INC NEWS - Duke to give away historic Central houses (Chronicle)

[John Schelp]

Duke to give away historic Central houses
By Gabby McGlynn, Duke Chronicle, 5 Feb 2007

Now is the chance to own a part of Durham history.

Preservation Durham, a local non-profit organization,
is working with the University to relocate several of
the historic Erwin mill houses on Central Campus.

Twelve of the remaining houses from the mill village
that once included 450 homes for local factory workers
are now available to the public for free.

"There are two houses that are slated for demolition
as part of the early phases of the first phase of
Central Campus," Provost Peter Lange said. "Those
houses are the first ones that are available under
those terms that we offered. We think [the terms] are
very generous, and the community thinks they're very
generous."

The first step in the project will be to move the
Garden Street Store on 309 Garden St. and the
accompanying house on 1919 Yearby Ave.

"The only houses that need to have immediate homes are
the two," University Architect John Pearce said. "All
the rest are there for a voluntary move. If somebody
wants to identify one that they would like and can
find a place to take it, I would do everything I could
on the behalf of the University to help them."

Members of Preservation Durham said they would prefer
that the houses be moved into an existing cotton mill
village and, if not possible, to an older neighborhood
near the University. They added that they would like
the houses to remain in Durham.

Plans to save the homes-some of which are currently
being used by the University to house organizations
like the tropical studies department-emerged as a
result of ongoing Central Campus discussion with a
"stakeholders group" of local merchants and citizens.

Lange emphasized that the time frame for the project
is not immediate.

"Houses will become over time, or may become over
time, available on the terms that are listed
[publically]," Lange said. "But that's not until
they're either vacated by Duke or that they're slated
for demolition because of the Central Campus project."

John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham
Neighborhood Association, said he was pleased by how
the University interacted with its Durham neighbors.

"I would say that Duke listened to the community and
changed its plans to accommodate the [issues] raised
by the stakeholders," Schelp said. "In the end, we
were able to walk into City Council chambers
shoulder-to-shoulder."

Community interest has been positive, and potential
customers have come from all over the map.

Preservation Durham has received hundreds of names of
candidates from different locations and economic
backgrounds, said Carrie Mowry, community development
specialist for the organization.

"We've had people calling from Granville County,
Samson County and a lot of people from Durham," Mowry
said. "A lot of people are very interested in
preserving our history, which is exciting to see."

Mowry added that publicity for the project increased
after a Preservation Durham volunteer released news of
it to local listservs.

"A lot of people have e-mailed me who live near East
Campus," Schelp said. "They all seem to qualify. I
think the opportunity is there to save these two
houses."

A local couple, both of whom work at Duke, said they
heard about the opportunity from co-workers.

"We read about it, and our real estate agent called us
and told us it sounded like something we would be
interested in," said Kathryn, a surgical technician in
the operating room of Duke North Medical Center.

Because of preservation requirements and
transportation costs, relocating the mill houses will
not be an entirely free endeavor.

Preservation Durham may have to collect up to $2,500
per house to cover costs of historic covenants, and
owners must fund their own moving truck costs, toward
which the University has agreed to contribute $5,000
per house.

"A lot of people responded prior to their
understanding of the costs involved," Mowry said. "A
lot of the money you would need up front. The houses
can be moved probably with a minimum of $25,000."

Mowry added that she is pleased by how plans have
proceeded so far, pointing out that Duke has not
established a set timeline, giving the University a
more flexible range of options.

"This gives us time to get people in line and get
their ducks in a row," Mowry said. "The process takes
a lot of planning and time, and we're glad to get the
ball rolling now."