The Suburban-Style McDonald's in Downtown Durham

Original Post: https://www.buildingbullcity.com/2020/08/the-suburban-style-mcdonalds-in.html

Just looked it up, the land is owned by McDonald's Corporation. https://property.spatialest.com/nc/durham/#/property/103000

It was built in 1989.  

Many McD's are getting facelifts https://www.qsrmagazine.com/fast-food/mcdonalds-spending-6-billion-nationwide-remodels . " McDonald’s is forking up about $214 million in North Carolina for more than 430 restaurants. "  The article says to be completed in 2020, maybe we still will get one?   I know they did the one in South Square (although I don't really think it looks better).  

To your point, it most definitely is a hindrance on the walkability of that area.

Thanks for the comment and thanks for that extra research. Very interesting.

Part of me actually hopes that they don't end up renovating that McDonald's. If they put money into it, I would guess that means that they expect it to be there for a while. Maybe their lack of attention to it means that they are waiting for the right time to sell.

Of course, many of the parcels in this area were the sites of former tobacco warehouses. When that enterprise went down, large lots were available cheaply in what was then an undesirable area. Two other examples of this type of development are the downtown YMCA and the Durham County Senior Center.

I have heard rumors for a while about the YMCA redeveloping so that they still have space, but other uses are added to that site.

Who knows where in the process (if at all) that project is, but it would also be helped out by a conversion of the loop to 2-way, with only 2 lanes and plenty of good pedestrian facilities.

Looks like that McDonald's is no longer... the signs have been taken down and The Google says it's "permanently closed." Searching for information about what is going to replace it.... hopefully something that is much prettier and less car dependent.

Very interesting. Obviously Dave and others have been eyeing this site for awhile. Will be very interesting to watch what comes next.

It's going to become even more apparent that the loop needs to be converted into a two way, pedestrian friendly street.

With open parcels of land in downtown Durham becoming more and more scarce, they really need to tear this down and build up to maximize space. I've love to see another skyscraper, although this time with affordable housing...