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Council hears updates on housing projects; manager flags four time-sensitive supplemental financing items
Summary
Council members discussed housing supply, rents and upcoming Durham Housing Authority redevelopment projects; the city manager flagged four supplemental, time-sensitive housing items that will return to council for later action.
Council members discussed recent housing data and three Durham Housing Authority redevelopment projects during the work session, and the city manager flagged four time-sensitive supplemental housing items that will be presented at a future council meeting.
In an extended announcements segment a council member noted recent local and national housing data, saying rental vacancy rates in Durham “are about 12%” and that “absolute rents have gone down in the city of Durham” over the past year. The speaker said those trends support the city’s prior policy choices to expand housing supply.
The same speaker described a recent Durham Housing Authority project, referred to as “the Vanguard” (formerly an Elizabeth Street property), that has come online as a mixed-income development with units set at levels at or below 80 percent of area median income. The speaker said the Vanguard includes a mix of transferred public-housing assistance, deeply affordable units and market-rate units and that features include in-unit washer/dryer hookups and shared amenities. The speaker said DHA will return later this fall with requests for funds to start redevelopment of Fayette Place and Forest Hills Heights.
The city manager’s office reported four supplemental items flagged as time sensitive that will be considered at a later meeting: (1) a grant agreement with the Durham Housing Authority for Forest Hills Heights relocation activities (agenda item 26); (2) a loan commitment for 902 South Briggs Avenue redevelopment with Mosaic Development Group (item 27); (3) an amendment to the city loan with KB Carver LLC for the Sandy Ridge Station project increasing the loan amount and revising affordability terms (item 28); and (4) a resolution to approve a multifamily housing facility known as 902 South Briggs Avenue and related financing with multifamily housing revenue bonds in an aggregate amount not to exceed $22,500,000 (item 29).
The city manager told the council that staff were not requesting action on those items at the work session but that the items are time sensitive and would be presented at a future meeting. The manager also confirmed a public hearing presentation on the Walltown small area plan and place type map amendment would occur at an upcoming meeting.
No formal votes on the flagged housing items occurred during the work session. Council members urged continued attention to housing affordability, the potential for displacement, and to coordination with the Durham Housing Authority as redevelopment requests return for formal action.
