Gleaning: Helping with the Harvest to Feed the Hungry
Cary, NC — For this month’s post, First United Methodist Church in Cary sent in a story about “gleaning” – harvesting food left in the fields by farmers. Read more
Harold’s Blog: School Bonds
Cary, NC — This week was slow compared to a normal week but included a few significant events. Read more
Real Estate: Replacing Kmart and Rite Aid
Cary, NC — Two empty commercial real estate properties in Cary have found new tenants, including the former Kmart site on Kildaire Farm and Rite Aid’s location at High House and NC 55. Read more
Cary Named Code for America City
Cary, NC — Code for America (CfA) has released a list of 15 cities that will be added to the Brigade Program in 2013 which is great news for the Triangle. Both Cary and Durham have been added and will join Raleigh with Code for America Brigades in the coming year. Read more
2013 Fall Fashion Report, Part 2
Cary, NC – Labor Day has come and gone and with it the true start to the Fall Fashion season. CaryCitizen waded through the sales at the mall over the holiday weekend to find out what retailers are predicting will make consumers open their wallets.
Win A Trophy Stuffed with Cash!
Cary, NC- Counting down to this year’s Cary Scavenger Hunt on September 21, 2013, we have added a new twist: a trophy stuffed with cash for each winning team! Read more
Weekend Events: Small Pleasures
Cary, NC – The New York Cosmos will not be in town this weekend. Neither will Hank Williams, Jr. In fact, it’s a weekend of small pleasures in Cary, and sometimes that’s a good thing. Read more
Business: American Tobacco Gets Old Bull
Durham, NC – American Tobacco Campus has reacquired the Old Bull Building on Blackwell Street, adding back a historic property to their iconic downtown Durham development.
A Brief History of American Tobacco in Durham
In 1865, Washington Duke, a Confederate prisoner of war, was released from Federal custody. He walked back from New Bern to his homestead in Durham with 50¢ in his pocket. By 1896, his company, American Tobacco, was one of the first 12 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Along the way, Duke & Sons helped consolidate the tobacco business. One of the companies they absorbed was Blackwell’s Durham Tobacco, makers of Bull Durham.
American Tobacco abandoned manufacturing in Durham in the mid 1980’s. The old factory became an eyesore. Eventually, Capitol Broadcasting Company stepped in, redeveloping and reopening the property in 2004.
But one piece was missing: the Old Bull building at the corner of Blackwell and Pettigrew.
American Tobacco Gets Old Bull
As reported in the Herald Sun and Triangle Business Journal, an affiliate of Capitol Broadcasting called ATC North Residential has acquired Old Bull and and the Noell building, an adjacent property. The purchase price was $9.5 million.
The first floor of Old Bull is filled with offices. The upper floors are being renovated to contain more than 50 apartments. The Noell building has 17 apartments.
Cary Connection
Why the Durham story in CaryCitizen? Every now and then, it’s good to look around at our neighbors. And while Cary sometimes seemed unnaturally close to Raleigh, Durham has become a lot closer to Cary this year with the opening of the Triangle Expressway.
From my house in Cary (near the YMCA), American Tobacco is 19 minutes away (exit 12B off NC -147). That’s closer than downtown Raleigh.
I know this because I spent much of the spring and summer helping produce the new website for American Tobacco.
When Cary looks at historic redevelopment, it can look for no better example than what Capitol Broadcasting has done in downtown Durham. The reacquisition of Old Bull is another step in the right direction.
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Historic engraving of Old Bull from Durham County Library. Contemporary photos by Hal Goodtree.
Concert Review: Hank Williams Jr Rocks Cary
Cary, NC – It was a honky-tonk kind of night at Koka Booth Amphitheater on Friday, as Cary’s rowdiest gathered to spend an evening with Hank Williams Junior. Read more
Harold’s Blog: Cary Matters
Cary, NC – Unlike last week this was a very slow week and consisted mostly of private meetings. Read more