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I'm from the UK and will be spending a few months at Duke over the summer...I've been offered a 1 bed apartment on west trinity avenue, which looks idel as its close to East Campus...can anyone tell me a little more about this area? How near are the shops and other local amenities? is it a friendly neighbourhood? is there a transport system nearby?
Thanks in advance for any help you're able to give!
Cessj.
I'm from the UK and will be spending a few months at Duke over the summer...I've been offered a 1 bed apartment on west trinity avenue, which looks idel as its close to East Campus...can anyone tell me a little more about this area? How near are the shops and other local amenities? is it a friendly neighbourhood? is there a transport system nearby?
Thanks in advance for any help you're able to give!
Cessj.
Hi Cessj! W. Trinity Ave. passes through a couple of historic neighborhoods (which in this part of Durham tend to be narrow E-W but long N-S).
The segment of W. Trinity between Buchanan (Duke's East Campus) and Duke St. is within Trinity Park, one of the terrific historic neighborhoods in Durham. Lots of single-family homes, some with basement or over-garage apartments. From here, it is easy walking/biking distance to Brightleaf (lots of restaurants, pubs, some shopping), downtown, and 9th Street (which includes a Whole Foods Market, a US organic-focused grocery store, as well as a bookstore, cafes, etc.)
The portion of W. Trinity between North and Glendale falls within the "Old North Durham" area, another historic/former streetcar district. A bit more transitional, with more historically impoverished neighborhoods to the south, but a very strong and active neighborhood assn. Not as close to shopping or Duke's East Campus (which would from here be a 15 minute walk or 5 minute bike ride), but easy to get to downtown.
There are a couple of pockets I would personally not rent along the ave. -- pretty much those areas I've not mentioned, plus the older apartment bldgs. very near the corner of W. Trinity and Duke, which look a little more rundown. (The tear-down of historic homes to build apt. buildings like these led to the creation of Trinity Park's neighborhood assn. in the first place in the 1970s.)
I'm from the UK and will be spending a few months at Duke over the summer...I've been offered a 1 bed apartment on west trinity avenue, which looks ideal as its close to East Campus...can anyone tell me a little more about this area? How near are the shops and other local amenities? is it a friendly neighbourhood? is there a transport system nearby?
I'm still a newbie to the area, but I'll throw in my two cents worth. West Trinity runs from Buchanan on the West and Magnum on the east, it appears. Depending on where you are on that street, you are nearby the downtown area that is slowly but surely being peppered with little places to dine or hang out (it's certainly not a hub just yet). Further south, Brightleaf Square is nearby (lots of new resurgence there). There looks to be a pub, eateries, etc at Brightleaf including some boutique shopping. That's around Gregson and Main. Further west on Main on Broad street (just opposite of the main campus where W. Trinity ends, is a Whole Foods Market, and a number of pizzerias, coffee and cantinas.
Living closer and west of Duke St., I feel like that's a relatively nice and communal area. Housing prices are high there, and the homeowners now owning there take pride in such ownership, it appears. I always see people walking their pets, jogging around the campus, etc. there. Still, at night, it's always pays to be cautious and mindful of your surroundings.
P.S. My post may be a bit redundant, now, since BCR beat me to the punch. But, like minds...
Well, at least people know neither of us are making things up (or we're the same person...
BTW, Cessj... thinking about your mentioning you hadn't been to Durham in 10 years... some of the following web sites will show you some things that have really changed in that time:
BullCityRising is definitely the expert for this thread it seems... ...but my two cents worth is that the Trinity Park/Ninth Street area is definitely one of my favorite parts of Durham, tied with the American Tobacco Historic Complex.
BullCityRising is definitely the expert for this thread it seems... ...but my two cents worth is that the Trinity Park/Ninth Street area is definitely one of my favorite parts of Durham, tied with the American Tobacco Historic Complex. You'll like it there, I'm sure.
Boy, would I had loved to bought in during the resurgence there. Prices seem rather high there, but I love it so. I wonder if prices in Trinity have reached an equilibrium?
By the way, Cessj, when you arrive here, dig up this thread and post what you find. You might catch something that others might be missing!
Boy, would I had loved to bought in during the resurgence there. Prices seem rather high there, but I love it so. I wonder if prices in Trinity have reached an equilibrium?
By the way, Cessj, when you arrive here, dig up this thread and post what you find. You might catch something that others might be missing!
One of the neat things about Trinity Park is that, while it has some of the most expensive real estate in Durham ($400k-$1m homes... and potentially, if the neighborhood and the developer can agree to terms, luxury condos near Brightleaf), you can still find houses under $200k.
The southern portion of Trinity Park (the original section developed by Brodie Duke) has fewer "deals" as the homes there tend to be larger. The northern section of Trinity Park (from roughly Green north to Club, and including a section east to Ruffin or thereabouts) has 1920s-1940s bungalow/cottage/Cape-style homes available in the $150k-$200k range frequently.
One 1920s brick bungalow with an adjacent vacant lot sold for $190k last year, and was rehabbed and then sold for about $300k, with the vacant lot going to McNeill Burbank, a custom builder who's adding some SFHs and townhouses in the area. The occasional teardown is also happening, with new construction going in the $300k-400k range. The neighborhood association has concerns about the teardowns and there are discussions of efforts to add some historic overlay district protections on top of the existing National Historic District recognition, so some of the teardown action may cease in the near future.
^ Yeah, Trinity Park and Old West Durham and other areas around there may be on the upswing price-wise...and may be a tad expensive for Durham...compared to North Raleigh, Cary or Chapel Hill, it's a steal!
Thanks for this very informative advice BCR...only problem is that since I wrote, I've had to withdraw from the agreement [discovered the apartment had no internet connection, a real no-no, and I really will need to be able to stay in touch with friends/family/work back in London].
Shame, as I really liked your description of Trinity Ave...actually I googled it, and discovered that it is pretty close by to W. Markham Ave, where I lived last time around....I'm hoping that something similar will come up in or around the same area though, keep your fingers crossed for me!
Boy, would I had loved to bought in during the resurgence there. Prices seem rather high there, but I love it so. I wonder if prices in Trinity have reached an equilibrium?
By the way, Cessj, when you arrive here, dig up this thread and post what you find. You might catch something that others might be missing!
Hi Caliboy,
Thanks for taking the time to reply...and you know, I think I definitely will look up this thread once I'm in Durham...will let you all know if I find anything intersting/off the beaten path etc. that I think might be worth sharing. Hope you all won't mind if I continue to ask you all for advice? You're a great bunch! I'll do the same for you if you ever fancy coming to London [but don't think about coming right now, weather's pretty grotty here at present!]
Cessj
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Thanks in advance for any help you're able to give!
But, like minds... 
