400-plus rental homes, ‘sky lounge’ and putting green coming to Durham. What to know.
An indoor/outdoor sky lounge with wine and beer on tap.
A bike lounge stocked with rentals and “fix-it” stations.
A “futuristic” fitness studio featuring private yoga rooms.
These are among the “on-demand” amenities planned for NOVEL UHill, a new rental community coming to Durham’s University Hill neighborhood.
Charlotte-based Crescent Communities announced this week that it purchased a 6.5-acre site at 3737 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. for an undisclosed sum. It plans to build a five-story, mid-rise building, with studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, along with 19 freestanding two- and three-bedroom townhomes.
In total, some 400 homes will be under construction in the coming months. First offerings are expected in late 2026. Rents will be disclosed when pre-leasing begins, the firm said.
“University Hill — and the Triangle as a whole — is one of the world’s foremost hubs,” said Michael Tubridy, Crescent Communities’ managing director for North Carolina. The project’s “design, community programming, and spaces” will invite residents to connect, he added.
That includes incorporating art installations throughout, tying into the neighborhood’s UHill Walls: some 40,000 square feet of murals across 15 acres.
Crescent Communities has other communities in Durham including Berkshire Main Street, formerly Crescent Main Street, and Berkshire Ninth Street, formerly Crescent Ninth Street.
It has also developed several for-rent properties in the Triangle region, including NOVEL Morrisville and NOVEL Cary. Monthly rents range from $1,445 to $3,635.
Durham: A rental snapshot
As new amenity-rich Class A buildings hit the market, rents continue to slide across the Triangle.
Durham rents dropped 1.1% month over month in December 2024 and 3.7% year over year, according to the latest data from Apartment List.
Over the past year, Durham’s rent growth has fallen behind both the state (-2.6%) and national averages (-0.6%), the report said.
Citywide, the median rent (mid-point where half cost less and half cost more) stood at $1,158 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,349 for a two-bedroom in December. Across all bedroom sizes (i.e. the entire rental market), the median rent was $1,318.
That ranks 61st in the nation, among the country’s 100 largest cities, Apartment List found. (For comparison, the median rent across the nation is $1,206 for a one-bedroom, $1,358 for a two-bedroom, and $1,373 overall.)
The median rent in Durham is 4% lower than the national. Prices are similar to those found in Fort Worth, Texas, ($1,324) and St. Paul, Minnesota, ($1,318).
