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Durham Athletic Park & area redevelopment


JDC

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I'm glad to hear they still want to accomodate the NCCU team. I wonder how they'll keep the Blues and Beer festival there, especially if they have to keep a natural surface. Those events really beat up the field. I suppose they could move to Central Park, but it wouldn't be the same.

The goal has been to maintain this facility as a multi-purpose facility. That's why they were looking at the turf which wouldn't get torn up during the Blues and Beer festivals. I would be leaning more towards the museum since they would be able to maintain all of the other uses. I wish we could have both but it probably be useless for the field crews to train on artificial grass. :)

It'll be interesting to see how everything will shape up but I am optimistic about everything so far.

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Looks like Sports Illustrated has picked up the story: Click it!

If it were my call, I'd go for an artificial surface to maximize the "multi-purpose" potential and let 'em train their groundskeepers elsewhere. It could also be tied to a piece of movie trivia: Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) said in the film there should be "a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf (and the designated hitter)."

Edited by JDC
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  • 2 weeks later...

More news on development around the old Durham Athletic Park:

From The Durham News

I'm a little unsure about the area. I live within spitting distance of the DAP and I see the neighborhood's potential, but I worry the city's power brokers will never accomplish anything major along Washington and Foster Streets. They already dropped the ball on City Place, turning what could have been a great shopping center for downtown residents and workers into offices. While I'm pleased with the city's persistence in keeping older structures alive (ATHD, West Village, etc.) I sometimes wish they'd take a cue from some other cities and make it easier to get projects going downtown, even if it involves tearing down an abandoned house or (gasp!) losing a few parking spots.

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More news on development around the old Durham Athletic Park:

From The Durham News

I'm a little unsure about the area. I live within spitting distance of the DAP and I see the neighborhood's potential, but I worry the city's power brokers will never accomplish anything major along Washington and Foster Streets. They already dropped the ball on City Place, turning what could have been a great shopping center for downtown residents and workers into offices. While I'm pleased with the city's persistence in keeping older structures alive (ATHD, West Village, etc.) I sometimes wish they'd take a cue from some other cities and make it easier to get projects going downtown, even if it involves tearing down an abandoned house or (gasp!) losing a few parking spots.

I'm actually pretty bullish (no pun intended) on this, mostly given SBER's involvement. They've done a nice job in other cities, and the fact that they've opened an office in the ATC and are very active in multiple sites -- Rolling Hills, DAP, ATC -- I hope means they've got a vision for what could happen here. Current city government has been great about redevelopment; I hope we're lucky in the next election not to end up with Mayor Sith, I mean *Stith* (Durham's Art Pope Dope on a Rope.) The $4m vs. $11m gap worries me but I'm curious to see SBER's revised presentation. I can't make this week's session but will try to make it to their Feb. 12 session.

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  • 6 months later...

I love how the city is becoming even more of a baseball mecca. They ought to consider moving the College World Series here, especially as there's talk of tearing down Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium. In a story on ESPN a month or so ago, they listed Durham's DBAP, among other Triple-A parks, as one of the newer, nicer ballparks that the NCAA might consider...

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^Would be interesting if that were to happen but I think it will stay in Omaha-they will do whatever they can to keep it there. You never know though as USA Baseball is headquartered in Durham along with all the new developments with MiLB. UNC has become a powerhouse in baseball as well making the College World Series Championship 2 years in a row (they are also getting a new stadium-or at least an extensive renovation).

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Wow..wouldn't that be fantastic to have the College World Series here? This is true college area if there ever was one, and the region offers a lot to see for a visitor.

REALLY excited about this Minor League Baseball development. This is and should be a real calling card for Durham. Bull Durham is loved by people all over the country, and I have no doubt this would be a success. Durham, to me, really feels like a "baseball town"--it's got all these historic buildings that give it that feel. This would be fantastic.

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The DBAP isn't nearly big enough to host that event. Heck, it isn't really big enough to do what it does. I'll never understand why they built a brand new AAA stadium with such a low seating capacity, especially considering that Raleigh will never have a competing team.

Wow..wouldn't that be fantastic to have the College World Series here? This is true college area if there ever was one, and the region offers a lot to see for a visitor.

REALLY excited about this Minor League Baseball development. This is and should be a real calling card for Durham. Bull Durham is loved by people all over the country, and I have no doubt this would be a success. Durham, to me, really feels like a "baseball town"--it's got all these historic buildings that give it that feel. This would be fantastic.

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The place would have to be 30,000+ seats to hold this. The DBAP was built as a minor league park with attendance rarely over 10,000. It is what it is and there is no reason to believe it should have been built at a 30,000+ capacity.

Edited by DanRNC
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The place would have to be 30,000+ seats to hold this. The DBAP was built as a minor league park with attendance rarely over 10,000. It is what it is and there is no reason to believe it should have been built at a 30,000+ capacity.

30,000? Who said anything about 30,000?

As an aside, I think the new Diamond View building behing the blue monster has really diminished some of the charm that the DBAP once had. Now the view of the city is blocked and it is so enclosed that the air circulation doesn't seem to be what is was, making hot days and nights there even hotter.

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^The attendance during the final games of College World Series was around 30,000. Sounds like you are just unhappy with everything.

I'm pretty sure that I'm unhappy with your attitude. If pointing out that building the DBAP at 10,000 rather than 15,000+, thus preventing it from hosting certain events when Raleigh will never have a baseball stadium means I'm unhappy with everything, then I guess you're right.

Have you been to the park since DVII has gone up? The skyline is gone. They're taking the Durham out of the DBAP. But hey, if you're Capital Broadcasting, build away! You're getting some great rent prices while the rest of downtown flounders.

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  • 11 months later...
  • 2 years later...

Couldn't find the thread that originally mentioned this but I was in Durham the other day and noticed these two tall plain concrete buildings off by themselves. I was like crap....how did I miss these all these years...then I realized, they were new...the two residential towers on the site of the old Heart of Durham Motel. I am curious to see the inside because the outside looks absolutely eastern block.....

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  • 2 weeks later...

The JJ Henderson Towers were built in 1976 as public housing for elderly Durhamites, hence their Brutalist appearance. Additionally, the old Heart of Durham motel was sited not here, but rather 5 blocks north and one block east. The current Durham bus station occupies this parcel. Both sites were formerly occupied by impressive residences of impressive local citizens.

Learn more about each location at the fantastic blog Endangered Durham.

--ASE.

JJ Henderson Towers site

old Heart of Durham site

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  • 3 years later...

I have not been on here in a while so I'm just getting around to some of these posts.

 

This area has been home to several grassroots/ DIY developments over the last several years.  

 

Motorco Music Hall

Geer St  Grill

Cocoa Cinnamon

Fullsteam Brewery

The Pit (just opened)

Music Hall

Several other small or sustainability focused businesses

 

It should be interesting to see how the Liberty Warehouse redevelopment affects this area.

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Any1 from Durham will note what's wierd about the pic of the Hill building....for as long as I've been alive this building has had what could be described as a hat on the top of it....for yrs it said CCB, the last decade or so it has said Suntrust...now it looks naked...

 

I've always thought that while contributing greatly to downtown's skyline the Hill building is a bit plain....too bad there aren't any cool gargoyles on the upper floors at the building's 4 corners, or instead of being designed so blocky the building could have been designed with a more pointed crown...

 

Any idea if a new sign is going atop the Hill building or is it going to remain hatless?
 

As a side note any1 else feel sad when I think of the demolition of the Washington Duke Hotel?....talk about total lack of vision in the 1970s...
 

post-3026-0-36292900-1388023832_thumb.jp

post-3026-0-31182500-1388024667_thumb.jp

Edited by NCMike1981
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Any idea if a new sign is going atop the Hill building or is it going to remain hatless?

 

I believe that there's nothing new going up on the top of it.

 

I could be wrong though as I'm just basing it off the rendering/plan on here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2013/06/28/construction-starts-on-21c-museum.html

Edited by DPK
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