Affordable housing proposal moves forward at old Durham police headquarters
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Plans are moving ahead to potentially bring affordable housing to the site of the old Durham Police Headquarters. Advocates envision part of the vacant lot as a housing hub for dozens of families, addressing a pressing need in the Bull City.
During the March 19 City Council work session, Mayor Leonardo Williams praised the new direction.
"There is no perfect outcome, but there is an outcome. This is the first time in 10 years that we've been able to get some direction," he said.
Durham CAN, a coalition of local community groups and institutions, presented two redevelopment proposals aimed at tackling the city's affordable housing crisis. Council members ultimately backed Scenario 2, which is a seven-story building with 80 units totaling $26 million. The plan includes structured parking underneath the building to preserve space for future development.
"The best way to keep as much of this site available for future development for other purposes, which has always been the city's goal, was to create structured parking, a fancy way of saying a parking garage underneath the apartment building," said Rick Larson, a member of Durham CAN.
He said past redevelopment efforts fell through, making this plan a real opportunity to meet community needs.
"We're constantly getting new families moving in, and oftentimes they're not the people who have built Durham, who have lived here, who have created the Durham that the city wants that people love to come to," Larson said.
Ketty Thelmaque, lead organizer for Durham CAN, said the overgrown 4-acre property has the potential to become something meaningful for the community.
"We will continue to fight until we see the ribbon cutting, until we see the units open, until individuals moving in can finally say, 'I have affordable housing,'" she said.
City leaders say that because of the consensus reached among council members, no additional vote is needed. The project will move forward with the developer selection process. Durham CAN hopes a developer will be chosen by July.
Meanwhile, the City Council is expected to vote on whether Preservation North Carolina will preserve the old police headquarters.
