Turning Vision into Reality: Sofia's Pizza

Sofia’s Pizza sits on 0.19-acres but don't be fooled by the small size it is just as unique as other projects in our portfolio. The site contained 2 small buildings, one an auto repair garage and the other a small gas station. The existing buildings were revitalized to bring this restaurant a unique home and preserve a bit of neighborhood history. The scope of the project involved going through site plan approval and obtaining a minor special use permit along with the land development services.

The City of Durham had recently completed the Angier-Drive Streetscape project. The Minor Special Use Permit was needed to allow for the renovation of the existing gas and service station into a restaurant. The goal of the site was to improve the overall health and safety of the community by doing these renovations.

The site demanded some creative thinking about the layout and design to bring Sofia’s to life on this small site. Creating outdoor seating and pedestrian connectivity between the buildings was crucial as the business functions were occurring in each. The development has off-site parking which required UDP to coordinate that agreement with the nearby businesses. There is also a bus stop on site UDP coordinated improvements for per the City of Durham at the corner of Guthrie Avenue and Angier Avenue.

In 2019, Sofia’s received the City of Durham’s Golden Leaf Award in the adaptive-reuse small-scale category. The Golden Leaf Awards recognizes developments for their outstanding “design, preservation, curb appeal or stewardship of the natural and built environment.”