It’s Friday, May 3.
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Welcome to the weekend, readers.
In this week’s print edition, the INDY published a story about the challenges facing downtown bar and restaurant owners as they navigate the endless cycle of construction in Durham.
As the city continues to see its population swell, many downtown businesses are required to be flexible and accommodating as construction projects get underway, with the promise of more customers to come.
But businesses like Fullsteam, which have set the tempo for downtown life over the years, are being left behind, says Sean Lilly Wilson, founder and CEO of Fullsteam. He worries that some businesses on the block won’t survive the construction long enough to reap the purported benefits waiting for them on the other side.
Early in Durham’s downtown revival, the “DIY” district was one of its go-to destinations. Businesses now considered Durham institutions—Cocoa Cinnamon, Surf Club, Geer Street Garden, the Pickleback, Fullsteam, and Motorco—were young upstarts that cultivated a vibrant, welcoming business district. They were the catalyst for dozens of new, independently-owned businesses deciding to open their doors in downtown Durham.
The DIY district isn’t the only commercial area dealing with large-scale apartment buildings and skyscrapers popping up. The challenges that these projects present will affect almost every business district. As the city council looks to rewrite its UDO in the coming months, will it reconsider zoning in downtown, which is less restrictive than other areas of the Durham zoning map, to better support local businesses as they navigate the ongoing changes to the city’s skyline?
Happy Friday, readers.
—Justin
Durham
Local workers rallied at a May Day march in downtown Durham this week.
The City of Durham temporarily closed playgrounds at five parks to conduct, and await the results of, lead testing.
Wake
Records show that NC State administrators’ concerns over employees being exposed to carcinogenic chemicals at Poe Hall go back more than a decade.
Orange
Orange County Board of Commissioners met with Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Boards of Education to discuss budgets for the next academic year and a bond referendum on the ballot this fall that would fund school capital projects.
North Carolina
Smithfield attorney Kelly Daughtry dropped out of the GOP runoff for the 13th Congressional District and endorsed her opponent, Raleigh attorney Brad Knott, after Knott received Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 90 degrees.
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