Durham City Council approved a slew of initiatives as part of its ‘strategic budget,’ including housing renovations and road construction, as well as yet another extension to the America Theater for the Performing Arts Associates’ planning timeline.
The meeting commenced with residents of the Mutual Heights rental housing complex voicing their concerns over the implications of proposed renovations, which will require the temporary removal of many elderly residents.
Some residents, supported in their concerns by council members, asked developers to address the question of how well the plan will facilitate the “human” element of the move.
The group of about 20 residents of Mutual Heights—an area known for its low rate of crime and sufficient employment since the 1950s—recognized the importance of the $500,000 in renovations but stressed their concerns over the plan’s implementation.
“It’s just like an ocean,” said resident Ellawease Bridges of the flooding from a ditch near her home.
The council also allocated $300,000 to assist in the building of a 60-unit cottage-style housing complex on East Carver Street in North Durham.
The new complex will target citizens ages 55 and over with incomes below 60 percent of the area’s median income—currently about $43,000 for a family of four—and will offer rental rates as low as $310 per month.
The council went on to discuss several road reconstruction projects and an extension granted for the city’s long-awaited art theater center.
America Theater for the Performing Arts Associates, the preferred developer for the arts center that the city approved in 2003, received a 2-month extension for planning purposes. It was the third extension the developer received for the project.
Durham Director of Economic Development Alan DeLisle said his development team will fill in small details pertaining to the theater’s exact cost and location in a meeting between Durham City Council and the art center.
“We will discuss the broad parameters of the deal,” said DeLisle, who added that each extension for the center was prompted for different reasons.
“It’s been a complicated process,” he said. “Tomorrow, we’ll lay things out in more detail and take in feedback.”
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