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For years, three of Durham’s highest-profile redevelopment sites have sat in suspended animation over community pushback and shifting markets.
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Today, the plan for Northgate Mall and a revised plan for the YMCA are slowly moving forward, while any timeline to transform The Streets at Southpoint remains unknown.
Here’s where things stand.
The vision for the sprawling parking lots surrounding The Streets at Southpoint would double the mall’s square footage and allow buildings up to 10 stories tall.
Following a controversial City Council vote in 2023, the mall’s owners are cleared to transform the property into a dense, mixed-use district, with up to 1,382 apartments, a 200-room hotel, and 300,000 square feet of office space.
The plan was approved 5-2, with Councilwoman Javiera Caballero and then-Mayor Elaine O’Neal voting no. Before the council vote, the Durham Planning Commission had recommended rejecting the proposal in a 10-3 vote.
Why the opposition? This project has no affordable housing units, which the city can’t require under state law.
In Durham, nearly half of the city’s 310,500 residents are renters. Over half of those renters are cost-burdened, spending 30% of more of their income on housing, according to Housing for New Hope. On average, a two-bedroom apartment is $1,711 a month.
So when will anyone see these new changes?
A spokesperson for the mall’s owners, General Growth Properties, said they have no updates to share with the public.
“However, these approvals secure long-term development flexibility, so our shopping center has the ability to evolve while continuing to meet the needs of our community,” a statement read. “Streets at Southpoint has a long track record of delivering the brands, restaurants and experiences that our consumer expects, and we remain committed the center over time.”
After opening in 1960, the mall officially closed in 2020 and has been vacant since. Duke Health purchased the former Macy’s anchor store for clinical and office space. But the rest of the site is slated for a revamp.
For residents of the Walltown neighborhood, the redevelopment has been a battle. Last August, the neighborhood’s organizing resulted in the approval of the Walltown Area Plan by the City Council. It calls for a “15-minute community” prioritizing green space, affordable housing, and walkable transit access.
But commercial zoning laws prevent the city from enforcing the plan. Because the mall doesn’t need to be rezoned, Regency Centers, its developer, doesn’t need council approval. So it can bypass the requests for green space and affordable housing.
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Regency Centers wants to turn part of the old mall site, including the former movie theater and parking deck, into a traditional retail center called Ellerbe Square. The plans feature a 140,000-square-foot big-box anchor store, five smaller stores and a 762-space parking lot.
In March, Regency Centers announce the big retail store would be Target, which some residents criticized.
Eric Davidson, a spokesperson for Regency, did not say if they would consider the residents’ demands.
In an email, Davidson wrote, “We are developing what we and many neighbors and stakeholders believe is the best tangible project on our portion of the site … specifically addressing calls to incorporate retail, grocery and daily needs and amenities.”
Exact details about when construction will begin on the new Target and other stores are unknown.
In September, the YMCA of the Triangle announced it was scrapping plans to rebuild the aging Downtown Durham YMCA at 218 W. Morgan St. and starting over with a new location and new developers.
In its original plans, the facility that was built in 1996 was going to be replaced with a 27-story, mixed-use skyscraper.
Instead, the YMCA of the Triangle bought a 0.79-acre lot at Blackwell and West Pettigrew streets from CBC Real Estate, the real estate division of Capitol Broadcasting Co., to build a $46 million, 65,000-square-foot facility.
The new YMCA at the American Tobacco Campus will feature rooftop terraces with outdoor fitness areas, an indoor pool, a full basketball court, indoor track, group fitness studios and youth and family program spaces. There will also be an 80-space parking lot.
Construction begins next year and doors are set to open in 2029.
The YMCA of the Triangle has opened a capital campaign to collect donations for the new Y.
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