CBC Begins Restoration of Durham Landmark
Crews began working on the restoration of the tower this week. |
The Lucky Strike Tower stands 180-ft tall. |
Capitol Broadcasting Company has begun steps to save a familiar Durham landmark. Renovation on the Lucky Strike smokestack started this week with a noted restoration company at the helm. International Chimney of New York, best known in North Carolina for moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1999, will rebuild the top seven feet of the crumbling structure and repair several cracks down the length of the 180-foot stack.
The restoration comes as part of CBC’s efforts to preserve the historic integrity of the 16-acre campus. Located at the heart of the property, the smokestack served as a beacon of the cigarette manufacturing that went on below it. The repair and restoration will take approximately eight weeks.
“The smokestack is a symbol that is unique to downtown Durham,” said CBC’s VP & General Counsel Mike Hill. “It brings character to the American Tobacco District that we feel compelled to preserve.”
CBC is in early stages of revamping the American Tobacco Campus after exercising its option to buy the property earlier this year. They are currently securing tenants, already including CompuWare & Duke University. CBC will turn the property into office space, lab space, restaurants and retail space as well as some residential areas.
