Harris Teeter on Ninth Street - Design Plans Revealed

There has been a further update on Harris Teeter plans and its looks worse than expected: to skirt the new Ninth Street zoning, the developers submitted plans to convert the area between Station Nine Apartments on the west side and George's Garage on the east side into a big-box Harris Teeter with a square footage of almost 52,000 sq. ft. and a 200-car parking lot facing the street.

The south side of the store will be facing new Circle Nine Apartments. The description, as conveyed by Tom Miller of OWD Neighborhood Association is reprinted in full after the break. If I understand correctly, there is not much the neighborhood can do legally at this point, as the builders have secured all the necessary permits to start construction. But I wonder if organized and vociferous neighborhood opposition can persuade them to alter their plans in a way that would seek to make the store more cohesive and consistent with the historic nature of the neighborhood.

The store of this size, built without any regard to local neighborhood wishes and in direct contravention to the new zoning ordinance, may permanently alter the character of the neighborhood and set back Durham's efforts to encourage high density mixed-use development in the area. In fact, it would make a mockery of these efforts! For some perspective, take a look at a similar monstrosity that Harris Teeter built in Durham sometime ago.

Please read more about the Harris Teeter plans below. I really hope these developers listen to reason. If not reason, perhaps they would listen to neighborhood-wide boycott of the store. I, for one, will not set foot in a grocery store that seeks to destroy what makes Ninth Street unique.

Harris Teeter Site Plan Filed

Right around the first of the year, the folks at Erwin Square filed
a site plan with the city for a big box grocery store in the northern third
of the "grassy field" that stretches between Hillsborough Road and Main
Street. Although the folks at the grocery chain's headquarters won't
confirm it, it is an open secret that the new store will be a Harris Teeter.

The plan envisions a 52,000 sq. ft., one-level store on the site.
It will face east and back up to the Erwin Square axial drive. In this
configuration the Station Nine apartment complex will look out over the
store's loading dock and service areas. Surface parking for more than 200
autos will occupy the space in front of the store. Access to the site will
be the drive off Hillsborough Road at the north end of the building that
once held George's Garage. According to Erwin Square spokesman Eddie Belk,
the store layout will be identical to the Harris Teeter store on Guess Road
(where the Willowdale movie theater used to be).

By filing the site plan before the city council adopted the new
Ninth Street zoning regulations, the Erwin Square folks secured the right to
build the store under the old zoning regulations. It would be very
difficult to build a traditional big box store with a large surface parking
lot under the new regulations which favor a mix of uses, structured parking,
and a more pedestrian-friendly design. The same site plan also includes the
old George's garage building and secures for its Erwin Square owners the
right to redevelop that property under the old regulations as well.