Blue Devil Ventures showcased its "grand vision" to revitalize downtown Durham when it unveiled architectural plans to convert the Liggett & Meyers Tobacco Company warehouse buildings into hundreds of residential units last night at the Durham Chamber of Commerce.
Tom Neimann, the managing partner of BDV, said that BDV has received many inquiries about leasing the apartments and has already established a deal with the University and Glaxo-Wellcome.
"As of today we have a commitment from Glaxo-Wellcome-CEO Bob Ingram-and Dr. Trask of Duke University, speaking on behalf of Duke University and the Medical Center.... All three of those entities are going to master lease with us," Niemann said.
Niemann said that Trask, executive vice president of the University, wants to use the West End Village apartments to house visiting faculty, professors, graduate students and Medical Center employees. BDV is working on similar ventures with North Carolina Central University and Durham Technical College, he added.
Blue Devil Ventures was formed just over two years ago and includes four principals-brothers Dan and Tom Niemann and former Duke basketball players, Brian Davis and Christian Laettner. The group's decision to renovate the Liggett property, Niemann said, is simply an extension of work already in progress, such as the revitalization plan of 1990, the Durham Central Park Plan and the Durham 2020 plan.
"Our plan, we felt, fit very well within those three plans, and we felt it would be a stimulus for other activity in the area," Niemann said. "We wanted to pick a really strong project that we could focus on initially. We thought there was no better use of our time and our combined resources than to try to do an adaptive reuse project of downtown Durham."
The technical details of the plan were explained by Eddie Belk, the project's designing architect, who was also responsible for the renovation of Brightleaf Square in 1980.
The project's site, Belk said, occupies a two-and-a half block area, utilizing Toms, Hicks, Flowers, Cooper and Power House buildings within the old Liggett complex. Within those structures are 238 apartment units and 31,000 sq. ft. of space for commercial use, he said.
"We hope our project is that enjoyable pathway that allows the journey from Brightleaf Square to the Arts Council downtown to be so pleasant, and so safe, and so secure, and just so varied in interest... that we become the link between the two," Belk said.
Niemann said that when completed, the residential units will only be leased because there is a strong demand for rental housing. Furthermore, people are not willing to "ante up" and purchase a unit until they see how successful the project is. He added that the kind of people who will live in these apartments will most likely be graduate and professional school students, relocated business people and "empty nesters."
Security was an issue that was discussed at the meeting, and both Niemann and Belk acknowledged that it was crucial for the project's successful development.
Belk said that the buildings will have gates to secure the site after hours and walking patrols of security guards at all hours. He added that there will also be a good monitoring system as well as controlled access to the entrance of each building.
Tom White, vice president of economic development at the Chamber of Commerce, said he was pleased with the plans introduced by Niemann. He said that the West End Village will naturally increase the demand for goods and services and will help to revitalize Durham's central business district.
"[The West Village Project] could have an investment catalyst effect where you wind up having other things take place in the vicinity," he said.
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