Developer plans $343M ‘tribute’ to Durham’s Hayti community with nearly 1,000 housing units

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A massive housing project coming to Durham aims to honor the legacy of the historic Hayti neighborhood.

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Developers plan to build more than 900 mixed-income apartments and townhomes right across the freeway near the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Right now, this property is lined with vacant homes that are part of the former Forest Hills Heights public housing community. But new developments are coming after the Durham Housing Authority selected a partner for the 15-acre site, which sits adjacent to downtown Durham and the Hayti community.

The Integral Group, which is developing the new community, told CBS 17 that the first phase of the project will bring more than 300 units of mixed-income, for-rent housing.

“[We’re] really focused on representing the history of Hayti,” The Integral Group Senior Development Executive Jordan Jones said. “That’s one of the key reasons why we’ve named this project ‘Tribute Rising’ to pay tribute to those leaders in the Hayti neighborhood.

“We’ll be very focused, very intentional on thinking about how we present and acknowledge and pay tribute to the history of Hayti, not only through the diverse community in which we will curate, but also thinking about a lot of the public spaces we have access to,” Jones said.

Construction of the first phase will also include a new home for the Black Farmers’ Market as well as an extension of Kate’s Korner Learning Center.

“I think that it’s a tribute to the history of Black Wall Street and the Hayti community,” Kate’s Corner owner and operator Kate Goodwin said. “It used to be, as we know historically, a very functional and well taken care of, sufficient community. And it will be again, so I think this is a beautiful start to that.”

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When the housing complex is finished, the developer said there will be affordable, workforce and market-rate housing. Some units are dedicated to seniors.

“We know Durham is a great community that celebrates its diversity, and we’re looking to ensure that whole households have the opportunity to live on this site,” Jones said.

According to Jones, the project could build nearly 1,000 units within the next seven to ten years, with a total projected development cost of $343 million.

Funding for the first phase is anticipated to be sourced by a permanent loan of $80 million, $19 million from the Durham Housing Authority and $19 million in equity.

The developer plans to break ground on the project next year before completing construction on the first phase in 2028. There is no timing on when phase two or three could begin construction.

According to Jones, The Integral Group was the first company in the United States to develop mixed-income housing, which occurred in downtown Atlanta in 1994.

Jones said evidence and a recent Harvard study show mixed-income housing projects have had a significant impact on transforming lives across the country.

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