Southpoint mall gets approval for major addition - offices, hotels, apartments
One of the Triangle's most popular malls is gearing up for a major facelift.
The Durham City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to rezone the area around the Streets at Southpoint at 6910 Fayetteville Road.
Mayor Elaine O'Neal and Council Member Javiera Caballero voted against the rezoning.
The mall owners want to fill what is now a parking lot on the property with offices, hotels and hundreds of apartments. Southpoint owners could not speak Thursday with WRAL News but sent the following statement:
“The Streets at Southpoint is extremely pleased with the support and confidence shown by Durham’s City Council in approving our rezoning application,” the statement reads. “Building on our last 20 years of success as the region’s leading retail destination, we have been deeply committed to the community and are now equipped to adapt to the changing realities for urban malls and to meet increased competition.
“In the coming years, we will implement a phased approach to expand our retail offerings while evolving into a mixed-use district that benefits all. We look forward to continuing to be a vibrant retail destination and economic engine for Durham for years to come.”
Discover Durham said the Southpoint mall is the No. 1 visitor destination in the city, and the owners said building the development will keep driving people to Durham.
Crews would develop an empty parking lot at the site to a mixed-use property. The proposed development would have between 1.2 and 1.4 million square feet of commercial space, 300,000 square feet of office space, 200 hotel rooms and up to 1,382 apartments. The proposal does not include affordable housing.
Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows the fair-market rent in 2023 for the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area:
- Studio
- 2023: $1,128
- 2022: $1,024
- One-bedroom
- 2023: $1,134
- 2022: $1,030
- Two-bedroom
- 2023: $1,315
- 2022: $1,199
- Three-bedroom
- 2023: $1,669
- 2022: $1,546
- Four-bedroom
- 2023: $2,031
- 2022: $1,812
The lack of affordable housing was what prompted Durham City-County Planning Commission Chair Austin Amandolia to vote against it.
“The biggest concern that I have for it is whether people who may be working at the mall are able to live on site,” he said.
The planning commission voted 10-3 against the plan on March 14, but the commission can only provide a recommendation to the Durham City Council; council members can choose to vote how they see fit.
Southpoint has agreed to a $1 million donation to Durham Dedicated Housing Fund for affordable housing.
“Every dollar counts, but it doesn't add housing on site for people to be able to live, work and play if they can't afford the apartments that will be there,” Amandolia said.
Amandolia explained more specifically what he had in mind.
“It would be incredibly beneficial if someone who is working a $10 an hour job at the movie theater or one of the retail shops would be able to walk to work,” Amandolia said.
While Amandolia wishes affordable housing was part of the plan, he is in favor of replacing an empty parking lot and building upwards.
Southpoint's General Manager Pat Anderson said more than 2,000 people work at the Streets of Southpoint, it attracts 11 million visits each year and generates $14 million in tax revenue.
Anderson used to work at the Cary Towne Center, which got torn down in 2022. He told the Durham City Council he knows firsthand how the mall needs to adapt to survive.
“I've lived that story,” Anderson said. “I'm appealing to you to not let this happen over time to the Streets at Southpoint."
Durham Mayor Pro Tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton echoed Anderson’s sentiments.
“If Southpoint stays the way Southpoint is, it will become Cary Town Center at some point,” Middleton said. “There's no doubt.”
Durham City Council Member Jillian Johnson, who – like Middleton – also voted in favor of the rezoning, explained why she voted in favor of the rezoning.
“It's a very obvious improvement on what currently exists, which is underutilized parking lots,” Johnson said. “It's also, I think, it's hard to want to approve a project in an area where there are lots of jobs that don't pay very much."
Southpoint has also committed to a donation to Durham Public Schools, building more bus stops and improving sidewalks in the area. The developers said the project will be a multi-phase, multi-year plan.
"I think this will be a positive thing for Durham,” Amandolia said. “I think just having the higher density in general signifies to developers that it's possible to build higher density in Durham, and we need more of that elsewhere."
