Phoenix Crossing

I was browsing through an old colleague's website and came across this project. Haven't yet asked him what stage it's in, i.e. if this is very loose concept/master-planning or if it's a project that is actually happening.

In any case, the idea of pedestrian-oriented development along Fayetteville Street to begin to rebuild an urban neighborhood where Hayti used to exist is really exciting. Coupled with the future redevelopment of Heritage Square and the city's plans to reduce the scale of this road through some combination of bus-lanes, wider sidewalks and street parking, I could see a future where this starts to feel like an extension of downtown, or at least a downtown-adjacent urban neighborhood.



Check it out - more pics here.

It would be great if you could find out more info. I've been growing impatient to hear what will become of Heritage Square which sold almost a year ago (401 E Lakewood LLC? Hello? Are you listening? An update please?!?!).

I haven't heard of any sales with Phoenix Crossing so this seems a little out of left field. But that rendering looks awesome. Combined, a redevelopment of both the Heritage and Phoenix lots would be huge. Thanks for sharing!

mjp, if there’s anything I’ve learned from watching these big projects it’s that they take forever to launch. Austin Lawrence has owner the South Bank site since 2013.  Capitol Broadcasting bought the University Ford site in 2016 and was holding public forums about the project way back in 2017. Neither of those projects appears to be anywhere close to breaking ground.

I'll see what I can find out.

You're right that it seems a little out of left field, because a development like this is completely out of character for the Hesters... For anyone unfamiliar with their history with the city, read this. And watch this gem of a video! Maybe they've had a change of heart.

@Durham_Transplant oh I know it! Not expecting anything for years.

@elevatoroperator thanks for looking into it. I considered bringing up the past history with this shopping center (particularly the request for $500k in redevelopment funds from the City five years ago) but decided not to. But since you brought it up, yes, that history definitely made this news all the more surprising.