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I am seriously considering relocating to Downtown Durham, mainly because I like the area's potential, and I really love the Durham Kress building. Some concerns still plague me, however, since I am unsure of the area's future (although part of the reason I am moving is to invest in what's supposed to be an up-and-coming neighborhood). So, with that in mind, let me share some of my thoughts about Downtown, and maybe a few of you can help quell some of my underlining fears about Durham's Downtown.
After coming to the conclusion that Downtown is a place I would like to live, my fiance and I went for dinner at Rue Cler, to get a sense of what it would be like Downtown. Aside from the obvious traffic that Rue Cler seems to get, Downtown is absolutely dead, and this was at 7pm on a Saturday. It is obvious that the Brightleaf area is populated by bar-goers and the like, but Central District has absolutely nothing aside from Rue Cler and Joe and Jo's (which also seemed dead). Most of the buildings are empty, and if people start flocking to the Downtown area, I can see incentive for local businesses (hopefully restaurants and bars) to move there as well. There is certainly a lot of potential, but at this point it is, at least to me, unclear as to what is slated for development. Central District needs more nightlife, and for that to happen, there needs to be more traffic in Downtown overall, and not just isolated to American Tobacco/Brightleaf.
The abandoned environment of Central District leads me to my next concern, which is crime. Given my meager knowledge of the geography of Durham, I can only begin to make sense of the Durham crime mapper. From what I gather, Central District is District 5 for the Durham Police Department, which (correct me if I am wrong) boasts the lowest amount of "normative infractions". This could be for a number of reasons, the first of which is that, since Downtown is relatively vacant and empty, there is very little opportunity for crime to happen. I have heard about the lobbying effort on the part of DDI and others to increase the police presence Downtown, but from my limited exposure, the police presence was non-existent, aside from one patrol car on the outskirts of the Downtown loop (hardly helpful if I am mugged walking to my car). Hopefully once more residents move Downtown, the police will take a more active role in patrolling the Downtown Streets.
That's about all I have for now. Overall I am very bullish on Durham's Downtown, but it is very hard to know for sure.
You've hit the nail on the head of what still is speculative about downtown Durham. Rue Cler is fairly new (though wildly successful) -- Locopops will be joining it at the CCB Plaza this spring.
Basically, nothing happened downtown from a development perspective in the 1990s. The Durham Centre project wasn't terribly successful, in part due to what seems to be a weak developer. Then the new DBAP ballpark opened and was a hit. Next up was West Village, which is almost always fully rented.
American Tobacco's only been open since 2005 but is fully leased up and is expanding, including new construction. West Village Phase 2 will be as big in terms of sq. footage as American Tobacco is.
So the $64,000 question is: what about downtown? Greenfire Development, which is doing the Kress and owns literally dozens of properties in downtown, is releasing a master plan this spring of what they're going to do with their buildings. They've talked about phasing in things -- a bit of residential, enough to draw a little bit of retail in, followed by more residential. They're planning to offer retail, residential and office space between their buildings. I think the master plan will be a good thing to see. The New York Times ran an article about their planning process a couple of months ago that's worth a read. They're in an unusual position -- being able to essentially master-plan a downtown area, decades after it was built.
The downtown streets right now also make it hard to navigate and get around downtown. When the construction wraps up this summer, it will make getting around a lot easier.
To my mind, the fact that Kress is mostly pre-sold, as is Mangum 506, are good signs that this is all going to work out. There's more momentum around downtown than there has been in years. To be honest, when I lived in Charlotte in '98-99, downtown there was dead as well. Now, the streets weren't torn up with construction and there weren't vacant buildings, but there was zero residential and zero shops/restaurants on the weekends. Now, that's all changed.
Durham won't turn into downtown Charlotte. But it offers urban living that's 15 minutes from RTP and 10 minutes from Duke and the hospitals. I'm bullish on it, and my wife and I are talking about (when she finishes law school next year) moving to a downtown condo from Trinity Park ourselves.
If you want to minimize risk, check out Trinity Park, which has enjoyed strong housing values for years. Or the American Tobacco residential units.
PS -- Joe and Jo's closed because its owner moved to Belize to help her ailing father. It was the most popular place by far in downtown. A new Irish bar/pub will be opening there in a couple of weeks.
Bull City Rising - thanks again for your extensive comments. We looked at Trinity Park, but it's really not what we were looking for. I am of the 'no risk no reward' mindset, so I am comfortable taking a gamble on Downtown. We drive mostly everywhere now, so I don't think it'll be that big of a deal if Downtown doesn't pick up in the next few months (this is probably not even within the realm of remotely possible timeframes).
Do you have any opinions on the crime factor in Downtown? This may sound silly, but the major pitfall of the Kress building is that it has no secured parking, with the closet garage being a public deck across the street. I would prefer an adjoining parking structure connected to the building, with security in place, but given the location and limited number of units in the Kress, that obviously isn't realistic.
I am hoping that the Kress units have been sold to permanent residents, and not speculators and/or out-of-towners who won't live there for more than a few weeks a year. What Downtown needs at present in an infusion of residents to jump-start this whole improvement process. That will come once some of the buildings are completed, or at least I hope so.
BCR, you keep reeeling me in to Durham. Now you had to mention a new Irish Pub. Hook, line and sinker. Now if I can just get an acre for my dairy cow....
BTW... the lead story in today's N&O is the downwtown Durham street/sidewalk renovation. Worth checking out at: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/560088.html (broken link)
One clip, to the point above:
But don't look for businesses to swoop in overnight to fill vacant storefronts, said Bill Kalkhof, president of Downtown Durham Inc.
The nonprofit booster organization has begun planning sessions with major downtown property owners to find out what kinds of businesses are needed and then working together to recruit them. Recruitment won't start in earnest until the street project is complete.
Companies such as Greenfire Development, Scientific Properties and Blue Devil Partners, all of which have major downtown projects in the works, will be at the table.
The idea is both to attract the kinds of businesses that will succeed and to avoid duplication, Kalkhof said.
If Greenfire, say, leases storefront space to a pizza joint, Scientific wouldn't lease to a pizzeria but maybe an Asian bistro.
"If it's not successful," Kalkhof said, "it won't be for lack of trying."
While I have no where near the information that BCR has, let me add one point:
Durham's downtown situation is about where Raleigh's was 5 years ago. The very center dead for nightlife, but with a good number of stuff on the periphery, mainly the west end of it.
Raleigh was that way for a long time. But recent new work in the main center (new Fayetteville Street, new towers being built, some private investment, etc) has changed that somewhat. It's changing, and there are now restaurants and cafes in the very center of Raleigh's downtown, where just 3 or 4 years ago there was nothing. And the prognosis is that the next five years will be even better.
Durham is at that stage now. I've read about all the new roadwork being done there, the proposed new Suntrust tower, the boutique hotel coming into the old Suntrust tower, the new performing arts center, etc. I really think good things are gonna happen there!
Well whadya know, the N&O have a good article today on this very topic: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/560088.html (broken link)
worth a read.
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