Even More Apts Coming Downtown (509 N Mangum)

TBJ has an article on this but I don’t have a subscription unfortunately. Plans for a 6 story building with 183 total apartments right next to the Mangum Flats condo building. Unbelievable the amount of residential development planned or underway downtown. Realize it’s a difficult time for retail and entertainment but eventually we need more things to actually do for all these new residents!

Some how I've been able to read their articles without an account. But there is not much information in the article. Only that the property is owned by Sheila Duncan and Larry Sloan Jr.’s LS & SD, LLC, which paid $400,000 for the property in 2002. And the architect is Cline Design Associates. They did not receive a call back for more info such as cost or timeline.  Should be around 263k square feet.

You are right.  That area in particular has seen a lot of residential growth, with even more planned.

Hugely disappointed to see no ground-floor retail here, especially with the sheer amount of new housing being built along Mangum. Mangum could really become a vibrant commercial/mixed-use corridor in the next decade or so, but we'll just end up with no street life if it continues this way.

Agreed that it would be a great spot for ground floor retail.

I think in Durham, retail is a gamble and housing is a sure-fire bet, though. I wish more developers would make that bet (yes, the United States has far too much retail space, but the problem areas are the defunct malls, not the growing downtowns).

That said, I think there is more room for Durham to grow and in the long run, I think the increased density will lead to more "obvious" demand for retail in the future.

...or retail is dead and we all live 90% of our lives in a digital world... just kidding.