Brightleaf

Home to the Brightleaf Square with Tons of Shopping, Restaurant, and Nightlife Options
Brightleaf Square is a small section in the west end of downtown Durham that offers plenty of restaurant, shopping, and nightlife opportunities. You'll find the Brightleaf Square (pictured above) as the main hub for all these options. In the summertime, free outdoor concerts are commonplace and people love to get out and walk around the neighborhood.

It's fairly close to Duke's campus so commuting there won't be an issue. Reviewers say that it's the place to be in Durham and gives people another reason to explore Durham other than just going to Ninth Street. Rent here is generally on par with other neighborhoods in the area but you definitely get a lot of value for your dollar.
What Brightleaf Residents
Think About Their Apartments
overall
8.3
value
8.0
amenities
8.0
social
7.3
management
7.0
Median rents in Brightleaf
Studio
$
1,050
1 Bedroom
$
1,150
2 Bedroom
$
1,400

Living in
Brightleaf

Downtown Durham
Brightleaf Square
Great Bars/Restaurants
Very Walkable
Bike/Public Transit to Campus
Pleasant
Supermarkets
Brightleaf — 8.5/10 Rating (based on 29 neighborhood reviews)
Brightleaf is essentially the (very small) area between downtown and Duke's East Campus. It's fairly walkable, has a few good restaraunts, and is about as central in Durham as one can get. It's not the most scenic neighborhood, but if you want to run or walk, you're very close the ATT, or the leafier neighborhoods of Trinity Park.
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Brightleaf tends to be pretty quiet; It is almost entirely made up of West Village. It's walkable to good dining options and is central to Durham as a whole. Not a lot of "neighborliness" however. Most people seem to be working professionals with a few young families.
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Reviewed by
7
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Very safe neighborhood, I have never felt unsafe here and have been comfortably walking alone even at night. Streets have good lighting. Very close to bars and restaurants.
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Reviewed by
10
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
On the edge of downtown with easy access to everything that has to offer (food, bulls games, music, farmers market). Have to drive to grocery store.
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Living downtown, you have so many great bars and restaurants nearby, and can easily walk to the baseball stadium or DPAC for events.
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Great location. Right near downtown and within walking distance of many restaurants and bars. Not far from campus.
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Close to all of the food... however no grocery store all though downtown is set to be centrally located.
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Reviewed by
5
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Living in Brightleaf is great. All of the great bars and restaurants are within walking distance and therefore I have very little need for a car or uber outside of the school week. It also helped tremendously during recruiting as most of my events were held at the hotels and restaurants downtown. Brightleaf is also very convenient to walk to Bulls games.
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Walking distance to tons of good stuff, I would say it feels pretty safe on the whole
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Plenty of bars, restaurants, groceries and supermarkets, bus stops surrounding
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Love it - Durham is growing very fast and it's nice to be close to it!
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
Solis Brightleaf
Nice area, lots of young professionals and graduate students.
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Reviewed by
10
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Adjacent to east campus, across from shooters, just off the bus route
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
Brightleaf on Main
The best.
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Great neighborhood
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
Solis Brightleaf
Living in downtown Durham allows you to take advantage of all that Duke and Durham have to offer. You can easily walk to a Durham Balls game, the Durham Farmer's market, every trendy restaurant in town, the new swanky hotels, great ice cream shops, great bars, and the Duke East Campus. You can also easily use public transport or bike to Fuqua and Duke West Campus from here. It's just a pleasant place to be that allows you to get away from Fuqua and experience new things but also stay engaged.
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Reviewed by
10
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Downtown is a very social place with a lot of bars and restaurants. A lot of graduate students live in this complex and the complex is very secure with access cards requirement in every building.
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Reviewed by
10
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
There is a great nightlife scene in the neighborhood, but this also makes it less safe. I haven’t had any problems, but wouldn’t walk alone at night.
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
Solis Brightleaf
All the best things in Durham are steps away. The only reason to give it a 9/10 is that there is no grocery store in walking distance.
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Dowtown Durham is the most exciting in terms of restaurants/bars. That said, Fuqua still gravitates toward ninth street.
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Really love the brightleaf area. Lots of restaurants and bars. New spots popping up! Very close to downtown.
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
Solis Brightleaf
The neighborhood is full of restaurants, bars, etc. Very easy to walk and lots of people out and about!
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
The best/only neighborhood in Durham if you like food/drink/entertainment in walking distance.
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Love the neighbourhood, very lively filled with the newest restaurants and bars
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Great area with a lot of good restaurants and bars within walking distance.
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Reviewed by
8
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Close to the loop/downtown. Bars, farmer's market all walkable.
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Fantastic neighborhood - fun to live down town. Very walkable to all bars and restaurants. Close enough to Ninth Street.
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Reviewed by
6
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village
Neighborhood goes in and out of being nice. There are some parts that have a lot of homeless people and they feel unsafe. Others are ok.
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Reviewed by
10
/10
Neighborhood Rating
Solis Brightleaf
Great food and bar scene!
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Reviewed by
9
/10
Neighborhood Rating
West Village


Getting to Know
Brightleaf

Neighborhood Boundaries
East to West Boundaries: N Great Jones St to N Buchanan Blvd
North to South Boundaries: Fernway Ave to W Peabody St
dining
Gonza Tacos Y Tequila
James Joyce Irish Pub
Lucia Bar Italiano
Parker & Otis
fitness
SyncStudio Downtown
coffee
Respite Café
Rose’s Meat Market and Sweet Shop
bus
BCC (bus)
About your Neighbors
Data from the 2013 American Community Survey
Zip Codes
Brightleaf includes zip code 27701
Rent vs Own
61
% of Brightleaf residents are renters
Driving to Work
74
% of Brightleaf residents drive to work
New Construction
7
% of housing units in Brightleaf have been built in the last 15 years
Building Types
85
%
<20 units
5
%
20-49 units
11
%
50+ units
Demographics
Children (under 18)
22
%
18 - 34
31
%
35 - 54
30
%
55+
17
%
Unit Mix
6
%
Studio
24
%
1 Bed
36
%
2 Bed
34
%
3+ Bed
Occupation or Education
Working Professional
54
%
Undergrad Student
6
%
Grad Student
6
%
Unemployed
9
%
Retired
23
%

Best Apartments
in Brightleaf

Whetstone
Studio $1,134
1 Bed $1,223
2 Beds $1,611

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Beckon
Studio $1,535
1 Bed $1,505
2 Beds $2,478

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610 W Main St

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Brightleaf on Main
Studio $1,448
1 Bed $1,458
2 Beds $2,444

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West Village
1 Bed $1,036
2 Beds $874
4 Beds $3,400

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