Salon Lofts to open as first major tenant in downtown Durham mixed-use project

Downtown Durham will feature a new, 4,000-square-foot salon early next year after renovations are complete on the Morgan-Rigsbee Mixed-Use Parking Deck.

Salon Lofts, which owns more than 165 locations nationwide, will serve as an anchor tenant in the city-owned parking deck, inhabiting more than a quarter of its nearly 16,000 square feet of retail space at 105 West Morgan Street.

“We’re thrilled and very excited about moving into downtown Durham,” Steve Schillinger, president and CEO of Salon Lofts, told the News & Observer. “It’s a great market with great people.”

The salon will include 22 individual booths or “lofts,” which hair stylists, massage therapists and skin care and nail specialists can lease for 10-year terms.

“It gives a great opportunity to these businesses,” Sarah Warren, vice president of TradeMark Properties, told the N&O. TradeMark, a real estate and investment advisory company, is facilitating leases in the parking deck.

“Smaller mom-and-pop type businesses or those just getting off the ground have the chance to work in a Class A environment with Salon Lofts, so that they can really be successful,” Warren said.

The parking deck is nestled between Rigsbee Avenue, Morgan Street and Mangum Street, within walking distance of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the Durham Performing Arts Center and several local restaurants and bars. The $23 million building, which opened in 2019, includes 667 parking spaces and 4,750 square feet of office space in addition to its first-floor retail options.

Before Salon Lofts can open, though, it must perform extensive remodeling to the space.

“It needs substantial HVAC improvement and substantial electrical work,” Schillinger said. “The space is what we call in the businesses a cold gray shell. It is not an insignificant project.”

But the company is accepting early applications from business owners looking to sublease booths. Interested parties can visit Salon Lofts website or call Renae Beck at 919-623-1719.

For more information on the Morgan-Rigsbee Mixed-Use Parking Deck, see its online leasing brochure.