"The proof is in the pudding" was Mayor Bill Bell's response to concerns raised at Monday's City Council meeting that the redevelopment strategy for Durham's Barnes Avenue Area needs more financial research.
The redevelopment strategy may prove to be the city's most comprehensive involvement in urban renewal efforts since the American Tobacco renovations in downtown Durham. The city has prioritized improving the Barnes Avenue Area's safety and livability since December 2002, when the neighborhood was diagnosed as a "blighted area."
The reconstructed housing units will first be made available to displaced Barnes Avenue Area residents and then to individuals earning at or below 80 percent of the median income, as stipulated by federal funding sources. After those two markets have been satisfied, other interested parties can lay claim to the new properties.
Council member John Best voiced concern that the redevelopment strategy's pricing estimates were incompatible with the area's market. The average cost of a reconstructed two-bedroom condominium in the Barnes Avenue Area will be an estimated $90,000. Best said he found comparable real estate in Research Triangle Park for only $72,500, and noted that the city's investment was troubling some constituents.
"I just want financial answers to financial questions," Best said.
City Manager Marcia Connor said the Barnes Avenue Area redevelopment strategy marketing study suggested that new construction carried a higher price tag, making cost comparisons to older buildings difficult. Connor also pointed out that $90,000 was an average estimate and that lower-cost units would be available for rent.
Although much remains to be resolved, Bell expressed confidence that private bidding for developing and selling rights would correct any errors in the city's estimates. He stressed the city's responsibility to invest in the area.
"The proof is in the pudding," Bell said. "We could have just walked away from [the Barnes Avenue Area] and said, 'Let it continue,' but I think we made the right decision."
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