Drivers on the Durham freeway in years to come will see a progressively taller and denser downtown skyline.
Local and out-of-state developers are planning and building millions of square feet in residential and office space in the Triangle’s second biggest city and one of the fastest-growing areas in the state.
There were 986 multifamily units under construction in or near downtown Durham as of June 2021 and there are currently roughly 400,000 square feet of office space proposed or under construction, according to real estate services firm Avison Young.
Here’s a list compiled by The News & Observer of planned real estate developments that will pop up as apartment buildings, high-rises and more:
American Tobacco Campus expansion
A major expansion is planned for the American Tobacco Campus, one of Durham’s iconic and historic establishments. The 11 acres next to the current campus has work underway for a new 700,000-square-foot commercial and residential project.
Its owner, Capitol Broadcasting Company, is partnering with international real estate firm Hines and USAA Real Estate on a 14-story residential high-rise with 350 units, two office buildings and retail space with potential for a movie theater, restaurants and more.
Renderings show a central plaza allowing for outdoor dining and activity between the buildings.
The first phase will include residential and office space on 8 acres of the site. Initial construction work has already begun.
The office buildings will be built to what Hines calls its “T3” standards — using “timber, transit and technology” to create a different and modern look for office buildings.
It’s the first time Hines will build these in the Triangle, having developed similar office buildings in a few other U.S. metros like Minneapolis and Atlanta, according to the firm.
Alta Rutherford
Wood Partners, an Atlanta residential developer with a growing presence across Raleigh and Durham, filed preliminary plans for a large apartment building between Duke University and downtown.
The proposed residential building, Alta Rutherford, is 339 apartment units in a six-story, 403,000-square-foot building on 3.2 acres, preliminary plans show. The project, at 730 Rutherford St., would include 164,000 square feet of structured parking and be as tall as 90 feet.
The short Rutherford Street block is perpendicular to Hillsborough Road and West Main Street, near 9th Street.
More details are pending after the development approval process. Its plans are under review by the city planning department.
Wood Partners, an Atlanta residential developer with a growing presence across Raleigh and Durham filed preliminary plans for a large apartment building between the Duke University area and the downtown core. City of Durham
Aura 509
Construction is expected to begin soon on the 509 Aura development on 509 N. Mangum St. from Dallas-based apartment developer Trinsic Residential Group.
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 studios to two bedrooms, according to plans filed with the city and county.
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 eight-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, according to county records. The same firm is behind the Aura Chapel Hill development, a four-story apartment and retail building underway at one of Chapel Hill’s busiest intersections.
The upcoming 509 Aura apartment development on 509 North Mangum Street from Dallas-based multifamily developer Trinsic Residential Group is slated to begin construction work soon. Courtesy of Cline Design
300 and 500 E. Main St. redevelopment
A new development will bring affordable units for low-income residents and market-rate luxury apartments to downtown Durham at 300 and 500 East Main street as part of an effort from the county to improve housing affordability, parking and economic investment.
Laurel Street Residential, a Charlotte-based affordable housing developer, was chosen by Durham County to redevelop two county-owned parking lots into two five-story apartment buildings with retail space and a space for a preschool or daycare, The N&O previously reported.
The 300 block will feature 105 affordable units for qualifying tenants earning up to 80% of the area median income, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units.
The 500 block of the project is projected to have 250 market-rate units, 200 affordable units for tenants earning up to the local average median income, over 26,000 square feet for commercial space and a 1,250-space parking deck. The two-part development is slated to be completed in the second quarter of 2023.
In late 2020, Laurel Street filed development plans for 72 apartment units on 9.2 acres at 533 E. Main St. at the corner of North Elizabeth and Liberty streets.
The project proposes two buildings of three stories on land owned by the Durham Housing Authority.
A rendering of the 300 East Main Street mixed-use affordable housing development in downtown Durham. Courtesy of Laurel Street and ZOM Living
Borden Brick
Raleigh commercial real estate firm CityPlat has work underway on a commercial redevelopment project of historic brick buildings on 1.2 acres downtown, at 704 and 706 Ramseur St.
Titled Borden Brick, pedestrian-centered entertainment complex project will consist of four single-story buildings of 13,000 square feet with a walkable area for outdoor dining and drinking between them, including public and private dining terraces.
CityPlat bought the property in April for $2.7 million, county records show.
Two buildings have already been leased to the Raleigh-based Lonerider Co. brewery and Mezcalito Grill, according to CityPlat. The other spaces will include a coffee and ice cream shop.
Raleigh commercial real estate firm CityPlat has work underway on a commercial redevelopment project of historic brick buildings on 1.2 acres downtown, located at 704 and 706 Ramseur Street. CityPlat
Its completion is estimated in early 2022, CityPlat told The N&O.
Broadway Street condos
Washington, D.C.-based developer Lock7 has plans to build townhomes at 120 Broadway, around the block from Rigsbee Avenue and across from Durty Bull Brewing Co.
The latest plans call for 24 three-story townhomes with rooftop balconies overlooking the corner of Broadway and North streets.
Developers expect for the project to be completed by the end of next year.
The townhomes on 120 Broadway Street in Durham are proposed to be built across from the Durty Bull Brewing Company. Courtesy of Lock7
Durham ID expansion
A new seven-story building is coming to downtown Durham as the second phase of one of the largest commercial developments in the area.
The addition, currently titled “C4,” will be a seven-story office and lab building in the Durham Innovation District, a pair of office mid-rises at the intersection of Hunt and Morris streets, owned and developed by Longfellow Real Estate Partners.
The firm, which has offices in California, Massachusetts and North Carolina, specializes in developing lab and office space.
Longfellow recently filed plans with the city for a building of around 175,000 square feet at 215 Morris St. and 519 W. Morgan St., which is across from the Durham ID buildings.
It will be built next to the current historic Imperial Building and is planned to be completed in 2023.
Additional development will follow this seven-story building expansion, Longfellow told The N&O recently. The Durham ID development will total up to 1.8 million square feet of mixed-use space across 27 acres downtown.
A rendering of the second phase of the Durham Innovation District in downtown Durham on 215 Morris and 519 West Morgan streets, set to be completed in 2023 with brand new lab and office space. Courtesy of Longfellow Real Estate Partners
The Firefly at Brightleaf District
Redevelopment is in store for a historic building on 115 N. Gregson St. in the Brightleaf District, according to development plans submitted to the city for The Firefly, a two-story retail and residential building.
The project is being undertaken by Linton Holdings LLC, a firm owned by Kit Linton and Sonya Linton, a Durham attorney. The related local firm Linton Architects is designing the project.
The current single-story building on the property is 91 years old and is located next to Maverick’s Smokehouse & Taproom. It would be renovated to have retail space on the first floor and have a second floor added with space for four apartments, according to plans.
County records show the land was purchased in February for $975,000.
A historic building on 115 N. Gregson St. in the Brightleaf District will be redeveloped into The Firefly, a two-story retail and residential building. City of Durham
GeerHouse
The owner of Motorco Music Hall in Durham has plans to redevelop it into GeerHouse, a 14-story mixed-use residential center that will incorporate the popular music venue into its structure.
Washington, D.C., developer Four Points is behind this project in the entertainment district of West Geer Street next to Durham’s Central Park.
Four Points is part of GeerHouse Partners, a partnership between the land’s longtime owners, which includes the project’s architect Alexandros Washburn and the owners of the family-owned Acme Plumbing Co. on the property.
The 2.3-acre project will total 480,000 square feet and will have 328 units in addition to around 23,500 square feet of retail and entertainment space including the Motorco venue, according to the most recent project plans.
A rendering of what Motorco Music Hall could potentially look like in the future as part of an apartment and retail development. Courtesy of Four Points
The development will have two apartment towers built in two phases — one 14 stories and the other either six or seven stories high. The first phase proposes the shorter tower with 220 apartments, parking and space for retail or restaurants.
Construction work for the project is expected to begin in 2022.
Kress Condos
A new condo development is underway in the heart of downtown at the corner of West Ramseur and South Mangum streets on the site of a 0.15-acre parking lot — next to the historic Kress building.
Raleigh-based real estate firms White Oak Properties and CityPlat are developing Kress Condos, a six-story building with 26 residential units with balconies, including rooftop units.
The condos will also have about 2,000 square feet of space for ground-level retail, according to site plans filed with the city. Developers plan to install parking that will bring cars to residents using an automated lift system that uses less space than a traditional parking deck.
The owner of the Kress building purchased the lot at 162 W. Ramseur St. in 2016 for $2 million, county records show.
The partnering firms also filed plans this year for yet another condo development with 44 units on 600 S. Duke St. at the corner with Yancey Street across from the Cortland Bull City apartments.
Renderings of the potential design for the Kress Condos proposed for 124 W. Ramseur Street in downtown Durham. Durham Planning Department
The Novus high-rise tower
Million-dollar condos in the Bull City will be part of The Novus, a new mixed-use tower brought by Austin Lawrence Partners the same developer of the One City Center and the Unscripted hotel.
Although formal plans for The Novus high-rise haven’t been announced yet, renderings of the future tower and early listings for its condo units in the millions have appeared online, The N&O reported recently.
The high-rise, which will be over 20 stories tall, is at 400 W. Main St. on the site of the current South Bank building or Five Points Center, an aging office building built in 1973 at the intersection of Main, East Chapel Hill and Morris streets.
Listings for its condo units say the building won’t be fully built until 2024.
The Novus will be a new high-rise condominium development on 400 W. Main St. in downtown Durham, with housing that has an open concept space and full length glass windows. The Novus is set to be complete in 2024. Triangle MLS
The Ramsey
An apartment building in clear view of the Durham freeway when entering downtown will soon be ready to open its doors. The Ramsey at 510 E. Pettigrew Street is a 241-unit luxury apartment building from Park Grove Realty, a Rochester, New York-based company that initially submitted its plans in 2019.
Park Grove bought the land for $4.1 million, according to county records. The roughly 2-acre parcel is near other apartment developments like BullHouse and is within walking distance of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The project is a single building with two floors of structured parking and will be available to lease in January 2022, according to developers.
The Ramsey at 510 E. Pettigrew Street is an upcoming 241-unit luxury apartment building from Park Grove Realty, a Rochester, New York-based company who initially submitted plans for it in 2019. Park Grove Realty
The Roxboro at Venable
The Venable Center, a commercial office complex, from Trinity Capital Advisors and SLI Capital will add a fourth building to go with the three fully-leased former tobacco buildings in Durham.
The building called The Roxboro will have 200,000 square feet of space and is aiming for completion by either the end of 2021 or early 2022, developers previously told The N&O.
The owners of the Venable Center in downtown Durham have revealed renderings of a new office tower it plans to build on the property. Courtesy of CBRE
The Roxboro, situated east of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park at 464 E. Pettigrew St., will include additional construction for around 220 apartments, but they aren’t expected to be completed until the spring of 2022.
This project will feature a rooftop lounge as well as a conference center. The eight-story building will be constructed on a parcel of land that is adjacent to the Venable Center’s parking lot.
Townes at Greystone
Dozens of new townhomes near the edge of the Durham Bulls Park are planned by Alchemy Properties South, a New York-based developer that bought a 3.9-acre property on 518 Morehead Ave.
Plans for the Townes at Greystone call for 68 townhomes across 11 buildings south of the Durham Freeway.
The site was originally meant for a condo project whose plans were filed with the city in 2019, The N&O previously reported, from Triangle developers Greymont Development and Four Line Development, which bought the land for $4 million.
Alchemy Properties South bought the property for about $1 million more this past June after the original plans were scrapped, according to The Triangle Business Journal.
Courtesy of City of Durham development tracker
Rigsbee Ave. developments
Local real estate firm Elmwood Development has plans for two separate high-end housing developments on Rigsbee Avenue.
The first project calls for building a five-story residential building on 704 Rigsbee Ave. and 318 W. Corporation St., north of the downtown core.
Plans filed with the city earlier this year propose building 82 apartments over 2,038 square feet of retail and 6,858 square feet of penthouse space on the top floor.
The site is down the block from Motorco Music Hall. Though preliminary plans don’t include a formal title for the development, building renderings show lettering at its entrance that reads “The Rigsbee.”
The project will feature structured parking and around 2,000 square feet of retail space at the street level.
The proposed apartment development on the corner of Rigsbee Avenue and W. Corporation Street in Durham is planned to feature 82 residential units. Durham Planning Department
Elmwood Development filed plans this month for an additional six-story building with 49 apartments at 710 Rigsbee Ave. near the Old North Durham Park. The plans also propose 1,889 square feet of retail.
Both projects are expected to be completed in 2023, the developer said.
Stone Brothers & Byrd condos
Raleigh firm Beacon Street Development proposed plans this year for 40 condos with street-level retail space in a seven-story building on 512 W. Geer St., across from the Historic Durham Athletic Park.
The 0.5-acre property is home to the Stone Brothers & Byrd garden center, which will move across the street, the project’s developer told the Triangle Business Journal earlier this year.
According to the firm, the building will have a warehouse aesthetic similar to nearby buildings in the area and is slated to begin construction next year.
The land is owned by the business, which was operated since 1910, its website says.
Raleigh firm Beacon Street Development proposed plans this year for 40 condos with street-level retail space in a seven-story building on 512 W. Geer St., across from the Historic Durham Athletic Park. City of Durham
The Vega
The Vega will be a six-story building containing two underground parking levels, as well as shop and office space on Hunt Street next to Durham Central Park and Durham Skate Park.
The high-end luxury condo building will have 57 units that are going on the market for prices between $500,000 to over a $1 million.
Negotiations between the developer and the City Council led to an agreement that Lambert would give $285,000 to the city’s affordable housing fund, or $5,000 per condo unit.
The Vega, a proposed condominium project, would be built on Hunt Street next to the Durham Skate Park, a short walk from downtown Durham. Lambert Development
A list of major developments underway in downtown Raleigh can be found at this link.
This story was originally published October 22, 2021 at 10:51 AM.
Aaron Sánchez-Guerra is a breaking news reporter for The News & Observer and previously covered business and real estate for the paper. His background includes reporting for WLRN Public Media in Miami and as a freelance journalist in Raleigh and Charlotte covering Latino communities. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University, a native Spanish speaker and was born in Mexico. You can follow his work on Twitter at @aaronsguerra.
