City Center
Central Park, Performing Arts Center, Bulls baseball and beyond
Durham Central Park is just a few blocks north of City Center. It hosts tons of events throughout the year, including a weekly farmers’ market between April and October, live music during the summertime PLAYlist Concert Series and regular outdoor yoga sessions. On Tuesday mornings between April and October, preschoolers and their parents flock to the park for Story Time with Barnaby D. Troll. The snoozing troll statue is part of an art installation called The Leaf, which is also home to Mr. Pickles the Turtle and Rockin’ Reuben the Cardinal. During the quarterly Food Truck Rodeo, local street food vendors set up shop in Durham Central Park, too. “You have to work at being bored here,” Jones says, adding that despite being in the middle of downtown, there’s ample green space in the form of walking and biking trails nearby. Durham native Bram Luknight, a Realtor with Bull City Real Estate, observes that there’s been a “local government push to add more bike lanes” lately. “We’re getting more and more bike-friendly,” he says.The Durham Bulls Athletic Park, home of the city’s minor league baseball team, is at the north end of the neighborhood. During baseball season, the batters’ walk-up songs can easily be heard from most City Center backyards, ringing out over the bleachers right before the crack of the bat echoes through the air. Next door to the stadium, residents can catch the latest Broadway performances, live music or comedy shows at the Durham Performing Arts Center.
A robust downtown dining scene
Locals can grab groceries at Whole Foods or Harris Teeter, both just a couple miles north of City Center. But with Durham’s downtown dining scene within walking distance of home, residents enjoy an easy excuse not to stay in and cook. “We are a foodie town. There are so many amazing restaurants—down to gourmet ice cream shops,” Jones says. She recommends visiting The Parlour for a sweet frozen treat after dinner. Kearney says she has too many favorite restaurants to count, but that there are a few spots she returns to again and again. “Pizzeria Toro has really great woodfired pizza and Mother & Sons Trattoria does wonderful homemade pasta. And Ponysaurus is a very popular brewery right now, with a great outdoor space.” She adds that the Velvet Hippo is the local favorite for small plates and drinks. “It has a rooftop, which is nice because it overlooks downtown Durham,” she says.Modern condo buildings soar over Craftsman cottages
In keeping with its urban vibe, City Center features high-rise residential buildings with condo and apartment units. Condos in The Novus, a sleek, 27-story skyscraper, start at about $919,000 and can go up to more than $2.7 million. Units in One City Center, another glass-cased, 27-story high-rise, can sell for between $750,000 and $1.3 million. The neighborhood also offers standalone single-family homes, many of which were built between 1910 and 1960. They tend to be Craftsman or Minimal Traditional in style, and can sell for anywhere from $160,000 to $650,000, depending on whether they’ve been updated recently. “It’s still a seller’s market,” says Jones. “If something’s priced correctly it will sell within a few weeks.” On average, homes here sell after about 40 days on the market, nearly a week faster than the national average.Durham County Public Schools, Duke University and North Carolina
Kids between preschool and eighth grade can attend Eastway Elementary and Brogden Middle, both of which earn C grades from Niche. Older students may go to Riverside High, which earns a B and is ranked No. 9 on Niche’s list of the best public high schools in Durham County. The high school offers a laundry list of clubs and extracurriculars, including Air Force JROTC and athletics. Environmentally conscious students can join Down by the River, which meets after school once a month to clean up along the Eno River. Students interested in strengthening their mind-body connection can brush up on breathwork, meditation techniques and tarot readings in Metaphysical Club. Aspiring journalists can work on The Pirate’s Hook, Riverside High’s school newspaper.Duke University’s main campus is less than 2 miles west of City Center. The private research university offers more than 50 undergraduate programs and more than 80 graduate/professional programs. North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a historically Black public university, is about the same distance away, to the south. NCCU offers more than 140 undergraduate and graduate fields of study.
Quick commuting to two major employers
City Center itself is walkable and bikeable, but GoDurham stops scattered along main thoroughfares nearby make getting around the wider city by bus easy, too. North Carolina Highway 147 bustles by the neighborhood’s southwest side. The main thoroughfare connects northwest toward Duke University and Duke University Hospital, two major local employers. Both destinations are less than 3 miles away. By car, the commute can take as little as 10 minutes, depending on traffic.


Agents Specializing in this Area
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Rita Walia
DASH Carolina
(877) 535-5618
151 Total Sales
1 in City Center
$425,000 Price
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Ryan Sabatini
Responds QuicklyRich Realty Group
(669) 201-3396
69 Total Sales
1 in City Center
$485,000 Price
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Allen Wyde
Pinnacle Realty
(844) 969-2798
103 Total Sales
1 in City Center
$427,000 Price
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Edward Williams
Edge Realty
(984) 287-8599
51 Total Sales
1 in City Center
$264,000 Price
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Brooke Buchanan
Inhabit Real Estate
(888) 501-9277
42 Total Sales
1 in City Center
$225,000 Price
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Shahla Rezvani
Responds Quickly(984) 369-9507
206 Total Sales
1 in City Center
$310,000 Price
Schools
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Transit
Crime and Safety
1 - Low Crime, 10 - High Crime | City Center | US |
---|---|---|
Homicide | 9 | 4 |
Sexual Assault | 10 | 4 |
Assault with Weapon | 10 | 4 |
Robbery | 10 | 4 |
Burglary | 10 | 4 |
Motor Vehicle Theft | 10 | 4 |
Larceny | 10 | 4 |
Crime Score | 10 | 4 |
Source: WhatIsMyCrimeRisk.com
City Center Demographics and Home Trends
Housing Trends
Neighborhood Facts
Distribution of Home Values
Homes for Sale
Homes for Rent
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Property Mix - Square Feet
This Neighborhood Has More Renters
Demographics
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Education and Workforce
Weather
Area Factors
Bikeable
Bike Score®
Very Walkable
Walk Score®
Good Transit
Transit Score®
Sound Score® measures the noise level of any address. Transit Score® measures access to public transit. Bike Score® measures the bikeability of any address.
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