Update (as of 2/2/20): Outreach Summary & Upcoming City Council Meeting

Thank you to all who provided input on the Proposed Urban Avenue Street Closure & Development Agreement! Here is a summary of the outreach conducted in September 2019. 

This proposal will be on the City Council Agenda for a vote and public hearing on Monday, March 2 (rescheduled from November). 

- Council Meetings are held at 7pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 101 City Hall Plaza.

- Request to appear before City Council: To make comments at a public hearing, citizens may sign up in advance of the meeting by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at 919-560-4166. Residents can also sign up at the time of the council meeting by using the “Speaker’s List” card located at the City Clerk’s desk in the Council Chambers.

For more information, contact Nia Rodgers via email ([email protected]) or phone ((919) 560-4197 x 21225).

The Durham City Council wants to know what you think about a potential street closing and development project. 

A developer is proposing closing part of Urban Avenue (the red box) to accommodate re-use of the Brame Building (the purple star). The street is currently gravel and grass, and is not paved.

If closed, the land within the red box would be split between different neighboring property owners, including the developer. The curved, wooded area is the location of the future Durham Belt Line Trail. (See below for more details.)

Durham’s City Council has the ability to accept, reject, or modify this developer’s proposal. We will collect your ideas, concerns, and input, particularly as it relates to the Belt Line Trail component, for presentation to City Council later this year.

The City conducted outreach in September 2019 to gather community input for this project. 

For more information, contact Nia Rodgers via email ([email protected]) or phone ((919) 560-4197 x 21225). To contact the developer, Spencer Merritt of Akridge, email [email protected] or phone (202) 420-1330. 

To get updates about this project, sign up on our interest page.

More Details

• Proposed Project: The City received a request from a property owner (Brame Specialty Company, Inc.) and developer (Akridge) to permanently close a dead-end 934 foot portion of Urban Avenue (note: please see maps below) and receive two easements from the City. The street is currently mostly grass and gravel. The developer’s request is intended to support the renovation of the existing Brame Building at 949 Washington Street, re-purposing it for office space and then using the land that was formerly the street for parking. The project also borders the future Durham Belt Line Trail.
• Proposed Donation: The developer has proposed donating to the City: (1) construction of 100 feet of the future Durham Belt Line Trail, located adjacent to the proposed redevelopment, (2) construction of 15 public parking spaces that could be used by neighbors and/or users of the future Belt Line Trail, and (3) a cash payment of $30,860 to the City.

The developer is proposing re-using the current Brame Building for office tenants and using the former street for a parking lot (including 15 public parking spots). The image below* also shows the developer’s donation of 100’ of Belt Line Trail.

Current Exterior

Proposed Renovated Exterior* 

* denotes images were provided by the developer and are conceptual.