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Reconnecting residents and neighborhoods
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Revitalize Connections
DHA and the City understand that the neighborhood where housing is located is just as important as the quality of the housing itself. One of the key goals of the Durham Choice program is to reintegrate the 519 E. Main and Liberty site into the larger fabric of downtown and to reconnect downtown to adjacent communities that have not benefited equally from downtown Durham’s growth.
To coordinate this effort, DHA is partnering with Downtown Durham, Inc. (DDI), which has a 25-year history of working with small business owners, entrepreneurs, and property owners to help businesses locate and expand in downtown.
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Invest in Community
The Durham Choice target area includes a portion of the historic Hayti community, a once vibrant African American community located just south of downtown. In the name of urban renewal, the commercial core of Hayti was demolished in the 1960s to make room for the new Highway 147 that would connect downtown Durham to the new Research Triangle Park. The construction of the freeway resulted in the displacement of more than 4,000 households and 500 businesses and created a division between Hayti and downtown that remains to this day.
Durham Choice funds will be used to support community institutions like the Hayti Heritage Center, to build pedestrian connections between Hayti and downtown and help long-term businesses to remain in place and benefit from the transformation rather than being pushed out. Funds will also be used to create a small park on the 519 E. Main and Liberty Street site that will be accessible to all Durham residents.
Pictured below:
Left: R17 project area in 1950, Right: R17 project area in 1972
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