CRAVER'S COMMENTS

October 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

·         WAIT ‘TIL YOU SEE THIS!

·         THE GOOD FIGHT

               

FUTURE ISSUES

        EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS OR SO. I HAVE REALLY BEEN SLOW THIS TIME.

 

THINGS TO BE PROUD OF

  IT WAS A TREMENDOUS HONOR RECENTLY TO BE ELECTED PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE DURHAM ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS FOR NEXT YEAR. THIS NEARLY 1,000 MEMBER ORGANIZATION IS WORKING VERY HARD FOR THE RIGHTS OF PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE TRIANGLE. I PROMISE NOT TO LET THIS NEW RESPONSIBILITY INTERFERE WITH MY BUSINESS BUT I SUSPECT MY GOLF WILL SUFFER.

DID YOU KNOW?

        CARLY FIORINA, CEO OF HEWLETT-PACKARD,   NAMED BY FORTUNE MAGAZINE AS THE MOST POWERFUL BUSINESS WOMAN IN THE US IS A DURHAM JORDAN HIGH GRAD!

 

WAIT ‘TIL YOU SEE THIS!

    I was fortunate enough to get the two-hour tour of the American Tobacco Complex recently. To say I was amazed and impressed would be to greatly understate the result of the tour. Having lived in this state my entire life I cannot think of another spot statewide that will be quite as unique as this one. Hats off to Capital Broadcasting Co. for their vision, their guts, and their ability to spend this much money. This may be one of free enterprise’s finest hours.

     First of all, I did not know what I expected to see other than some rehabbed office space with a few shops. What Durham, the Triangle, and the State are getting is a town within a town. The American Tobacco Complex will become a destination spot. Imagine in one wave of the investment wane downtown Durham will be transformed from a place that you do not go in the daytime unless you have specific business there and you never go to at night, to one of the premier destination locations in the entire region. How are they going to do this you ask?

     I’m sure that I cannot adequately describe what they are trying to accomplish but here’s an attempt. Imagine yourself strolling through the shops and restaurants of Blowing Rock (but with less elevation change) or Beaufort (with more elevation change). Picture the nightlife of Shockoe Slip in Richmond or Old Town in Alexandria but with more focus and organization. Your visit will begin with an easy exit off the Durham Freeway. That is the big road through the Triangle that does not come to a complete halt twice a day. You will park in one of two parking decks currently under construction at each end of the complex where you can safely enter and leave with no concerns. A third deck will be built in the next phase. Entering the main street of the complex, I wonder if they will name it Tobacco Road? The main street will be a wide yet cozy stroll through history. All of the buildings will be original, some dating back to the late 1800’s including the first permanent tobacco factory in the country. The one-quarter mile long street will drop fifty feet in elevation from north to south. Cascading down the middle of the entire length of the street will be a stream, pausing half way down its journey, in a small lake surrounding the original water tower for the complex. Under the water tower will be a concert stage and across the lake will be an amphitheater seating 1,200 people. Currently live music is being planned for at least two evenings a week for the enjoyment of the shoppers. The street will be lined with high-ceilinged buildings ranging from two to six stories high. The street level spaces will be filled with shops, restaurants, and a microbrewery. Wide covered sidewalks and patios line the entire way with an emphasis being placed on landscaping. Towering over the street will be the water tower and the famous Lucky Strike smoke stack as well as an interesting array of conveyor systems and catwalks restored to enhance the atmosphere. At the upper end of the street will be a large covered pavilion available for dances, festivals, and wedding receptions. The upper floors of the complex are being leased by businesses. The four anchor tenants, Duke University, Glaxo Smith Kline, Compuware, and McKinney and Silver, guarantee a steady flow of people through the complex all day long.

     Phase One which I have just described is scheduled to open in June of 2004. They say they will meet that time line but there is a lot of work to be done. Phases Two, estimated to be three years out, will include the residential component. There are both hotel and condo plans in the works for the north end of the complex or some combination thereof. The overall vision does not stop there. Across the street next to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park the city has cleared away the old bus station to make way for a third parking deck and a concert hall. As for seating capacity, the number 4,000 is the one you hear the most. Capital Broadcasting, which also owns the Bulls, has plans for a new office building to be built behind the left field wall similar to the one they own behind right field.

     The City of Durham has embarked on a long-term project to spruce up downtown. This includes continued development of Durham Central Park. That is the area adjacent to the old Durham Athletic Park (the one from the movie Bull Durham). Also included in this plan is the realignment of some downtown streets and the addition of some new park area in the central city. The intention is to tie Durham Central Park to the American Tobacco Complex.

     The only thing missing here is the Terry Sanford Center for the Performing Arts. American Tobacco is already negotiating with the American Dance Festival to relocate to the complex. The Sanford Center that is tentatively scheduled to reside off Blue Ridge Road in west Raleigh on some land made available by the state in an effort to keep it in the Capital City, is struggling to raise enough money to start construction. Raleigh has already spent lots of money upgrading the BTI Center into a wonderful facility. It seems foolish to make such an effort to duplicate facilities when the natural home for the Sanford Center should be in downtown Durham next to the American Tobacco Complex. This was Sanford’s home and where he did most of his good works. I hope the city officials and the citizens of Durham get behind the effort to bring this final jewel to what will surely be the entertainment crown of North Carolina.

 

THE GOOD FIGHT

    The Durham Association of Realtors and other civic groups fought the good fight in an effort to stop the Durham County Commissioners from imposing impact fees on its citizens. No group of people in this county wants better schools more than Realtors. We lost this fight and fear the long tern repercussions for taxpayers and businesses that depend on future growth.  What scared me the most was that while watching the Commissioners at work I realized that they are anti free enterprise, anti growth, and anti common sense. The good news is that you the voter can change this situation in the future. I am hearing serious rumblings from the building and development communities about current policies. Keep an eye on who “volunteers” to pay impact fees and who gets their new project approved and those who don’t.