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The
East Durham National Register Historic District, just a few blocks east of
Downtown, is an ideally located neighborhood providing an excellent mix of
quality historic homes that are affordable for working families and
first-time homeowners. But the neighborhood has been plagued with absentee landlords
and years of disinvestment, resulting in poorly maintained and vacant
buildings and wanton demolitions that have fractured the community's
cohesiveness. Existing homeowners have seen property values fall and
crime rates rise.
For more than five years, Preservation North Carolina and Preservation Durham
have been
working with East Durham residents and community
advocates.
Now we are launching Project RED
to push ahead the efforts
to
Revitalize East Durham. Together,
we can
rebuild a safe, attractive, economically sound and sustainable
neighborhood that is both racially and economically diverse.
By preserving and rehabilitating the neighborhood's
wealth of early-20th-century homes, we will increase the number of owner-occupants,
encourage investments in amenities and infrastructure and bring back
pride in the community.
Preservation
NC and Preservation Durham have committed to renovating and selling several vacant historic houses and
encouraging the private construction of new houses. The houses will be affordable for service workers, public
employees, and first-time homeowners.
All of the historic Project RED
homes will be sold with
protective covenants and eligible for historic rehabilitation tax credits as well as
other financial incentives. We expect to invest more than $1.2 million
to acquire and rehabilitate these historic properties.
No matter where
you live, you can get involved with Project RED. If you believe that saving
diverse historic communities like East Durham is important or that
neighborhood revitalization makes for sustainable cities, we need your
help.
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