Construction truck sirens and the banging of hammers echoed in the background as public officials and community leaders gathered on Wednesday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking for new affordable housing coming to downtown Durham.
The site, located in between East Main Street and Liberty Street, previously offered 214 public housing units for rent but will now include 555 new mixed-income apartment units—331 affordable units and 224 market-rate units. A private-public partnership between Durham Housing Authority (DHA) and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is supporting the project.
Adrianne Todman, who began serving as HUD acting secretary after Marcia Fudge announced her retirement in March, traveled to Durham to headline the panel of speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony.
“When I look at these babies here in the audience, these children,” Todman said, “I think about what are we as adults doing to leave things better than before us? I know that’s what my grandmother did. I know that’s what my mother did. And it’s now incumbent upon us …to make sure we are creating a better place for the children sitting here in front of us right now. That is what we are here to celebrate today.”
Various elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee and Durham mayor Leo Williams, as well as representatives from DHA and other project partners, joined Todman on the podium.
Presenters focused on the power of collaboration when developing vital community housing assets.
“Affordable housing is a team sport,” said North Carolina Housing Finance Agency executive director Scott Farmer. “None of this happens because of one of us. It happens because of all of us. Everybody in here played a role in that, in one way or another. If you haven’t, you will soon.”
In September 2022, HUD granted $40 million to the Durham Housing Authority and the City of Durham through the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant. The four-phase project sits at the cross section of Elizabeth Street, Commerce Street, Dillard Street, and East Main Street. The first phase, Elizabeth Street Apartments, is already underway. Phase 1 includes 72 apartment units and is projected to be completed by the end of 2024. The next three phases are slated to finish in the next two years, barring any major setbacks.
Local officials have made strides toward bringing affordable housing to the greater downtown Durham area. Between two projects at 300 and 500 East Main Street, 553 units are under development on plots that were previously county-owned surface parking lots. The additional 555 units at Liberty Street provides much-needed housing to Durham residents, but other cost-of-living factors means affordability remains a hurdle.
“It is no secret that the need for more affordable housing all across the country is great, and Durham is no exception,” Foushee said. “We have seen how the rapid growth in our area has resulted in higher housing costs, making it difficult for an increasing number of residents to find safe and affordable housing, and with the steep rise in rental rates, those on low or fixed incomes are left homeless. Stable housing is a basic human need, and it is the foundation upon which people build their lives.”
In an interview with the INDY, Todman says that HUD has a responsibility to not just support more affordable housing but make the construction process simpler for municipalities through alleviating unnecessary burdens, including financial ones.
“Sometimes, it just takes too long to build affordable housing, and time, sometimes, means more money. There’s some places across the country where if you agree to build affordable housing, you basically jump in the front of the line in terms of some of the permitting process. … Lots of places are looking at ways to just move the momentum of getting things built, even in the face of opposition. So it means a lot to us to work faster and smarter.”
Not everyone at the meeting was in the mood for celebration. Senior residents from JFK Towers in attendance began shouting during remarks from Mayor Williams.
“We have over 200 code violations,” said Johnetta Alston, a JFK resident. “What about that? Fix that or make them fix that so we don’t have to live like third-world citizens.”
DHA CEO Anthony Scott reiterated to the concerned residents that HUD, not DHA, owns JFK Towers but that their requests for follow-up are being honored.
“I’m the type of leader that accepts responsibility,” Todman said. She told the residents that the HUD leader for the region will come by JFK Towers “and take a look at things and provide a report to me about what we need to do to move forward.”
Nearly every person who spoke at the morning’s event made a point to recognize the same person: former Congressman David Price. He received a standing ovation after Todman acknowledged him for his decades of service and advocacy on behalf of Americans nationwide.
“I’ve been in [DC] for a long time, and every now and then, a leader comes along to make sure that the right thing is being done … for Americans across the country,” Todman said. “And I’ve seen [Price] fight … for funds for affordable housing for people who need it the most.”
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