Durham breaks ground on 160 affordable apartments near potential ‘entertainment district’

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — In an effort to ease the city’s affordable housing crisis, Durham leaders broke ground on more than 100 new apartments near Brier Creek on Wednesday.

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The currently empty lot on Page Road will soon be home to hundreds of people searching for a cheaper place to live.

“It’s a lot harder today for people that live and work in Durham to actually afford to live here,” Lincoln Avenue Communities Executive VP of Policy & Impact Thom Amdur said.

On Wednesday, Lincoln Avenue Communities hosted a ceremony for the Page Corners Apartments project. Developers said it will be an affordable housing complex with 160 apartments.

The units will be reserved for families that earn 60 percent or less of the area median income.

“They’re probably going to be saving anywhere from $500 to $800 a month in rent compared to these beautiful market rate apartments that are across the way,” Amdur said. “That’s really meaningful on the impact to somebody’s life.”

According to the Durham Housing Authority, a one-bedroom unit is projected to cost about $1,100 a month, while a two-bedroom unit could cost less than $1,400. Three and four-bedroom apartments will also be available.

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“They’re going to be indistinguishable from these great market rate communities that have been developed here and really made this an area of opportunity for continued growth for the city, for residents and for the long-term community,” Lincoln Avenue Communities VP & Project Partner Jordan Richter said.

Project leaders said the complex will cost roughly $57 million to build.

City officials said the Durham Housing Authority issued more than $30 million in tax-exempt multifamily housing revenue bonds to help with the project.

Mayor Leonardo Williams said the area, located near Top Golf and Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, is slated to become a new entertainment district.

“What we’re doing is building a small ecosystem here to where property tax and sales tax coincide and generate the revenue that we need to build out a city that’s worth living in, that’s worth playing in and that’s worth working in,” Williams said.

While construction on Page Corners is underway, the developer expects the project to be finished in about a year. 

The property will feature a clubhouse, pool, fitness center, playgrounds, activity centers and outdoor gathering spaces. 

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