DURHAM – A Florida-based developer is planning to invest about $35 million to build a townhome project in the N.C. 751 corridor of south Durham.

The 169-unit project, called “Southpoint Trails,” has been proposed for about 28 acres at 8404 N.C. 751. It would be south of the St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church on the west side of the highway, not far from the Chancellor’s Ridge subdivision.

Southpoint Trails’ developer is in the early stages of navigating the Durham City/County Planning Department. A rezoning application has been filed to change the zoning from rural residential to planned development residential, and a petition for annexation into the city of Durham has been filed.

Owner Jeff Gelman, through an entity called 751 LLC, purchased five parcels along N.C. 751 for about $3.12 million in 2006.

Gelman, a former developer in Chicago who retired when he was in his 30s, lives in Hobe Sound, Fla. He says he has been vacationing in the Triangle for several years and originally purchased the land – which includes pastures and a farm house – as a getaway for him and his family.

The property is in a good location for development, Gelman says, since it’s not far from The Streets at Southpoint mall. Plans for the property are in the preliminary stages of being drawn up. Robert Shunk with HadenStanziale is handling land planning and engineering.

Gelman says he trimmed back from original plans to develop the property into a 300-unit apartment complex after hearing about another project, called 751 South, that has become mired in controversy. “My lawyer came to me and said there was too much controversy with the other project,” Gelman says. “So we wanted to do a project that was less dense. … We understand. We don’t want to be in trouble.”

The area south of the mall in Durham is accessed by a rural, scenic drive winding toward Jordan Lake. The 751 South project – no affiliation to Gelman’s 751 LLC – was proposed by Southern Durham Development Inc. to have 1,300 homes and 60,000 square feet of commercial space on 164 acres. The project incited a public outcry and debate over water, density and sprawl, and has been stuck in court and the planning department for the past three years.

One of the main partners of 751 South, Durham developer Alex Mitchell, is auctioning off 34 condominiums at a separate development, The Landing at Southpoint, also located on N.C. 751.

Another project that has been held up in the area is Jordan at Southpoint, originally planned for 125 acres on the boundary with Chatham County.

Not all residents in the area are against further development along the highway. Steve Nicewarner, a real estate agent who has lived in south Durham for 17 years, says further development is a natural extension of Southpoint.