The wheels have been set in motion for the construction of a new megamall in south Durham, but not all local residents are excited about beginning the journey.
Last night, the City-County Planning Commission voted 6-1 in favor of recommending to approve rezoning two parcels of land which, if the Durham City Council approves, will be converted to high-density commercial areas.
Urban Retail Properties of Chicago plans to build a shopping mall called Southpoint on the 140-acre tract; the other plot will be developed with apartment buildings, offices, restaurants and hotels.
The City Council will make the final decision on rezoning the land in January at the earliest, said Dick Hales, a member of the City-County Planning Staff.
The larger tract is currently zoned for residential use only and the 100-acre tract is zoned for low-density mixed-use.
The vote comes after weeks of action from both sides of the issue. Both Southpoint proponents and Citizens Against Urban Sprawl Everywhere, a community organization founded to combat the Southpoint development, have produced glossy fliers and lobbied city officials.
The 1.3-million square foot, $200-million project has many opponents. One of the most vocal is South Square mall, which would be forced to close if its department stores jumped ship to join the new mall, said Howard Phillips, one of South Square's owners.
Phillips maintained Southpoint would not only hurt South Square, which is located just four miles from the proposed site, but could also reduce demand for nearby businesses. "I'm not sure that when you balance the ledger the city will get a good deal," he said. "Durham's urban center has grown up around South Square."
That argument, however, did not hold with commission members. "We may not like it, but change is coming," said member Thomas Davis
Ted Abernathy, Durham's economic development director, said the mall and retail center would generate millions of dollars in property and sales tax annually, and would draw shoppers from Chatham and Wake Counties. He dismissed Phillips' claim that this growth would be outweighed by negative effect on South Square. "South Square did once serve as a base for surrounding growth," he said. "But the daily workers and the offices are what anchor it now."
Citizens packed the meeting hall to speak out against the rezoning, many of them decrying the congestion that would accompany Southpoint.
Resident Frank O'Neill won applause after claiming the development would degrade the environment, overcrowd schools and cause safety problems. "There's more to the quality of life than shopping," he said.
Other community members pointed out that the city lacks the infrastructure needed to support such a project. "The traffic will be awful-it's already awful," said Pat Boccono, president of CAUSE.
But Hales, a member of the City-Council Planning Staff which recommended rezoning to the Commission, said Southpoint would build the roads needed to sustain increased traffic. He added that tax revenues would generate more money needed to better south Durham's infrastructure.
After the vote, Jim Farrell, senior vice president of Urban Retailers, said he was excited about building a major development in Durham. "We've been working for a year to address [residents'] concerns, and I think we've already addressed them."
Commission member Larry Holt, who cast the only dissenting vote, said he was not so sure about the proposal. "We're not planning," he said. "We're doing disaster implementation."
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