August 6th Letter on 505 West Chapel Hill Street Site

Left: 505 West Chapel Hill Street site. Image credit: Raleigh News and Observer. Right: Redevelopment plan (now abandoned). Image credit: City of Durham.

Dear Mayor Williams, Mayor Pro Tempore Middleton, and Council members Baker, Caballero, Cook, Freeman and Rist:

The organizations listed below believe that the Durham City Council’s decision at its June 5 Work Session to end negotiations with the Peebles Corporation creates a unique opportunity at the 505 site to address the City’s worsening affordable housing crisis without further delay.  At the Work Session, we were pleased to hear that a majority of Council members expressed a desire to proceed now with building a significant number of affordable units at 505 West Chapel Hill Street.

We call on the Council, as our duly elected representatives, to direct City staff to move forward immediately with a plan to build a minimum of 130 units of rental housing affordable in perpetuity to families earning 60% of AMI.  Specifically, we call on Council to direct the City Manager and City Staff to:

1.  Within 90 days, select a qualified affordable housing developer with a successful track record in Durham and North Carolina to partner with the City to develop and implement a plan to build a minimum of 130 units of affordable rental housing at 505;

   
   

2.  Work with the selected developer to create a plan acceptable to the City and the developer for building the affordable units and sufficient parking facilities on a portion of the 505 site; and

   
   

3. Within 90 days of selecting the developer, return to City Council with the plan and a proposed contract with the developer for Council’s consideration and approval.

The following points inform our request:

• An RFP process is not required for the City Council to move forward with affordable housing, which it has named as its first priority at the site. The City Attorney clearly indicated at the June 5 meeting that the City could enter into a sole source agreement with a developer to address a public need.

  
  

• At least two highly qualified affordable housing developers with experience in Durham and NC – Laurel Street Partners and DHIC – have indicated an interest in engaging with the City to proceed with construction of affordable housing on the portion of the 505 site that does not include the Milton Small Building (MSB). 

• This approach was one of the three possible pathways outlined by City Staff in its memo to Council: “Pursue Smaller Scale Redevelopment” (a) Solicit a developer for Milton Small and/or affordable housing and b) Add surface parking and open space.

• We are concerned that yet another extended planning process for the 505 site – such as a master planning process -- will cause unacceptable delays in addressing the City’s affordable housing crisis. The best time to build affordable housing is now, when the market for commercial office space and higher end or market rate housing is “soft.” 

• For this major tract of City property strategically located in Durham’s downtown, we continue to favor a long-term ground lease to the developer, or equivalent protections for the City’s interests and for the welfare of the residents of any affordable housing built at 505.

• We remain committed to building units affordable in perpetuity at 60% of AMI.  We encourage the use of DHA project-based vouchers to make a portion of the units affordable to families at 30% AMI.

• We take no position on the advisability of preserving the MSB. Adequate space exists on the remainder of the 4.4 acre site to accommodate 130-plus units of affordable rental units and sufficient parking, while leaving room for other forms of development (housing, retail, commercial) as market conditions improve. 

We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you in the next few weeks to discuss this request. In the meantime, thank you for your consideration of this opportunity to address Durham’s critical need for affordable housing.

Sincerely,

Rick Larson, on behalf of

Duke Memorial United Methodist Church

Durham Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit

Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People 

Durham People’s Alliance

This article was first published by People's Alliance.