See inside The Novus, Durham's newest high-rise
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The Novus tower, on the left, is Durham's newest high-rise. Photo: Zachery Eanes/Axios
The first tenants of Durham's newest high-rise residential tower, The Novus, are expected to move in this summer after three years of construction on the 27-story building.
Why it matters: The tower's developers, Austin Lawrence Partners (ALP) and Global Holdings, say the opening will provide a new spark for the downtown core of Durham, which is still navigating a slowdown in workers returning to the office.
Driving the news: Pre-leasing is already underway for the 188 rental apartments in the tower, with tenants expected to move into the building in the coming weeks.
State of play: Already 85% of the tower's 54 condos have been sold, Zach Prager, director of investments at ALP, told Axios.
- ALP and Global have invested heavily in the amenities of the building — all designed after the pandemic — which include co-working lounges, a lap pool, cold plunge and steam rooms, a golf simulator, pickleball court and a sky lounge.
- With those amenities come higher prices than the rest of downtown, including condos that have fetched more than $1 million and apartments ranging in price from $2,100 for a one-bedroom unit to more than $4,500 for a two-bedroom unit.
What they're saying: Prager, whose firm also owns the Unscripted Durham hotel and built One City Center, said the company's parking deck data shows workers are coming back to the office one to three days a week.
- "I really think the next step in our evolution as a city is really capturing that daytime foot traffic again," Prager said, noting he believes adding hundreds of new residents and retailers at The Novus will help deliver that.
Zoom in: In addition to the apartments, The Novus has already signed retail tenants including the indoor cycling studio Revel, the national pilates studio Solidcore and a branch of the Raleigh yoga company Dose Yoga + Smoothie Bar, with more to be announced, Prager said.
- Adding more experiential retail like a fitness studio, Prager says, will help drive more foot traffic to the city's core during the daytime hours.
The big picture: The opening of The Novus comes as a wave of new apartments has hit the downtown Durham market, with many buildings now offering several weeks of no rent for new tenants. (The Novus will give you six weeks free right now.)
- Entering the year, the downtown Durham apartment market had an occupancy rate of 92.4%, according to Avison Young. That rate is expected to fall, however, as several new apartments open and compete for tenants.
- The wave of new apartment openings is expected to slow sharply after The Novus, however, meaning there will be less competition for tenants in 2026 and 2027, Prager said.
- "In the long term, I actually think we need to build more because ... there's a gap between projects that are coming to completion and those starting," Prager said.
Take a look below at photos from inside The Novus:
