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Durham Revitalization Efforts


raleightransplant

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The thing is that I never see anyone at those dealerships. I'm sure they are hanging in for the cash payout. On another topic, I wonder if anyone is staking out this area for a music club-that seems to be one thing missing from the equation down there. There are smaller venues like Marvell and 305 South but nothing with consistent booking ala Kings, Local 506, the Cradle, etc.

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If Durham was ever going to have a mega tall 30+ story skyscraper area, some portion of the car dealerships may be a good candidate. Freeway access. No impact on historic structures. Dump all those office workers into the historic building sandwich shops in downtown proper during the day....comments Durhamites? Is Durham liking midrise territory (I would be ok with that too mind you)

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I'm certainly not against mid-rise buildings but I don't think Durham needs to be reaching heights that surpass the Hill/CCB/SunTrust or NC Mutual Life buildings. I think more buildings in the 10-15 story range would fit in better than the 30-story heights you see more of in Raleigh or Winston-Salem.

One thing's for sure: those auto dealerships have got to go. What a waste of space they are - acres upon acres of land dedicated to cars? Yuck. Send 'em to south Durham where they belong.

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Does Ringside book bands? I've never been inside, and am not sure what the dimensions are, but would "Teaser's Palace" make for a good live band space? On the west side, could a late night club work on theFishmongers/Torreros block between West Village and Brightleaf?

What about the buildings near the Scrap Exchange and Central Park on Foster Street? There seems to be some storefronts there and to the east that could be a neat "northside" district of 3-5 story buildings to get some density but not overwhelm the area. There is a lunch counter or two there, but not much going on after dark. It could eventuall tie into the loop near the Y.

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Ringside was booking bands but they have all but stopped recently. There is something going in on the Fishmonger's/DUP/Torrero's block-(where the Playground was)-it looks like a restaurant/club-type thing. There is some mention of a small music venue going into the Golden Belt Arts Campus but it would probably be the size of Broad Street Cafe at the largest.

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It'd be nice to have some kind of venue over at the old Playground space but I'd venture to guess with all the failures in that location, chances are they'll try to attract a more stable tenant - like a Starbucks (eek!) or something with more "stability." I hope I'm wrong.

I'd like to see the "Research Laboratory" on the corner of Duke and Main torn down and replaced with some housing atop retail to bring more life to that block. It's has the potential to be an excellent gateway between West Village and Brightleaf. The tall, tan parking garage being built right next door to the laboratory is an eyesore. It's even worse coupled with an entirely dead block beside it.

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I'm certainly not against mid-rise buildings but I don't think Durham needs to be reaching heights that surpass the Hill/CCB/SunTrust or NC Mutual Life buildings. I think more buildings in the 10-15 story range would fit in better than the 30-story heights you see more of in Raleigh or Winston-Salem.

One thing's for sure: those auto dealerships have got to go. What a waste of space they are - acres upon acres of land dedicated to cars? Yuck. Send 'em to south Durham where they belong.

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30 Stories would work better for the University side (since it sits below the highway and the rest of downtown)...it will probably take a sizable building like that to make up for the acquisition cost. This site is also in close proximity to the Durham Multi-modal station and future TTA stop. The station site was also the site of a proposed 20-25 story condo tower.

Mid-rise towers would probably work better in the other areas (car lots and other infill areas).

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  • 3 weeks later...

I haven't seen it posted, but here's another article on the opening of the streetscape project tomorrow. They compare it to Fayetteville St, which is natural but probably not quite accurate (Durham's is a larger scale project)... but the main point is not to assume that businesses and condos will follow right away. I can't understand who ever told these businesses (on Fayetteville St) that they'd be an overnight success... it takes some time to redevelop an entire area, add new residents, and fill empty storefronts. I think 2-3 years is a reasonable time--with good market conditions--to expect a viable turnaroud.

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I've been meaning to get some shots but my camera doesn't seem to be working! :o I got a chance to go up to the 15th story of the SunTrust/CCB tower. Would've been nice to have had a working camera then!

Here are a few links to some folks' blogs with have images from the Durham Rising celebration:

from City-Data.com

from Dependable Erection

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Here are some photos of Durham taken today:

New West Village Parking Deck and Surrounding Buildings

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Funny sign on the Chesterfield Building...a sign of the times

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Demolition by ATC

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Performing Arts Theater

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Performing Arts Theater, new parking deck, and Diamond View Building

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Parking Deck and Jail

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Parking Deck, Jail, and Diamond View

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Diamond View

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SunTrust Building from Diamond View area

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here's a new article on Greenfire's expansion just outside the Durham core.

The Durham developer paid BMB Investment Group $575,000 for four tracts totaling one acre in downtown's Central Park district, records show.

Three total 0.86 of an acre on the block bounded by Rigsbee Avenue, Broadway, Hunt and Mangum streets. They include a 6,000-square-foot warehouse, leased by McDuffie Investments, and a 3,000-square-foot office building, leased by Terminix Services.

Greenfire now owns at least 28 Bull City properties. It plans to invest at least $150 million on redevelopment projects by 2015.

It seems Greenfire is to Durham as Empire is to Raleigh, or maybe even more so with the numbers of properties they control. Jones, if you recall, this is very close to where we went on the historic tour last spring during the Full Frame weekend.

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