New tenants joining Durham development, including grocery store & restaurants
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- Westside Bottling breaks ground soon in Durham and will include retail and 405 homes.
- Sprouts, Shake Shack and Ulta are among the stores, with 60% opening by late 2026.
- Developer targets a project completion in 2027, though residences will open in phases.
A new, mixed-use Durham development breaking ground soon has announced a swath of tenants.
Westside Bottling will feature more than 70,000 square feet of retail, 370 multifamily residences and 35 townhomes. The development’s name comes from its location, the site of the former Coca-Cola bottling facility off Hillsborough Road, near US 15-501 and Durham Freeway.
Jay Douglas, who’s leading the project for developer The Ardent Companies, said they were attracted to the location because it’s near major thoroughfares. The Hillsborough Road corridor has also transitioned or is transitioning into a destination where people are shopping, living and working, he said.
The Streets at Southpoint mall has been a place where many retailers make their local market debut. But Douglas said Westside Bottling gives retailers an opportunity to reach customers closer to downtown Durham.
“We’ve seen it in this demand on the leasing side, and very excited to bring several first-to-market retailers here into Durham,” Douglas said.
Stores at Westside Bottling development
About 50,000 square feet of retail space is already leased, the Atlanta-based developer said in a news release.
These brands have already signed on:
- Sprouts Farmers Market: Durham’s second Sprouts grocery store will be the anchor tenant of the development.
- Shake Shack: This will be the first Durham location for the burger chain known for crinkle-cut fries. Shake Shack’s nearest existing restaurant is on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
- First Watch: The breakfast, lunch and brunch restaurant has multiple Triangle locations, including three in Durham.
- Ulta Beauty: The Westside Bottling store will be the chain’s second in Durham, joining an existing location on Fayetteville Road near The Streets at Southpoint.
- Club Pilates: Specializing in Reformer-based Pilates, this will be the second Durham studio for the brand.
- Vernis Nail Salon
The First Citizens Bank on the property will remain.
For the available retail spaces, Ardent wants to land a sit-down restaurant, service-oriented beauty or fitness concepts, and clothing stores.
“With only about 30% remaining in the site to be leased, we’re being very discriminating in the groups that we approach and how it all plays together,” Douglas said.
Around 60% of the retail tenants are expected to open by late 2026, with the rest slated for mid-2027 openings, Douglas said. The anticipated final completion of the development is mid-to-late 2027.
Previous plans for Westside Bottling project
The developer submitted a rezoning request for the 12-acre site in 2023, The News & Observer previously reported. Durham City Council members unanimously approved the rezoning later that year.
Previous plans for the project called for a drive-thru coffee shop. They scrapped the drive-thru component, Douglas said, but still want a coffee shop in the retail mix.
Five townhomes and 5% of the apartments will be sold or leased at affordable rates, as was previously announced, Douglas said.
