The Rumors Are True: Harris Teeter is Coming to Ninth Street (updated)

After the closing of George's Garage in 2009, the former site languished as the rumor mill swirled. What was known at the time was that the developers,Terry Sanford Jr. and Clay Hammer, had grand designs for the space, including a wholesale redevelopment of the property. But in the wake of the financial crisis these plans did not materialize, and the former site of the restaurant sat vacant and unused. One persistent rumor (aside from an amusing episode when the neighborhood listservs lit up at the prankster's mention of Hooters coming to that location) was that a new Harris Teeter was going to take up the space.

With the spate of new development in the area, it appears the coming of Harris Teeter to Ninth Street is now imminent, at least judging by a large sign erected behind the former George's Garage's building on the corner of W. Markham and Ninth Street. Little else is known beyond that:  the square footage of the new store, whether the old building is going to be razed and -- if so -- how this new development is going to be integrated into the existing cityscape of Ninth Street.

**UPDATE: OWD neighbors indicate that the new Harris Teeter is going to be around 48,000 square feet and will feature exactly the same floor plan as the other Harris Teeter in Durham at Willowhaven Shopping Center.  It is an ugly, car-orinted building, just as I had feared. Far more preferable, although apparently not likely, is the urban design of the new Harris Teeter on Jenkins Row (Potomac), in Washington DC, a rapidly gentrifying community to the South East of the Capital.

Harris Teeter on 1505 Horton Road in Durham

Harris Teeter in Washington, DC

Likely location of our new Harris Teeter

As Reyn Bowman points out in his excellent piece on the dangers of Harris Teeter in this location, large chain grocery store with its car-centric culture and parking-lot oriented architecture is hardly the best tenant for  "a funky, gritty, organic, indigenous district." Not only the typical square footage of Harris Teeter far exceeds that of any other Ninth Street business, but, as Reyon correctly notes, the corporatization of Ninth Street can take away much of its charm and uniqueness. Let's hope that the developers are conscious of the unique character of this neighborhood and design a store that fits the mold of Ninth Street rather than attempts to change it into a bland version of Erwin Terrace.

A More Organic Grocery Alternative For Ninth Street!

As I settled back into Durham after my most recent cross-country, I read of speculation that a giant Harris Teeter may be planned right next to one of Durham’s organic and indigenous districts.
If the developer is who I surmise, there is no one who has done more to sensitively revitalize both the Downtown and Ninth Street districts and he does his homework. He cares.
But it seems to me there are much more complimentary grocery stores for an area like the Ninth Street District and hopefully developers aren’t rushing to beat the master plan in the final stages of review which wouldn’t permit something that out of synch.
New Harris Teeters run 70,000 sf which is why some have nick-named them “MajorTeeters,” a name we also affectionately gave the Grand Tetons looming above where I grew up in that nook of Idaho, pardon the pun.
That is nearly twice the size of a traditional supermarket.
I can see why Harris Teeter wants to get back into this area.  It was a huge mistake when it pulled out of the nearbyNorthgate complex as it was being renovated.  Someone obviously made the mistake that a lot of feasibility people do and neglected to realize the “black hole” on demographic maps is in reality, Duke University, one of the largest employers in the state.
The Ninth Street District already has Whole Foods, formerly Wellspring Grocery, which was originally located where the old Scarborough Grocery was and Magnolia Grill is now and then moved to the site that later became the former George’s Garage, both locations were right on Ninth Street and a perfect fit.
There are other, smaller alternatives perfect for Ninth Street, if another grocery store is needed.
At 30,000 sf, smaller than a traditional supermarket, aBloom Grocery Store, an upscale, tech-savvy “different kind of grocery store” concept based in Salisbury, would work much better in that location.  I saw a Bloom’s for the first time last year in the Dilworth neighborhood, a similar historic area of Charlotte.
Or maybe even better in size would be a MOM’s which run about 11,000 sf like the one in in College Park, Maryland where the owner ignored advice about demographics because he knew it was the right fit.  Mom’s are about the size of the old Wellspring (now Whole Foods) when it was directly on Ninth Street.
Don’t get me wrong. Harris Teeter is personally my favorite traditional supermarket.  I just don’t think it is a good fit in a funky, gritty, organic, indigenous district.  It could kill a Ninth Street.
If communities have a choice and want to thrive economically in the future,be very careful to sustain indigenous districts.  Just ask the folks down in Chapel Hill where a Gap store came and went and Franklin Street has never been the same.
I hope the speculation turns out to be unfounded because one things for sure, based on the Chapel Hill experience: a big box can destroy an organic district, but pulling it back out later won’t restore one.