Key Stats:
- Developer: Grubb Ventures
- Asset Class: Mixed Use
- Size: 183,000 square feet
- Height: 1-Story
- Submarket: Five Points
Dock 1053
Originally built in 1953 the warehouse at 1053 East Whitaker Mill Road would eventually go on to become one of my favorite development projects in Raleigh. The project is deceptively large at 183,000 square feet sitting on a lot that is just under eight acres. If the same amount of space was in a new office building, the building would be seven-stories tall. This existing building gave the development team a great canvas to work on.
Adaptive Reuse
In 2014 the Grubb Ventures team bought a dilapidated warehouse in Five Points with a vision to convert it into a mixed use hub filled with a variety of commercial tenants. The term “adaptive reuse” is used in real estate development to describe a development project that starts off with a site with an existing structure and through investment and modification to the structure – sometimes with additions and sometimes without – delivers a project with a new use. In this case the project went from a vacant warehouse use to several uses including: retail, office, food & beverage, light manufacturing, and warehouse.
Creativity and Constraints
One of my favorite things about an adaptive reuse project is the creativity that is often encouraged in development by the constraints of the existing building. The existing building provides a footprint and features that would not necessarily get built if starting from scratch.
In the case of Dock 1053 I really like the preexisting loading lock that surrounds the building which got turned into a “wrap around porch” style seating area and walkway giving covered access to the whole project.
From a use perspective I also really enjoy the high ceilings and the fact that warehouse space exists directly adjacent to office space. If not for this adjacency, it would have been very difficult for one of their tenants, Loading Dock, to offer a co-warehousing service.
Vision and Risk
If a developer has a strong and compelling vision, as Grubb Ventures did, and can see a bright future in a building that others don’t see yet, they might also have the opportunity to purchase the property at a discount to replacement cost. Having the low cost basis that can come with a strong vision can give the developer flexibility to work with creative and diverse tenants, but also usually comes with the added risk of being in an unproven submarket with an unproven concept.
Current Tenants
- Glas
- Hummingbird
- i2m
- Loading Dock Raleigh
- Lynnwood Brewing Concern
- MOHU
- Murphy’s Naturals
- Photofy
- Pinetop Distillery
- Poshnosh Catering
- Stephenson Millwork
- Trig Modern
- Whitaker & Atlantic
- Wilson’s Eatery
More Info
For more information on the project, including some fantastic before and after photos, visit their website: https://www.dock1053.com/about
