Site of Durham gas explosion at Brightleaf Square sold for $39 million

Dec. 20--DURHAM -- Durham's Brightleaf Square, where two people were killed and two dozen injured in an explosion and fire in April, was sold to a Charlotte real estate investment firm this week for $39 million.

The buyer, Asana Partners, owns properties in Charlotte and in major cities nationwide. It specializes in acquiring retail properties in bustling urban markets like Durham's downtown.

Kenan Management Inc. owned the historic former Liggett & Myers tobacco warehouse on 905 West Main Street since 1980. The company had begun looking to sell the mixed-use retail and dining location in January. That effort was interrupted on April 10.

"It was a tragic situation that just stopped the whole process," said John B. Linderman Jr., managing director of Avison Young, the real estate firm that arranged the sale. "But then people found out that it was going on the market and started making offers on it. We never even got it to the full marketing process because it got bid up on so fast."

Asana had cash ready with an aggressive offer that could speed up the sale, Linderman said.

The explosion at Brightleaf Square caused enough damage that a large portion of the property is now vacant.

"With the parking lot next door, and where the [destroyed] building was, there's now about an acre and a half of property that can be developed there," Linderman said. "The vacant property has a lot more potential because you can build more income-producing property. You don't have to stay one story tall. You can go vertical. You can build a tower there."

Asana Partners was not immediately available for comment on its plans for the site.

The site's current zoning allows "moderate intensity urban development," which could allow building up to 12 stories, according to Durham's land use plans.

The nearly 142,000-square-foot location on around five acres of land has an assessed value of over $18 million, according to Durham County records.

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