It’s Friday, April 26.
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Welcome to the weekend, readers.
Discover Durham, the city’s tourism agency, held a town hall at Carolina Theatre on Tuesday to share its Destination Master Plan, a 20-year vision for developing the city as a nationally-recognized destination.
The agency’s president and CEO Susan Amey and senior manager of public affairs Jada Harkins Andrews highlighted how Durham stacks up against its peer cities as an attraction to visitors. They also discussed values that are meaningful to residents who are both excited about new amenities and apprehensive about how additional attention on Durham could affect things like affordable housing.
Key takeaways from the presentation include pursuing an indoor-outdoor sports complex, a new convention center, more family-friendly attractions, and expanding Durham’s greenways and parks. Many of the items were featured in Mayor Williams’s State of the City address earlier this month, suggesting that there is alignment between Discover Durham’s plan and city initiatives already set forth.
To build that 20-year vision for the future, Amey said the city needs a nexus for all the ideas and campaigns put forth by community members and other organizations across the city.
“We need a Durham for the future that reflects our community’s values and character,” Amey said. “An individual might start a restaurant or a bar or a retail shop but an individual doesn’t decide they’re going to build a convention hotel or a major sports facility. So as a community, we have to create that idea together and figure out how to move forward. We need to have a plan for how that’s going to be sustainable: economically, socially, and environmentally.”
Discover Durham unveiled plans for a new nonprofit called Durham Next that would serve as the hub for implementing the 20-year plan, with representation from city and county officials as well as other nonprofits and organizations. Folks interested in learning more about the destination master plan and its primary initiatives can find more information on the Discover Durham website.
Enjoy your weekend.
—Justin
Durham
The Sandlot Revival brings baseball bliss to the Bull City.
Wake
ICYMI: The Raleigh Area Land Trust (RALT) raised $8.3 million to finance an affordable housing project called the Cottages at Idlewild, the city’s first cottage court.
Raleigh city council member Mary Black was targeted in a racist, antisemitic outburst during a CAC meeting on Zoom this week.
Downtown Raleigh has seen a bump in foot traffic in the past year.
Orange
At its town council meeting this week, Carrboro Town Council members discussed the town’s land use ordinance and how to reallocate ARPA funds.
The Orange County Schools Board of Education discussed redistricting and teacher pay at its meeting this week.
North Carolina
Advocates rallied for more gun safety measures at the General Assembly this week.
Today’s weather
Partly cloudy with a high of 70 degrees.
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