Durham City Council approved a $3.2 million affordable housing investment and a $100,000 Bloomberg grant to reimagine neglected city property at its April 4 work session, but also faced passionate pleas about gun violence and internal disagreement over how to require public parks in new developments.
The most substantial action was authorizing up to $3.2 million in combined funding—from community development block grants, local funds, and pandemic relief money—toward Reinvestment Partners' project at 312 East Umstead Street. The development will create 17 affordable units in a historic building significant to Durham's African-American community, with units available by December 2026. Council members Nate Baker and Javiera Caballero pressed hard on permanence, concerned that the 30-year affordability restriction might expire without additional city subsidy. Kopac committed to researching community land trust models and other ways to guarantee affordability beyond three decades. Baker emphasized the city should consider using its own land and money, pointing to the Willard Street project as an example of stronger permanence guarantees.
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