[SeeGov Enhanced] Council Approves Three Durham Development Projects, Plus Northgate Plan

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Durham City Council members Monday night unanimously approved three projects that will bring hundreds of apartments to the South Durham area.

They also passed a small-area plan proposed as the future of Northgate Mall, but Mark-Anthony Middleton, representative for Ward 2 and Mayor Pro Tempore, cautioned against counting that as a guarantee for how development’s going to go there.

“What happens if developers don’t want to comport with this plan and want to do what they want?” Middleton said, echoing a question raised during public comment at the hearing. “What can we do? Nothing, and we need to be very clear about that, what this is that we’re voting for.”

The mall, closed since 2020, is slated for redevelopment by Northwood Investors out of Charlotte. The suggested plan worked out by residents in the area calls for significant affordable housing, retail, community space, and transportation connectivity.

But small-area plans like the one approved this week don’t prevent Northwood Investors from ultimately going their own way.

The council also held public hearings for and unanimously approved the Fayetteville Flats affordable-housing apartments project with about 220 units near Hillside High School along Fayetteville Street; as many as 200 apartments in the Lowe’s Grove neighborhood along South Alston Avenue; and cleanup zoning for a warehouse property along U.S. 70.

Check out video highlights from the meeting via SeeGov:

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