A new 400-unit property underway in Durham’s University Hill neighborhood from Charlotte, North Carolina-based mixed-use developer Crescent Communities is designed to encourage curiosity in its residents.
Set to open its doors in late 2026, the 6.5-acre Novel UHill site will include a five-story mid-rise building with a mix of studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, as well as 19 two- and three-bedroom rental townhomes.
The community’s design palette will feature warm aesthetics and materials sourced from the Durham area in an effort to create a local feel. Art installations throughout the site will tie into the University Hill neighborhood’s UHill Walls program, a walkable art display of over 40,000 square feet of murals across 15 acres.
The property will feature a 1,450-square-foot indoor-outdoor sky lounge on the top floor of the mid-rise with wine and beer taps, a fireplace and views of the surrounding neighborhood. The community clubroom will have a makerspace for hands-on activities, while two outdoor courtyards on the UHill Walls route will offer play equipment, table tennis, a putting green and an outdoor TV screen.
Other amenities will include a 1,760-square-foot pool with lounges and a grilling station, a bike lounge with rentals and repair stations, a coworking lounge, a fitness studio with private yoga rooms, a dog park and an on-site coffee shop. A resident programming package will offer clubs, workshops, a speaker series, field trips and pop-up events.
Novel UHill is located close to many of the research, healthcare and academic institutions in the Research Triangle area, according to the release.
“University Hill — and the Triangle as a whole — is one of the world’s foremost hubs of innovation, education and creativity, making it the perfect setting to embrace curiosity as a way of life,” said Michael Tubridy, Crescent Communities’ managing director for North Carolina, in the news release. “At Novel UHill, we’ve embraced this belief through our design, community programming and spaces that invite residents to explore, connect and grow in meaningful and exciting ways.”
Novel UHill will be the 18th property built in-house by Crescent Communities Construction, and the latest of Crescent’s many for-rent developments in the Triangle area, including Novel Morrisville in Morrisville, North Carolina, and Novel Cary in Cary, North Carolina.
The developer has a pipeline of 15,300 multifamily and single-family build-to-rent units in progress overall, as well as 58,000 square feet of retail space and 7.5 million square feet of commercial space, valued at $7.2 billion, according to the release.
