LRC Properties Signs Brewery, Tech Firm to 320,000 SF Historic Mill Renovation in Downtown Durham

DURHAM, N.C. — LRC Properties has signed leases with Hi-Wire Brewing and WillowTree Inc. to its Golden Belt Campus, a 320,000-square-foot historic mill located at 800 Taylor St. in downtown Durham. Robin Roseberry Anders and Jordan Williams of NAI Carolantic Realty represented LRC in the lease negotiations. Asheville, N.C.-based Hi-Wire Brewing is scheduled to open its third location, a 10,522-square-foot taproom, at the development by the end of October. The space will feature an outdoor covered patio and garden, full-sized shuffleboard courts, foosball tables and table tennis. Matt Larson of CBRE arranged the lease on behalf of Hi-Wire. WillowTree Inc., a software agency with locations in North Carolina, Virginia and New York, will relocate its existing Durham office to the Golden Belt Campus in January 2019. The company will occupy more than 29,000 square feet on the top floor of the mill, which features a monitor roof, clerestory windows, exposed brick and original maple floors. Matt Winters of Tri Properties represented WillowTree in the lease negotiation. New York-based LRC acquired the campus in phases in 2016 and 2017 and has since begun a full-scale renovation. At completion, the renovation will include brick and timber office spaces, 40,000-square-foot floor plates, new artist’s studios and galleries, landscaped outdoor areas for tenant and neighborhood gatherings and a music stage. LRC is scheduled to complete the majority of its renovations to Golden Belt Campus by November.