Durham selects a partner to redevelop its old police headquarters
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Peebles' plan would convert the former police HQ into a hotel. Rendering: Courtesy of the city of Durham
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.
- Six developers submitted potential bids for the property, but city leaders preferred Peebles' plan.
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.
- In North Carolina, the company is part of a significant public-private partnership with Mecklenburg County on a project in uptown Charlotte.
- That project, however, has been significantly delayed and construction has not started, causing frustration for many public officials in Charlotte.
What's next: A timeline for the project was not immediately available. A Peebles representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.