and Laurel Street partnered with the City of Durham to fund the residential project, which will have 250 market-rate units and 82 affordable units for families earning at or below 30%, 60% and 80% of the area median income, according to the Triangle Business Journal.
