City OKs $660K to help The Scrap Exchange build future affordable housing in Durham
This story was updated at 10 a.m. Dec. 5, 2019.
The Scrap Exchange in Durham is known for its mission of reusing materials and promoting creativity through its store and programs.
But what about affordable housing, a skateboard park and community gardens? That’s where the nonprofit wants to go next, with the Reuse Arts District.
The district was proposed in 2016, when The Scrap Exchange bought the northern end of the Lakewood Shopping Center, to create a “cultural, environmental, historical, recreational and community-based destination.”
Now the city of Durham is giving the nonprofit $660,000 in an affordable housing agreement so it can finish leasing and pre-leasing all of its commercial space.
“The Scrap Exchange is so grateful to City Council for their support of the Reuse Arts District,” executive director Laura Nicholson said. “This funding is an important step to help us achieve our model of real estate development without displacement or gentrification.”
Once it signs enough district leases, The Scrap Exchange plans to develop affordable housing on what’s now a parking lot outside Rhythms Live Music Hall and across the street from the nonprofit’s retail building. It will bring on a development partner if the city approves the funding.
The city, which approved the funding on Dec. 2, has asked for at least 33 affordable housing units on the lot, within 10 years. Most would range from 500 to 1,000 square feet under the current proposal.
“We want to build community and also serve individuals who could benefit from the nonprofits and businesses that are located there,” Nicholson said.
Currently, the Reuse Arts District includes nonprofits like El Futuro, a mental health clinic for Latino families, and El Centro Hispano, a community center for Latino family education and leadership development.
At the council’s Nov. 3 meeting, council member Charlie Reece called it a “viable product that can be built on the site.”
Mayor Pro Tempore Jillian Johnson said the affordable housing will help fight gentrification in the Lakewood community.
“A lot of things are coming together at the same time,” Nicholson said.
“We’re really excited to have the city help us close the funding gap that will get us to affordable housing,” she said. “Instead of just talking about affordable housing.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 5:46 PM.
