Bull City Rising

Morreene's revenge? CN zoning looks to take a more intensive review route

One of the more unfortunate legacies of Frank Duke's reign over the City/County Planning department was a moment that might best be described as "reign of error" -- the approval of a large warehouse for a wholesale business on the site of a former Morreene Rd. restaurant.

The presence of such a business (or its large industrial structure) wasn't exactly in keeping, neighbors argued, with the intent of the parcel's Commercial Neighborhood zoning, which supports allowing "limited commercial uses to satisfy the needs of the surrounding neighborhood." The Turnage Heights neighborhood appealed the city's approval of the warehouse development, losing before the Board of Adjustment in April.

Jim Wise's coverage of that hearing in the N&O raised the broader issue about Commercial Neighborhood (CN) zoning could lead to such a structure's erection, however:

"[The case] demonstrates some real problems and concerns that need to be addressed," said interim City Attorney Karen Sindelar....

"This case highlights the need for a more neighborhood-friendly commercial zone next to a residential area," [activist John[ Schelp said, "[and] clearly shows how important a neighborhood advocate, not a liaison, an advocate, can be....

"At the very least," [resident Will Robinson] wrote in an e-mail response to a reporter's question, "we may have played a large part in sparing other neighborhoods the same injustice we've experienced, and that is no small consolation."

Looks like the experience may indeed help out other neighborhoods struggling with this sort of conflict. City/County Planning staff have proposed another in the ongoing series of text amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance, this time focused on -- you guessed it -- CN zoning.

And the proposed changes, set for discussion at August 4's City Council meeting, give the sense that the Morreene Rd. debacle was front-and-center in staff's mind in proposing these changes.

Bill Fields dreams up renovation -- on a budget -- down on Gregson St.

I realize most BCR readers are faithful patrons of Gary Kueber's excellent Endangered Durham blog, but for the couple who aren't -- this is too good to miss.

As Gary noted, Saturday's issue of The Durham News contains a story by David Newton on the inimitable Bill Fields -- Ninth Street property owner, veteran, and self-proclaimed lover of Durham -- and his plans to renovate the long-dormant Medical Arts building.

(This building, featured earlier by Gary at ED, has sat vacant for many years, though it did garner some local attention for its large "Fred Smith for Governor" signs back during the May primary; Fields' son worked for the Johnston Co. homebuilder and one-time gubernatorial candidate.)

TBJ: Minor League Baseball still weighing corporate relo to Bull City

Friday's edition of the Triangle Business Journal features an interesting story by Lee Weisbecker on Durham's continued courtship of Minor League Baseball, an engagement that goes well beyond MiLB's role in operating and managing the renovated Durham Athletic Park.

Besides the ongoing planning for the Minor League Baseball fan experience museum -- a project which downtown sources say has strong feasibility, assuming the City can deliver financing for the construction itself, funded by the prepared meals tax -- the TBJ reports that a behind-the-scenes recruitment effort is underway to get the professional sports league to relocate its headquarters from Tampa Bay to Durham:

For the past 30 years, the headquarters of Minor League Baseball, MiLB, has been ensconced in a waterfront office in St. Petersburg, Fla. But the 40-person operation, which oversees 160 teams in the United States and 80 in Canada and Latin America, has only three years left on its lease in a building earmarked for demolition when work begins on a new stadium for Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays.

"Our future in this building is limited," says MiLB Senior Vice President John Cook, who adds that, to date, "no serious discussions" about the future have taken place between his organization and movers and shakers in Durham.

At the same time, he doesn't call a third strike on the prospect. "There would be some potential," he says. "This is a fluid situation, and it's an interesting concept to discuss."

Durham has, of course, a strong cottage baseball industry already -- from the publication Baseball America, which relocated to Durham a quarter century ago, to the USA Baseball national amateur organization also based in the Bull CIty. (And of course, if you go back far enough, Durham was the HQ for MiLB, back in the early-mid twentieth century.)

One question that would be on everyone's mind: just where would MiLB set up its offices? The TBJ speculates that the fan experience museum, tentatively proposed for the northeast corner side of the ballpark, might be able to house MiLB offices.

Another logical likely party interested in leasing them space could be Hank Scherich of Measurement Inc. The educational testing company owner and sometimes downtown developer and investor has been gobbling up properties on Morris St., including the old Accent Hardwood Flooring office (which moved to Foster St.) and the single-family house next door to it.

Coupled with the parking lot and former Durham Farmers Market site, they now own the entire western side of a city block along Morris -- a perfect site for a much-rumored major development project. (Note the old DAP ballpark just north of the Scherich-controlled properties, which are outlined in red.)

The fulfillment of Minor League Baseball's interest in the DAP region would certainly cement the district's economic growth and direction -- something we're sure that the nascent investors in the area, a group that ranges from the often-acquiring Greenfire to local business owners like Scherich to Trinity Lofts developer and NYC planning director Alex Washburn, would love to see.

BCR Video Vignette: That cool, flushing sound...

In today's Video Vignette, let's take a look at a little scene that unfolded at American Tobacco yesterday.

What's odd about this situation in, the City made a big deal during the drought about recapturing the water let off during fire hydrant flushes, noting it would be captured and re-used.

So here's Ambacco, using treated non-potable water for its manmade river water feature, while a hydrant a few steps away flushes water straight into the drain, literally.

At a time when residents are still pressed to follow responsible behaviors for water conservation, with mandatory water restrictions in effect and mantra on the City's home page reminding us that "working together, we can extend our water supply," this just looks pretty bad.

Hydrant flushing is necessary for water quality, sure. But couldn't we pipe this into trucks? Or, heck, into the American Tobacco river?

Update: The flushing's happening again this morning, same hydrant and all.

H-S: Struever Bros. faces $1m in liens on American Tobacco work

Today's Herald-Sun has a very good two-article story by business reporter Monica Chen on a subject that's been turning up more and more grumbling of late in the downtown community: the financial health of the American Tobacco Phase II renovations, headed by Baltimore developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse.

As Chen points out, while other downtown developers have finished up their recent work and gotten their subcontractors paid in a fairly timely fashion, some subcontractors are claiming that SBER still owes them big time for their work since 2006 on the project.

The businesses claim that Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, the Baltimore-based company redeveloping the historic tobacco factory buildings, owed them a total of $1.3 million and more for work done from 2006 to 2008. Of that, the company has resolved about $343,000 with interest and attorneys' fees.

Ken Reiter, senior development director with Struever Bros., said the company will pay the rest upon completion of the Old Bull building. Construction problems there have led to delays -- the source of Struever Bros.' financial problems, he said....

H-S looks at economic growth, widening income inequality in Durham

I sometimes ding the local media for focusing too much on the story-of-the-day, not enough on the big picture, analytical pieces that speak to broader trends of what's behind the story.

Hats off to the Herald-Sun, therefore, for picking up on a Brookings Institution story on metropolitan area economies and growth.

The report, available for download from the Brookings web site, tells the good and bad news of the Bull City's economic growth -- and engine that's moved the metro area ahead while leaving some citizens behind:

• Durham's average GDP per job grew by almost 3.4% from 2001-2005, compared to just over 1% for Greensboro and a rate more than 50% above the average growth level.
• All in all, Durham ranks 11th in the U.S. metro areas studied for productivity growth as measured by percent change in GDP per job over the period.
• Total GDP per job soared 14.1% in total from 2001-2005, compared to Raleigh's 3.1% growth over the same period (which was significantly worse than the 100-metro average of 9.5% growth.)
• The Bull City's MSA (including Chapel Hill) ranked #1 in the U.S. for PhD attainment rate (3.1%) and third for the share of population working in R&D -- behind just San Jose and Palm Bay, Fla.
• From an environmental perspective, Durhamites emit 20% fewer metric tons of carbon per capita than the average U.S. resident, though the average vehicle miles travelled for passenger and freight vehicles exceeds top-100 metro areas averages by one-ninth.
• For all the good news, though, Durham ranked seventh-worst in income inequality, with top earners in Durham-Chapel Hill earning almost seven times more than the lowest earners. (San Jose, not surprisingly, was the worst in this regard in the country.)

Read more over at the Herald-Sun or via the Brookings web site.

New owners close on Kings Daughters Inn, start construction this week

It's official: as we hinted at here last week, Colin and Deanna Crossman did officially close on the sale of the Kings Daughters Inn late last week.

The Buchanan Ave. old age home -- which is under covenants requiring the preservation of its historic appearance and prohibit its use for undergraduate housing -- is on its way to becoming a bed and breakfast at the edge of Duke's East Campus.

The list price for the home was a cool $2.5 million. Factor in another $1 million plus for renovations to the aging but grand structure and you're looking at a substantial investment on the west end of Trinity Park.

KeySource Bank here in Durham handled the financing for the project, providing capital funding at a crucial time amidst a national credit crunch.

The Crossmans held a kick-off party for friends and project supporters this weekend, but that'll be the last time the KDI is open to the public until the renovations complete next spring. Expect the so-called "moon suits" to enter in the next few days to begin asbestos abatement and the like as the first phase of renovation.

Eno Restaurant & Market to open at Greenfire's Rogers Alley

Foodies used to celebrating the opening of so many new dining options in and around the heart of the Bull City have another reason to rejoice: there's one more to add to the stable.

Eno Restaurant & Market is slated to open this winter at Greenfire's Rogers Alley development near City Hall, joining Dos Perros to bring a second dining option to the project. The Eno is the brainchild of software entrepreneur and Coon Rock Farm owner Richard Holcomb, Chef Sarig Agasi of Holcomb's popular Raleigh restaurant Zely & Ritz, and Jamie DeMent, a "foodie farmer" enthusiast.

As with Zely & Ritz -- named one of the top 20 organic restaurants in America by Organic Style magazine -- Eno Restaurant & Market will focus on local, sustainable food, particularly those grown at Coon Rock Farm but also including a number of others (including Chapel Hill Creamery, Harris Acres, Cane Creek Farm, and Celebrity Dairy.)

Golden Belt: Pre-leasing going well, artist studios almost all reserved

Some good news from the folks over at Golden Belt, who report that pre-leasing of the nicely designed live/work loft apartments is going well ahead of schedule. As of this writing, a little less than half of these units are pre-leased, according to a representative of Scientific Properties.

Which is a very decent clip indeed, especially when you consider that the entire complex has yet to open, and represents a first foothold in an historically disinvested part of the Bull City.

Meanwhile, the artist studio spaces adjacent to the residential section are almost completely reserved at this point, with just a small number remaining.

The first artists residential units are slated to get their inaugural occupants on July 1, with nine loft residents able to move in then. Another round comes in mid-July, with the remaining units available August 1. The artist studios will begin to be occupied on July 17.

Scientific notes it's still working on more announcements to come in the next few weeks, including a likely announcement of Golden Belt's first artist-scholar studio in residence. Scientific is also gearing up for the Jacob Lawrence exhibition -- the first of its kind outside of NYC -- in the coming months, as announced on WUNC's The State of Things back in May.

No definitive word yet on restaurant or entertainment/live music tenants for the complex, though the hint of more announcements to come in the coming months holds promise for more news of interest from the east-of-downtown redevelopment.

(For more on Golden Belt, see the earlier BCR posts on their residential and office/work spaces.)

Durham: More tech jobs, and still well ahead of the City of Oaks

This just in: Durham outdraws Raleigh on a per-capita basis for high-tech jobs in the latest report from the American Electronics Association, according to our friends at the Triangle Business Journal:

The combined metropolitan area boasted 70,600 high-tech jobs, with 37,100 in Raleigh and 33,500 in Durham. The AEA report ranks the cities separately, though their combined total of jobs would have been enough to rank the Raleigh-Durham 23rd in high-tech employment in 2006.

The cities also ranked highly in tech job concentration. Durham ranked fourth in the country, employing 16 percent of its private-sector workers in the tech industry, and Raleigh came in at 12th, with 9.5 percent of private-sector laborers in tech jobs.

Average annual salaries for the tech industry came in at $95,600 in Durham and $74,300 in Raleigh, both of which were higher than average private sector wages in the area.

On the flip side, we here at BCR would like to note that Raleigh does outrank Durham in a wide range of other employment factors. By our count, Raleigh outpaces Durham when measuring the number of county employees buying Disney theme park tickets on their corporate card, for instance, not to mention the number of public school teachers bringing so-called "guest speakers" to sprout anti-Islamic viewpoints.

But, hey, I'll see them those losses and take the high tech job count any day.