Downtown Durham, NC? Nothing To See Here. Move Along.

If you were born and raised in Eastern North Carolina, as I was, you know how we got our economic start. We were a cotton and tobacco economy, pure and simple. As the child of a cotton merchant I dove off many a cotton bale into loose samples of cotton piled high in a warehouse. I know the smell of cured tobacco in an auction warehouse before it was moved to the cigarette factory.

Durham meant tobacco. Block after block of red brick warehouses and plants, the first of which was built in 1874. The huge arched windows and smoke stacks that looked like cigarettes, the water towers bearing familiar brand logos and the railroad tracks weaving throughout told you exactly where you were. A few blocks up the road another red brick plant with palladium windows went up in 1900 so the Golden Belt Manufacturing Company could began turning cotton into thread and manufacturing the cloth pouches for all that Durham tobacco.

You have to forgive us North Carolina natives for not going easily down the road when overwhelming evidence showed that smoking was bad for our health. It had been good for our families. But that fight has already been fought and what was left in the aftermath were all those red brick buildings and railroad tracks...and a dying downtown Durham. Move along.

It was true throughout the '70s, '80s, and into the '90s...nothing to see here. Durham, NC – one half of Raleigh-Durham and one third of The Triangle Region – home to the RTP, Research Triangle Park, one of the most concentrated areas of growth in the country for healthcare, bio tech, high tech and research companies, and surrounded by three, yes, THREE, tier one universities and countless smaller ones. So why has this area of the country fared better than many during this economic downturn? Reread the last sentence.

Why, then, would downtown Durham have simply been ignored all that time? Because we were lucky. At least as viewed through the lens of a dynamic 21^st century downtown economic development team; we were lucky. Or at least we are lucky to have visionaries like Bill Kalkhof, the President of Downtown Durham, Inc., in our midst. Lucky that no one thought to come in and tear down the buildings of our tobacco and cotton heritage. I was lucky enough to spend a day in February 2010 with Carver Weaver, Director of Business Retention for the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce and one of her colleagues, Matthew Coppedge, as they showed off their enthusiasm for a Durham rising once again to the top of its game.

As real estate agents committed to truly knowing the communities in which we live, work and play, a group of Allen Tate Realtors climbed into a white van for a drive through the present and future of The Bull City. After a two hour tour of the places I 'see but don't see' everyday, I'm not sure they aren't right about being lucky. Did some folks and their businesses get the short end of the stick with the rise of suburbia in the '70s when the “loop” was built to divert traffic around downtown Durham? Yes. Did Durham suffer the blight of being a decaying urban area and all the hardships which ensue because of that? Yes. Did Durham get a bad reputation and did the folks who were left behind find it tough going for too long? Absolutely. But is there a city better poised than Durham to springboard to success when all these bad economic winds abate? No!

Remember all those red brick warehouses? Block after block of buildings sporting palladium windows, massive wooden posts and beams and heart pine floors? Any guess what it would cost to build something like that in today's market? Any idea what local developers committed to reclaiming and re-purposing those buildings might be able to envision? Any clue what happens when a city partners with private business to return itself to a former glory?

For starters, think the American Tobacco Campus. Then head east to the Golden Belt art campus. On the way you'll pass the Durham Performing Arts Center and the wonderful new Durham Bulls Athletic Park. No, not the same venue as the one shown in the movie “Bull Durham” but not to worry, that one has been restored too. It's located in the Central Park area, near the Durham Farmers Market, and soon to be a venue for music events and winter ice skating.

There is Brightleaf Square, the first warehouse area reclaimed by forward thinking local business folks back in the '80s. It became a shopping and restaurant destination all on its own for many years. Once again updated in 2004, Brightleaf anchors the western edge of a revitalized Durham downtown.

The heart of downtown or the City Center area is home to Parrish Street, also known as the “Black Wall Street” and it's historic value is being preserved and honored. The City Center is home to the Durham Arts Council and to Greenfire Development, a company whose mission is to improve the overall quality of life in Durham by creating opportunities and whose very name is meant to indicate their understanding of the interconnectedness of people and communities, even forgotten ones.

There is so much more. What you really need to know though is that Durham, NC is back! It has a walkability score of 94 out of 100! It is home to world class restaurants, a thriving arts community, historic preservation and festivals celebrating everything from Civil War Re-enactment to Beer! Durham has reknowned medical facilities, music, museums, beautiful parks, Broadway entertainment and some pretty awesome sports! For a real treat check out this photo blog of A Photo Love Letter to Durham by Jessie Gladin-Kramer.

Wondering where you could go to live and work in a community poised for greatness and endless possibility? Ready to be part of building something sustainable and beautiful while honoring history? Wondering if there is a place you can afford to live yet still have infinite choices of things to do with your free time?

Call me...I think I might have a few ideas....

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American Tobacco Campus photo by J S North:http://www.flickr.com/photos/joephotos/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Durham Skyline photo by Ildar Sagdejev: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2008-07-12_Durham_skyline.jpg