American Tobacco Project drives urban renewal

Just down the street from the gritty center of Durham, a row of old brick factories is finally starting to look like an oasis in the middle of an urban desert.

The American Tobacco complex serves as a visible memorial to Durham's now-defunct tobacco past, where the whir of machines that turned out Lucky Strikes by the thousands used to drown out most other noise. Now the drone of power drills serves as the backdrop for a massive renovation and revitalization effort to turn the old factories into a modern office park and shopping center.

Capitol Broadcasting Co., the project developer that also owns the Durham Bulls, is trying to turn the old strip of factories into a new destination point that will reinvigorate the center of the City of Medicine.

    

All that remains of the cigarette legacy is the buildings and the name.

"The project is, I think, viewed by many as a real, potential catalyst for the revitalization of downtown Durham," said John Burness, Duke's senior vice president for public affairs and government relations.

Duke was the first major tenant to sign up for space in the buildings, and with 150,000 square feet, holds the largest lease.

Since the University is tax-exempt, the city generates no money from Duke's rent. But the University's presence has been instrumental in convincing other businesses to lease the space, developers said.

"We're trying to help by moving people in there," Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said, "but at some point, I'd much rather have rich, taxable corporations."

Some of these businesses have already begun to move into the yet-unfinished office space. Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is already unpacking into part of its 88,000-square-foot office, and more than 400 employees are expected to occupy the space by the end of July.

Other tenants, including Compuware, advertising agency McKinney+Silver and venture capital fund Intersouth Partners, are also starting to move in.

As of July 14, workers still swarmed around the area and hard hats and safety goggles were required attire for a stroll past the fledgling development, but by July 24 the space will be finished enough to host a jazz concert by the legendary Ellis Marsalis Quartet.

On a recent tour, Goodmon gestured to a vacant storefront that vaguely resembles a corporate coffee shop and explained that the bay where he was standing would eventually become the project's main lobby "because wherever Starbucks is, is where your action's going to be."

That lobby also includes a passageway that will serve as a link between the American Tobacco Project, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and two new parking garages paid for with city and county money.

"If this ends up being just another office park, Capitol Broadcasting has really failed at what it's trying to do," Goodmon said.

His company is billing the project as a place to live, work and play; but also as a place to start exploring. It hopes that people drawn to the American Tobacco Project will cross the train tracks in downtown Durham and increase foot traffic along Main Street.

Even the construction of the project aims to help Durham's economy. Some of the development agreements the company made with the city and the county mandate that Capitol Broadcasting make an effort to hire minority and female subcontractors.

The company came under fire earlier this summer for not awarding enough contracts to such businesses. Spokespeople from Capitol Broadcasting said at the time that they were still working to fulfill the stipulations.

Matt Sullivan contributed to this story.