Durham OKs 1,000+ new apartments and townhomes, but one project squeaks through

Developers won approval Monday night to build 1,165 new apartments and townhouses across Durham despite significant opposition to the largest project.

The City Council voted to approve rezonings for three new developments:

• Aventon Harris Farm: 490 apartments

• Coca-Cola bottling plant: 405 apartments and townhomes

• South Miami Boulevard assemblage: 270 apartments

Aventon Harris Farm

Residents of southern Durham came out in force to oppose a 490-unit apartment complex proposed in their community.

“The more people, the more crime,” said Frances Small, who owns a home in a neighborhood across the street. “Building this will have a negative effect on traffic, property values, the environment, crime and safety. Please vote no.”

The proposed complex is on 40 undeveloped acres where Fayetteville Road meets N.C. 751, an area of mostly single-family neighborhoods.

“There are no connected sidewalks in this development, no bike trails or mass transit, and no near-term plans for any,” said nearby homeowner Peter Gastelle. “In essence, every trip for every resident of this development will be a car trip.”

But Aventon Companies and Kelley Development, both based in North Carolina, won over a majority of City Council members by promising affordable units.

Here’s what’s planned:

• A three-story “modern farmhouse” design. Each unit will have a balcony or patio.

• 50 affordable units in a separate building priced for those at 60% of the area median income for 30 years.

• 5,000 square feet of coworking space.

The City Council vote was 4-3, with Javiera Caballero, Leonardo Williams, Jillian Johnson and Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton voting in favor. DeDreana Freeman, Monique Holsey-Hyman and Mayor Elaine O’Neal voted no.

Coca-Cola bottling plant

An aging Coca-Cola bottling plant will be replaced with hundreds of residential units and a grocery store after a unanimous vote.

The 12-acre property is at 3214 Hillsborough Road, along a commercial thoroughfare lined with stores, restaurants and strip malls.

Plans show the building will be demolished for:

• Approximately 370 apartments and 35 for-sale townhomes.

• A “high-end organic” supermarket and handful of other shops.

• 520 spaces in a parking deck not visible from the road.

The Atlanta-based firm Ardent is behind the project. Construction is about two years out, its attorney said Monday.

Ardent offered to set aside some of the housing units as affordable based on the area’s median income:

• 5% of the apartments affordable for 10 years (half priced for those at 80% of the AMI and half for those at 100%)

• Five of the townhomes affordable for 30 years for people at 80% of the AMI

Durham Coca-Cola Bottling Co. — a locally owned bottler that holds contracts with Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper and Monster Energy — owns the property, though it plans to sell the land and move to Apex next year.

The vote was unanimous, and the rezoning was supported by the neighboring Watts Hospital-Hillandale Neighborhood Association. President Dot Doyle said they were glad to have townhomes between the existing single-family homes and planned five-story apartments.

“Those townhomes will be three stories,” Doyle said Monday night. “That three-story part acts as a buffer and mitigates some of the height and density, which was a real concern for neighbors.”

Apartments near Research Triangle Park

The smallest project will be built on a 13.6-acre assemblage of properties at 2610 S. Miami Blvd:

• 270 apartments

• 5% affordable at 60% of the area median income for 30 years

The land is forested and situated in a busy section of the primarily commercial corridor, less than a mile from Research Triangle Park.

The vote in favor of the apartments, being developed by East Wake Industrial, was unanimous.