A high-rise is coming to Durham’s Geer Street. What to know about the construction.
Workers broke ground last week on a development that aims to capitalize on the popularity of a nightlife and restaurant hotspot on the edge of downtown Durham.
The GeerHouse development in the Foster and West Geer Streets Historic District centers around a renovated and expanded Motorco Music Hall. The builders ultimately plan to add 328 apartments, 16,500 square feet of retail space and 322 parking spaces.
Since 2019, the partnership behind GeerHouse has bought up half the block south of Geer Street between Rigsbee Avenue and Foster Street, paying more than $6.2 million for the properties, county records show. They now own 2.37 acres in the commercial district.
Sean Wilson opened Fullsteam brewery — Durham’s oldest — in 2010, and he’s had a front row seat to the area’s growth.
“We were one of the first businesses to take a chance on this area. It’s been quite a surprise to see it develop to this extent,” he said.
Restaurant Geer Street Garden came along a year later and coffee shop Cocoa Cinnamon arrived in 2013. The Durham staples occupy corner lots at Foster and Geer streets.
“It’s gone from being totally rundown, abandoned buildings to thriving, locally owned small businesses,” Geer Street Garden owner Andy Magowan said.
The first phase of GeerHouse calls for a sprawling seven-story building that will wrap around Motorco Music Hall. Plans call for 220 apartments and more than 13,000 square feet of commercial space intended for restaurants and retailers. Motorco will expand to 8,000 square feet with the extension of its covered patio.
The second building will rise 15 stories, adding 108 apartments and another 3,300 square feet designed for commercial use.
Parking decks incorporated in both buildings will add 304 parking spaces. There’s another 18 street parking spaces among the three surrounding roads.
Four Points, the Washington, D.C.-based developer behind the project, did not respond to requests for an interview.
Business owners brace for construction, changes
A road closure began over the weekend for Foster Street between Geer and Corporation streets. Foster Street is expected to remain closed until April 7 for storm drain and utility work. Similar road closures will eventually be required for Geer Street and Rigsbee Avenue, according to plans filed with the city.
Business owners interviewed by The News & Observer all said the construction would prove challenging, but ultimately paled in comparison to the damage inflicted by COVID-19.
“If we can get through the pandemic, I’m sure we can get through this,” Cocoa Cinnamon owner Leon Grodski Barrera said.
Cocoa Cinnamon is still only offering outdoor seating for safety reasons, and the work is loud and sometimes dusty. The patio is a huge part of Geer Street Garden’s appeal.
Fullsteam Brewery faces the construction from its home on Rigsbee Avenue.
“We just have to adapt. Long-term, density and infill is good for Durham,” Wilson said. “Short-term, it’s going to still be a challenge coming out of two years of the pandemic.”
Wilson said that for Fullsteam, which as a manufacturer is operating near full capacity, the hardest part has been dealing with the water and electrical outages.
“It’s one thing to deal with the challenges of parking, noise, etc. But as a manufacturing business, it’s incredibly challenging to get no warning that we might not have water, electricity or a way to get materials in or out of our production space,” he said.
But the long-term impact of an evolving Durham was heavy on the minds of local business owners.
“There’s been many of these things that look exactly the same,” Magowan said of the apartment buildings. “They’re doing this all over the world, every city in America that has a growing economy. The idea is to build as cheaply as possible, pump the value up and then sell immediately.”
Magowan said he was skeptical the developers had actually considered what this lot and Durham as a whole actually need.
“It’s all based on the desire to turn money into more money,” he said. “This may benefit this individual restaurant because I have 300 people living on top of me, but I can’t say I think it’s good for the community.”
Grodski Barrera said he wants developers and local government to prioritize affordable housing and making streets safer to bike and walk.
“We live in a very special place,” Grodski Barrera said. “How do we make it not just about money and actually improve the standard of living — and not just for a small group of people, but for everybody? How do we keep embedding that into every move we make?”
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 7:00 AM with the headline "A high-rise is coming to Durham’s Geer Street. What to know about the construction.."
