More housing is coming to downtown Durham. Here are details on the latest plans
A handful of new housing developments will pop up across downtown Durham in the next few years as several developers close in on prime real estate.
A new condo development is underway in the heart of downtown at the corner of West Ramseur and South Mangum streets on the site of a 0.15-acre parking lot — next the historic Kress building.
Raleigh-based real estate firms White Oak Properties and CityPlat are developing Kress Condos, a six-story building with 26 residential units with balconies, including rooftop units.
The condos will also have about 2,000 square feet of space for ground-level retail, according to site plans filed with the city. Developers plan to install CityLift parking, which will park and bring cars to residents using an automated lift system that uses less space than a traditional parking deck.
The owner of the Kress building purchased the lot at 162 W. Ramseur St. in 2016 for $2 million, county records show. In Raleigh, CityPlat has spent millions buying downtown parking lots similar to this one with plans for future high-rises on those sites.
Projects near Durham Central Park
Just north of the downtown core, other developers are planning to build two new low-density pieces of residential real estate in the Durham Central Park area.
Local real estate firm Elmwood Development filed plans to build a five-story residential building at 704 Rigsbee Ave. and 318 W. Corporation St.
The site is down the block from Motorco Music Hall. Last year, owners announced the Motorco site would be redeveloped into a 20-story project with 82 units with rooftop penthouses and balcony spaces..
The site at Rigsbee Avenue and Corporation Street now has a single-story building from the 1960s that houses The PickleBack Bar, a popular Black-owned local bar, which would be demolished with the development. The bar did not return The News & Observer’s requests for comment.
The property has been owned for decades by a local LLC. Elmwood Development declined to provide development and property details until later stages of the project are reached.
Though the preliminary plans don’t include a formal title for the development, building renderings show lettering at its entrance that reads The Rigsbee.
The project will feature structured parking and around 2,000 square feet of retail space at street level.
Durham-based architect Coulter Jewell Thames is behind this project as well as the Kress Condos.
New townhomes
Washington, D.C.-based developer Lock7 has plans to build townhomes at 120 Broadway St., around the block from Rigsbee Avenue and across from Durty Bull Brewing Co.
The plans call for seven four-story townhomes with rooftop balconies overlooking the corner of Broadway and North streets.
“We think many of the things we’ve learned about developing housing in the DC market over the last decade will translate well to North Carolina,” said Lock7 principal David Gorman in an email. “For example, locating development sites that are walkable to dining and entertainment options. The Triangle area also has so much of what buyers are looking for right now — great access to the outdoors, quality schools and strong employment opportunities.”
Gorman said they hope to break ground for the project by the end of the year.
This story was originally published October 18, 2021 at 5:45 AM with the headline "More housing is coming to downtown Durham. Here are details on the latest plans."
