Durham on the Rise: Overview of Downtown Developments

Original Content by Carl Johnson

To say Durham, NC is booming is an understatement. The city of Durham has grown in population year after year with an over 7% increase since 2019 and estimates to be nearly 300,000 by 2023. Durham’s unique location gives the benefits of the great outdoors that North Carolina offers, mixed with the resources of successful higher education institutions, such as Duke University and the University of North Carolina. 

As companies move into the area to take advantage of Durham’s population pool, mixed-use commercial space and bio-lab research & development drive the need for new facilities as well as housing. Durham on the Rise, a recent article featured in Durham Magazine, highlights over thirty developments being constructed and proposed which will change Downtown Durham, while many are preserving the historical drive of Durham too! Below are some key locations to keep an eye on!

Brightleaf District
Located in the former Watts and Yuille tobacco warehouses Brightleaf Square has been transformed since 1981 to a location that houses restaurants, realtors, and offices while restoring its unique architectural design and history. Brightleaf Square offers shoppers local family owned stores from fashion to books and covers a wide range of culinary professions such as breweries to asiain fusion. In 2019, the historic property was purchased with nearly 200,000 Sq Ft mixed-use space, including Brightleaf Square, and propose to open the Brightleaf District to expand to even more areas including bringing in new Biotech companies!

The Grove
The Grove is a new housing development featuring 62 townhomes at 512 Gordon Street. With the hopes to incorporate natural beauty into the downtown lifestyle, The Grove is being built in four phases with construction starting in early 2020. The designer of The Grove have made sure to include key features such as Rooftop Terraces, tree-lined walkways, and spacious home offices. 75% of phase one homes have already sold out and phase two options are now available!

American Tobacco Campus Expansion - Phase 1
This 700,000 Sq Ft mixed-use project is being built on the west side of the already established American Tobacco Campus. The builders propose covering the 8 acres with 350,000 Sq Ft of space with creative offices for tech and biotech companies, a 14-story high-rise with over 300 multifamily units, and 100,000 Sq Ft of commercial space with a focus on grocery, shops, restaurants/draft, and theater. Their goal is to start construction in early 2022.

The Novus
Located at 400 W. Main Street, The Novus is proposed as demolition of the existing South Bank building site. The project covers nearly 2-acres of land and is to be mixed-use including condos, apartments, and ground-floor retail space. Construction is slated to begin in 2022 on these modern and luxury units in the Five Points neighborhood.

Durham Belt Line Trail
Located on the abandoned Norfolk and Southern rail bed, the City of Durham is in the process of acquiring the track surrounding downtown Durham and turning it into a bike trail. The city hopes to connect all areas of Durham so that all neighborhoods can enjoy what the city offers.  The Durham Belt Line trail wants to break cultural and economic barriers that are created with modern developmental construction and displacement, by giving walking and bikeable access to the city's new developed areas to low-income communities.

Downtown Durham sounding like a fantastic place to live and grow? Click here to contact Carl and our company today to see how we will help you be a part of the area!