Today the City of Durham is discussing a proposed 26-story tower that would be the city’s tallest. The project would stand next to the venerable Hill building, inside of downtown’s loop, and would contain 133 apartment units in the buildings upper 21 stories. Half of the street level would be retail while the rest of the building would be parking garage.

There is a very nice pdf of the proposal posted at the Durham website. It includes details of the project, its positive and negative impacts on the surrounding neighborhood, and many, many renderings.

I first should say that I love the architectural style of the building. The use of balconies to give the building a softer, rounded look is beautiful. The building would be a great improvement to the stale Durham skyline. I do have many deep concerns about the viability of the building as a business project, and concerns about its affect on future housing in downtown Durham.

In Raleigh we saw the addition of two “highrise” condo buildings with the West at North project and the RBC Tower. Along with other projects such as Bloomsbury Estates, the Hue and the Paramount, Raleigh saw a fast glut of high-rise condo spaces in a very few years. Predictably the market was overbuilt for condos, and some projects either went to apartments or went into foreclosure. At this point does the downtown market of Durham need 133 sky-high apartment units when it really has…none? This is a big financial step for the developers into an untested market.

Does this project improve the quality of life in downtown Durham? For sure, the Durham loop is begging for some residential component. The area has much potential as a walkable, charming 24-hour live/work/play zone. I have serious concerns about any residential project that is more than 6 stories tall. Above 60 feet or so, residents are no longer part of the community, but rather, in their own world. It is more convenient in some cases to just go down to the car in the garage and drive to destinations. Would it be any different for this project? Does the Durham market want all of its apartment demand sucked up into one portion of one block.

In urban areas with an abundance of vacant lots, like Raleigh and Durham, I feel that the best residential plan for a viable long term community is in 3-4 story facilities. Row houses and small projects are far more likely to put pedestrians on the street, pedestrians who care about the neighborhood, than projects that allow residents to escape the very neighborhood being built.