Durham residents push for affordable housing on long-empty former police headquarters site
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The old Durham Police Department headquarters has sat empty for almost eight years, and now community leaders are urging the city to put the property to use as Durham faces what many are calling an affordable housing crisis.
For nearly eight years, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church's lead pastor, the Rev. Heather Rodrigues, has looked out at the four-acre property along West Chapel Hill Street, once home to the Durham Police Department. She, along with Mick Raynor, the church's minister of pastoral care, is calling on city leaders to move quickly.
"Our call from day one, seven years, that space across the street should include the neighbors who need affordable housing, and need it now," said Rodrigues.
"There's progress, even if it's not perfect for what everyone wants," added Raynor. "Affordable housing can be built here within two or three years vs. seven or eight years."
The pastors were among a group attending a city work session, as plan after plan to redevelop the property through the years has fallen through.
Durham CAN, a coalition of local community groups and institutions, presented two redevelopment proposals focused on creating affordable housing on the northwest corner of the property.
The first plan calls for a five-story building with 80 units and parking at a cost of $4.24 million. The second proposes a seven-story building, also with 80 units and parking, totaling $6.3 million.
The group said it believes the second option is a better fit, leaving space for a second building in the future with 55 additional units. Organizers also highlighted that the location would provide residents with easy access to public transit and downtown.
Several speakers voiced support for the plans, emphasizing the urgent need for affordable housing in Durham. People not part of the coalition also shared their thoughts.
"I would like that whole property to be developed for persons who may only be making $14 an hour or $25 an hour," said Victoria Peterson. "But they need a place to stay."
Option two is slated to go before the city council for a vote on April 6, with Durham CAN hoping the city selects a developer by July.
Built in the 1950s for the Home Security Life Insurance Company, the building is considered an important example of the era's modernist design.
Preservation North Carolina will collaborate with the City of Durham on plans to preserve the former police headquarters.
