The ultimate opportunity has now evolved for those wanting to be Downtown Dwellers no matter the size of their pocketbook. With all these amenities in-house, you can live like a millionaire for only $74,500. Wittenberg Distinctive Properties invites you to the experience of Duke Studio Condominiums. With the reasonable homeowner's fees including all your utilities, HBO/cable, high-speed cable internet access, concierge and security services, the outstanding value becomes apparent.

Enjoy the many amenities not found at any other condominium in the Carolinas -- an indoor swimming pool, exercise facility, media and conference rooms, and just an elevator ride away from a delightful in-house dining facility. There is also a business center with wireless internet access and a very inviting and cozy residents' lounge where you can relax with friends and neighbors.

Durham NC - Duke Studio Condominiums - Wittenberg Distinctive Properties

Issue #1: Wittenberg hasn't done much to beautify the exterior of the property; it looks, well, just like it did when it was a struggling hotel, which is to say a multi-floor plain white box straight out of the 80s. It's not in scale with its main neighbor and doesn't really add much to the skyline. Like the Duke Tower project before, it's just kind of ... there, between downscale and mid-market, with the ambiance of a hotel corridor to greet you. Compare this to the Mangum 506 project, which started at a price range just above the Duke Studio rehab but which features a hip, urban appearance.

Issue #2: Just when Jim Goodmon and son are doing so much to revitalize downtown with American Tobacco, Wittenberg walks in, takes an old hotel, and sells it out as condos, which means (given the divided ownership interests to result soon) that the whole thing is going to be with us for a very, very long time. Go figure that right across the street, the University Ford lot is scheduled to become Phase Four of the American Tobacco project. (No, I didn't know this until recently myself, but check out this map from the ATC web site for details. I'm assuming there's some sort of purchase option in place supporting it.) Of course, AT Phase Four may be 10+ years away, depending on how long it takes the market to absorb Phase Two and the still-unbuilt Phase Three. But rest assured, that when it does, it will forever have an ugly, downscale old hotel across the street to keep it company.

Sure beats the decrepit former Holiday Inn down W. Chapel Hill Blvd. (written about recently and well at Endangered Durham), but really, can't we do better than this?