The city of Durham has selected a new development firm to take a stab at redeveloping its former police headquarters property downtown after previous plans for the property fell through. 

Why it matters: The four-acre property, empty since 2018, is one of the last remaining large tracts of land downtown that the city has control over — meaning it could potentially encourage the creation of affordable housing on a site that it views as a potential landmark development on the west side of downtown. 

Driving the news: The Durham City Council voted this week to enter into an agreement with the Florida-based real estate company The Peebles Corp. to redevelop the property at 505 W. Chapel Hill St. 

Zoom in: The Peebles pitch for the property includes: 

  • 380 apartments, 92 of which would be set aside as affordable housing for those earning 30% to 60% of the area's median income
  • A 100-room hotel
  • 37,000 square feet of retail and 153,000 square feet of lab space
  • Nearly 800 parking spaces

The Peebles plan, which is estimated to cost $285 million, would keep the existing police headquarters building on the site, built by architect Milton Small in 1957, and turn it into a hotel. 

  • Peebles would then add two more buildings on the site. 
  • The project would include a $3.8 million subsidy from the city and use a 4% low-income housing tax credit to fund the affordable housing portion.

State of play: The city still needs to enter into a final agreement with Peebles, but the goal is to do a ground lease with Peebles rather than sell it the property.

Zoom out: The Peebles Corp. says it has developed more than 10 million square feet of projects across the country, though this would be its first project in the Triangle. 

What's next: A timeline for the project was not immediately available. A Peebles representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Credit: AXIOS

By Laura Wyatt | Don Peebles