Multifamily developer JPI is reentering North Carolina for the first time in more than 15 years with a planned residential complex near Duke University.
Cline Design
Rendering of JPI’s Jefferson Watts complex in Durham
JPI acquired a 12.6-acre site on Hillsborough Road and La Salle Street in Durham to build a $150M, 440-home community called Jefferson Watts, the company said in a press release. The complex will have 398 market-rate luxury apartments in a five-story residential building and 42 high-end townhomes. About 40 of the homes will have an affordable component.
Amenities in the complex will include a sky lounge, sauna, pool, fitness center and coworking lounges and offices. Cline Design, McAdams and KAI are designing the site.
The development marks JPI’s expansion into the Raleigh-Durham market, which it called “one of the nation’s fastest-growing renter markets.” The area scores high on “young-adult population, household income, and labor-force growth,” JPI said in the June 24 release.
JPI noted that demand in Raleigh-Durham is outpacing new supply, as multifamily construction starts in the area are down about 55%-65%, according to the release. Multifamily construction activity in Raleigh-Durham has slowed to a five-year low, according to a Northmarq report, which forecasts it may continue to contract.
Construction activity in Raleigh slowed to 6,667 units in the first quarter, down from 7,021 in the previous quarter and 7,574 in the first quarter of 2025, according to a report by Lee & Associates. In Durham, activity increased to 4,176 units from the 3,776 units under construction in the fourth quarter of 2025 but still marked a drop from the 4,483 units under construction in Q1 2025.
Market demand is rebalancing as new supply is absorbed, according to the report. Multifamily vacancy in Durham was at 11.2% in the first quarter, down from 12.4% the previous year.
JPI plans to break ground on its new apartment complex in July, with delivery expected in 2028.
The site is one of the only available plots next to Duke University Medical Center, JPI said. The multifamily complex is slated to anchor a corridor that also has new grocery and retail development.
JPI first announced its Southeast expansion last year. It said it has opened a permanent office in the Research Triangle to support its growth in the region.
