Crosland scales back North Durham retail project to a grocery-oriented center

We've written here before about the West Pointe Village shopping center proposed for North Durham at the corners of Infinity and Roxboro Rds. The center was proposed to be a 30-acre retail area with a big-box discounter (Target and Wal-Mart were both bandied about) along with supporting retail.

A reader tipped us off last week in the comments on another North Durham retail project (Treyburn Commons) that Charlotte-based developer Crosland might have put West Pointe Village on ice.

Well, the project's not dead -- but it will end up being significantly smaller than originally proposed.

According to James Downs, a VP in Crosland's retail division, the developer has decided to downsize the project to an 18-acre center helmed by a grocery store instead of larger big-box retail. The new center, rechristened "Shops at White Oaks," is still hoped to break ground in 2008; a new site plan is expected to be submitted to local officials this month.

Downs acknowledged that North Durham is underserved by major retail (as we've written about before), but cited three key factors behind abandoning the larger 31-acre plan:

• A lack of market demand -- i.e., retailers weren't interested in opening a store there. Downs noted that the Carolinas have fared better than most parts of the country, but that retailers are scaling back expansion plans in the wake of current economic conditions.
• "A very challenging site to work with," including topographical changes and very significant amounts of rock, all of which makes site preparation expensive and difficult.
• The amount of road improvements required to build the original center, given the highly congested nature of the Roxboro/Infinity intersection. (Developers are generally on the hook for road improvements to serve the increased traffic from their projects.) Crosland has been working with NCDOT on a traffic impact analysis for the site. Still, the anticipated expense of road improvements for the larger center appears to have helped push the plan to a smaller design -- one which would, we assume, generate less traffic.

Downs noted that Crosland is working with a specific grocer on the site, though the company would not disclose what grocers or other tenants they're working with.

Comments

[James Martin]

Great. Because that spot really lacks for grocery stores...

[Dan S.]

Unless HT wants to go from drought to deluge in northern Durham, maybe it'll be a Trader Joe's or Whole (Paycheck) Foods.

[KH]

Ugghhh...Another grocery store-anchored strip center? I know Bi-Lo owned the site for a while with similar plans. I was really hoping for a mixed-used development that took advantage of the topography. You know more like a "Village" center.

I really hope they decide to sit on this property a little longer. This intersection doesn't need another strip center. And it's not like the strip center will be easier on the already congested intersection.

I'm not a fan at this point...

[AL]

...and the chance of something useful coming out of this ever? This area isn't just underserved in terms of major retail; the nearest "gym" is a Curves on Duke/Roxboro, which really only caters to a small demographic. Trader Joe's could be a boon, particularly given their current Triangle positioning.

[Derek]

Expect something basic, like another Food Lion, Lowes Food, Kroger, etc. I can't see TJ's or Whole Paycheck moving in there. The area is just not convenient enough to the rest of Durham. If TJ's wanted to put in a second store, they would go somewhere near Costco so it had easy I-85 access too.