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New SunTrust tower planned for Downtown Durham


RALBOI

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good for durham, bad for raleigh

Why is that bad for Raleigh? Raleigh has known from day one that SunTrust would be in Durham. I am just glad to see some of this come Durhams way too.

that building is never going anywhere, its protected by the historical society and several architecture awards. good luck to whomever tries to pull that off.

I agree pack-man. There is nothing in the article that even hints at destroying the building and starting over. They want to move to a new location and it will be in Durham is all it said.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It would be great for downtown Durham if the building would be turned into upscale condos and was filled with people who would spend money downtown. This would lead to more retail development and hopefully would eliminate some of the trashy retail that is there now.

What exactly is trashy retail? I keep hearing references to this. Does that include mom-and-pop or locally-originated retail? Does that include artists galleries?

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I personally consider trashy retail to be a bunch of check cashing places and pawn but they also serve a purpose in certain markets. They just tend to pop up in massive numbers.

There aren't any of these in Downtown Durham are there? The only CHECKS CASHED and National Jewelry & Pawn stores I know of are on Guess Rd and 15-501.

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There aren't any of these in Downtown Durham are there? The only CHECKS CASHED and National Jewelry & Pawn stores I know of are on Guess Rd and 15-501.

Yes and thats the point that I was trying to make. I don't think there is any trashy retail in Downtown Durham. There are vacant storefronts which should change after the road work and several key renovations are completed.

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If you walk west from Main and Corcoran, there is some very trashy retail on the lefthand side of the road towards the end of the block.

It is all going to change very soon, but right now Durham does not have a very affluent or desirable CBD in terms of retail establishments. Starbucks would laugh if someone were to offer them a free retail space.

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I think it would be great if Durham got a 30 story building downtown but I doubt that the demand is there, at least for a few more years...

Maybe downtown isn't ready for a 30 story building, but I think there has been some demand. AICPA needed 100,000 sq ft, and was interested in downtown, but had to take a spot at Palladian.

I fear there is a dearth of large commercial space. I don't think West Village II will have anything close to 100K sq ft commercial. Am. Tobacco is already filled up. I fear downtown Durham is missing a chance at attracting larger companies.

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If you walk west from Main and Corcoran, there is some very trashy retail on the lefthand side of the road towards the end of the block.

It is all going to change very soon, but right now Durham does not have a very affluent or desirable CBD in terms of retail establishments. Starbucks would laugh if someone were to offer them a free retail space.

Okay, some may consider Teaser's Palace to be trashy. The rest is a nightclub, bookstore, hair salons, clothing store, Latin restaurant, Jamaican/Soul restaurant, a deli and some others amongst a few vacant storefronts.

While I agree that we will lose some of these small businesses to the road construction and others to increased rents post-construction, I hope that people will want to go to Blue Coffee or anyother local coffee shop vs. Starbucks.

BTW, Starbucks is already downtown in American Tobacco (ATD). I think that's an excellent location. I think most of the chains will locate south of the tracks in the ATD/Ballpark district, which will start phase 3/4 in conjunction with the development of the Performing Arts Center. In general, people would like to keep Main St. indigenous to the Bull City. There are lots of small storefronts, but there are plenty of infill sites available for larger developments with ground floor retail when "demand/desirability" picks up.

I really believe that Suntrust isn't looking to move far downtown. They will likely build on a city-owned lot across the street. A new building would be larger than there current building because they are looking for more space, trying to consolidate some operations and looking to grow. I would say that a 15-25 story building is not out of the question.

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Okay, some may consider Teaser's Palace to be trashy. The rest is a nightclub, bookstore, hair salons, clothing store, Latin restaurant, Jamaican/Soul restaurant, a deli and some others amongst a few vacant storefronts.

While I agree that we will lose some of these small businesses to the road construction and others to increased rents post-construction, I hope that people will want to go to Blue Coffee or anyother local coffee shop vs. Starbucks.

BTW, Starbucks is already downtown in American Tobacco (ATD). I think that's an excellent location. I think most of the chains will locate south of the tracks in the ATD/Ballpark district, which will start phase 3/4 in conjunction with the development of the Performing Arts Center. In general, people would like to keep Main St. indigenous to the Bull City. There are lots of small storefronts, but there are plenty of infill sites available for larger developments with ground floor retail when "demand/desirability" picks up.

I really believe that Suntrust isn't looking to move far downtown. They will likely build on a city-owned lot across the street. A new building would be larger than there current building because they are looking for more space, trying to consolidate some operations and looking to grow. I would say that a 15-25 story building is not out of the question.

I should have used the term "city center." I know that Starbucks is in ATHD, but that is really a different animal. I strongly believe that the downtown core will catch up.

SunTrust will probably not build a new building. They are currently occupying less than 1/3 of the tower.

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I should have used the term "city center." I know that Starbucks is in ATHD, but that is really a different animal. I strongly believe that the downtown core will catch up.

SunTrust will probably not build a new building. They are currently occupying less than 1/3 of the tower.

Never say never...the basis for my assumption is that a developer has an option on the land across from the Suntrust building. He is REQUIRED to build a minimum of 75K sq ft. The developer also has interests in two adjacent buildings (one that is burned out w/ no roof). Now Suntrust doesn't care for the current configuration o f the historic CCB tower and they also have operations outside of downtown. They could build a new building on the adjacent site which is major feather in the Mayor's cap that will accomodate consolidation, future growth and maybe additional tenants. The owners of the new building's land would LOVE to have the CCB building as the crown jewel of the redevelopment of that block for which they own several buildings. Follow me?

I know it's speculation but based on a lot of truths...

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