Developer planning major, mall-size project with housing on Durham side of Brier Creek
Brier Creek could soon see a major expansion, with a developer looking to build a large new community on the Durham County side.
A developer asked for a rezoning earlier this year to build up to 1,750 residential units near the popular shopping area that straddles Wake and Durham counties. There could be a mix of apartments, townhomes, and single-family homes.
The Durham Gateway at Brier Creek, as it’s being called, would also include businesses, plus industrial warehouses and labs for companies that want to be close to Research Triangle Park.
“It’s going to be a pretty wide breadth of uses,” Walker Gorham, a member of the development team, said at a neighborhood meeting in May.
If fully built out, the development would be nearly 1 million square feet. By comparison, Crabtree Valley Mall and The Streets at Southpoint are each about 1.3 million square feet.
The land totals over 309 acres and is on the north side of U.S. 70 between Leesville Road and T.W. Alexander Drive. It’s largely forested, and backs up against the sprawling Carolina Arbors neighborhood.
Neighbors are worried about losing trees in that area.
The site does include a 30-acre parcel that is not currently part of the project after a property owner declined to sell his family’s land.
Neighbors can weigh in, likely in 2025
The development is being planned by Beacon Partners, a Charlotte-based firm with properties in several North Carolina cities.
Representatives for the company weren’t available Thursday or Friday.
What else is in the plans for Durham Gateway at Brier Creek?
- Up to 400,000 square feet of commercial and industrial space for businesses, offices, warehouses or labs.
- A 1-acre public park to be maintained by the city.
- Affordable housing: Once about half of the 1,750 residential units are built, the developer would be required to construct 175 income-restricted units on a 7-acre “affordable parcel,” the developer’s proposal states.
Of the commercial buildings’ design, Gorham said to look for glass, tiling and architecturally interesting structures.
“We are focused on high-quality, beautiful buildings,” Gregg Sandreuter, another partner on the development team, said in the May meeting.
Beacon Partners is seeking to be annexed into the Durham city limits to get city water and sewer services that are essential to making the development happen.
Two public hearings where neighbors can weigh in will be scheduled after the planning department completes its review, likely in 2025.
One is before the Durham Planning Commission. The other is before the Durham City Council, which will vote on whether to annex and rezone the land.
About 10% of the acreage is in Wake County. Wake County leaders can provide input to the Durham City Council, but won’t get to vote on the annexation.
This story was originally published October 7, 2024 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Developer planning major, mall-size project with housing on Durham side of Brier Creek."
