PRO: Light rail will be connective and inclusive

It’s rare for large scale change to directly benefit the most vulnerable populations of Durham. This is especially true for poor and minority residents. From the building of Highway 147 to a booming downtown, large scale change has left these populations worse-off, with little direct benefit.

In the black community there is a feeling that growth and large scale projects are not intended to benefit them, but rather to exclude them. This sentiment follows the planned building of the Durham-Orange Light Rail (DOLR). When Durham Housing Authority (DHA) launched its bold plans to redevelop its downtown properties similar concerns were raised. Quite simply, both benefit all of Durham in the short and long term. It’s about connectivity.

DHA’s vision for the redevelopment of its public housing communities means that 1 in 5 Durham city residents currently living in poverty will have opportunities for housing and jobs. Planned redevelopment will increase the overall number of units in the downtown area from less than 450 to over 2,500 mixed-income units. Our approach will have the greatest impact through connecting and leveraging every available opportunity. We began our strategy by exploring community assets coupled with the opportunities of the DOLR. It’s all connected.

The DOLR is critically important because of the many reasons articulated by others, from connectivity to large scale job centers, to the current and future relief to our burgeoning traffic woes. The impact to our poverty community will be life changing by providing job opportunities that will be maximized through partnerships with Durham Tech, the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development and DHA. These jobs will raise people above the poverty line, giving a brighter future to the existing adult population and that of their children. With current and predicted growth, the construction trades will continue to be in high demand. Our development work on the downtown properties alone will total over $566 million, coupled with that of the multi-billion dollar DOLR will mean an opportunity to raise a significant number of families above the poverty level. Minority contractors will also be afforded an important entry point to grow successful Black and minority owned businesses.

The building of the DOLR offers other benefits to address our affordable housing crisis. Each parking structure space adds about $130/month to rent. Demonstrating a nexus to the pending DOLR affords us the ability to reduce parking requirements and consequently drive down the cost of an affordable housing unit.

The DOLR is at the center of a rare opportunity for a large scale change to have a direct positive impact to vulnerable communities in Durham. The path to greater shared prosperity has a significant opportunity through the connectivity that the DOLR offers. The impact of this connectivity extends beyond the 18 mile, 19 station light rail line. It offers connections to a prosperity for all of Durham.

Anthony Scott is chief executive officer of the Durham Housing Authority.

This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 12:20 PM.