Two adjacent properties in downtown Durham totaling 18 acres were recently purchased by developers planning for intensive mixed use projects near the former tobacco warehouse district and future light rail station.
Two former car dealerships have been acquired by Charlotte-based developers, CitiSculpt and Northwood Ravin, who are planning to convert the expansive site—which is now mostly surface parking—into a massive mixed use redevelopment project. The site, near the American Tobacco Campus and Durham Bulls Athletic Park, is unique because unlike many recent developments in downtown Durham, it is not an adaptive reuse project.
"Adaptive reuse, the preservation of our historic structures, that put Durham on the map," said Geoff Durham, president of Downtown Durham Inc. "But these are car dealerships and a large majority of that is surface lots. By all accounts this next wave is going to be kind of skyline altering."
Plans currently include two office towers, retail space, a hotel, and parking deck. An initial development phase of CitiSculpt's $400M project calls for a 300-unit apartment community by Woodfield Investments.
The location is visible from Durham Freeway, and adjacent to the planned Dillard Street light rail station. Downtown Durham sits in the middle of a 54 mile planned light system, which will connect Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. The system includes 28 stations, and would serve several major universities, hospitals, employment centers, and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Triangle Transit's tentative completion date for light rail is 2025.
FULL STORY: Two New Projects Could Reshape Durham Skyline
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Orlando Pledges to Improve Walkability
A city report highlights successes and failures in building safer transportation infrastructure and reducing VMT in 2023.
New York Transit Agency Launches Performance Dashboard
The tool increases transparency about the agency’s performance on a variety of metrics.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.