Well-Known Grocery Chain Chooses $200 million Triangle Development

A new mixed-use development is moving forward in north Durham on the former Durham Coca-Cola Bottling Warehouse site.

Atlanta-based The Ardent Companies has secured several retail tenants for its $200 million Westside Bottling project ahead of a groundbreaking planned for next month. New additions include Shake Shack, Ulta Beauty, Club Pilates, First Watch and Vernis Nail Salon, along with other retailers. The existing First Citizens Bank branch will remain on the property.

Jay Douglas, executive director at Ardent, said the company first contacted Sprouts Farmers Market in August 2022.

“We really thought it was a great fit. And they happened to agree with us due to the way in which it aggregates all of the North Durham area and markets,” Douglas said. “It really fit perfectly for what they were looking for as they continue their expansion.”

The planned standalone Sprouts store will span about 23,000 square feet and sit next to the multifamily component of the development. The Phoenix-based grocer is targeting an opening in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The deal adds to Sprouts’ growth in the Triangle. The company confirmed earlier this month that it intends to develop a second Raleigh location in northwest Raleigh.

Ardent has tapped TSCG to handle retail leasing. Of the project’s 70,000 square feet of retail space, 70 percent is already pre-leased. Aside from the existing bank branch, all retail buildings will be newly constructed. Douglas said the team has carefully curated its tenant mix to “create a tone and tenor for the project.”

“In my experience, being 70 percent pre-leased prior to starting construction is actually pretty rare, and so we’ve been very happy with the response from retailers to this project and to this part of the market,” he said.

For construction, Ardent selected Ordner Construction of Atlanta and Phillips Architecture of Raleigh, with a $35 million budget allocated for the retail portion.

According to Durham County deed records, Ardent purchased the Durham Coca-Cola Bottling Co. warehouse and surrounding land for $15.5 million. It also acquired the parcel occupied by First Citizens Bank for $1.5 million. The combined properties at 3200 and 3214 Hillsborough Road total 12 acres and carry an assessed value of $17.3 million, equating to roughly $1.2 million per acre.

The acquisition cleared the way for redevelopment, and demolition of the former bottling facility has already begun after Coca-Cola vacated the property in June and relocated to a new facility in Chatham.

Douglas said none of the warehouse’s architectural elements or equipment could be repurposed. The new mixed-use development will carry the name Westside Bottling as a nod to the site’s industrial past.the site’s history.

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