[Durham INC] FW: Invitation to Walltown Press Conference on Northgate Mall

Mon Apr 26 18:22:35 EDT 2021

Oh my.  What he said. 

From: Tom Miller [mailto:tom-miller1 at nc.rr.com] 
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2021 6:18 PM
To: 'Jeff Furman'; 'Schewel, Steve'; 'Council at DurhamNC.gov'
Subject: RE: Invitation to Walltown Press Conference on Northgate Mall

Whatever your experience may have been in other places, Mr. Furman.  In Durham we believe everyone should share in the benefits of our community and that everyone shares in the responsibility of confronting and overcoming our community’s problems.  No one is exempt from obligations of community stewardship.  This applies to private landowners no less than anyone else.  In fact, I would venture to say that when someone who owns so large a parcel near our city center as Northgate with all the opportunities that flow from that ownership, the responsibility of community stewardship is all the greater.

Tom Miller

From: Jeff Furman [mailto:jfurman at nwravin.com] 
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2021 5:54 PM
To: Schewel, Steve; Council at DurhamNC.gov
Subject: RE: Invitation to Walltown Press Conference on Northgate Mall

Dear Mr. Mayor and Durham City Council,

We are reaching out to express our sincere appreciation for the energy the Walltown neighborhood and Northgate Mall Neighborhood Council NMNC is investing to help their public requests be heard.

However, while we sympathize with the desire of the neighbors to have more affordable housing and affordable retail next to their homes, this request for action needs to be directed to the City of Durham and its elected officials.  Not to fellow private landowners.

We believe the City should be working directly with Walltown and NMNC to find solutions to relieve gentrification.  Reducing property taxes so Walltown owners can stay in their homes at an affordable price could be a creative solution.  The City purchasing available land and working to subsidize it with grants to make affordable housing financially viable is another option.  We know there are plenty of other ideas the City Council can investigate as well.

However, asking private landowners to solve the City’s issues is a misdirected mission.  Northgate Mall, just like the Walltown and NMNC homes, is privately owned.  It has paid expensive market rate taxes for decades and has recently been sold at market rate prices.  Like so many malls around the country, it is now obsolete.  Northgate has been deteriorating for years and is now no longer financially viable to keep open.  We have been working hard on a new vision for Northgate mall which is to redevelop it as mixed-use village, but the pandemic has made a complicated process even tougher.  The phase one business plan at the reduced height density is also straining the financial viability of the project. 

While we appreciate the ideas coming from Walltown and NMNC, we instead encourage the neighborhoods to work directly with the City and its elected officials to change public policy to relieve gentrification and locate more affordable housing and affordable retail on nearby underutilized public land.

Thanks,

 <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.northwoodravin.com%2f&c=E,1,GGhE2nVTNk9dzeqfnQPMcHf8bulYZQCQ6l-Yl7ddTOC-8BLXEqHPyz0SDQ8INGfH5CAgJFBXN5DiNGaJfpIav5L66VU7uAjwaEn8Lqg2rMzASAxlTlGwYvMpDEcryg,,&typo=1> http://nwrliving.com/images/email/image001.jpg

Jeff Furman

Director of Raleigh Operations

Vice President, Development

3015 Carrington Mill Blvd,  Suite 460

Morrisville, NC 27560

Dir:  919.354.3677

Mob: 919.602.9092

 <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.northwoodravin.com%2f&c=E,1,IshodQLUUExyFYvCeelFu0cPD4HqTyWYCR2-qDr2NrFMhY4_2gQf0HTtjCJM5iPHI-y1OtkfXVIEWGPmykyourRxalOqvcsAn-EDvLdQYHCkJpD7AnJa7ZWl&typo=1> www.northwoodravin.com

 <http://www.linkedin.com/company/northwood-ravin> cid:image001.png at 01D0FA07.02EFF620   <http://www.facebook.com/NorthwoodRavin> cid:image002.png at 01D0FA07.02EFF620   <http://instagram.com/northwoodravin/> cid:image003.png at 01D0FA07.02EFF620   <http://www.pinterest.com/northwoodravin/> cid:image004.png at 01D0FA07.02EFF620   <http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrNS6oKOmNLsBrjKZOzyX3A> cid:image005.png at 01D0FA07.02EFF620   <http://twitter.com/search?q=northwood%20ravin&src=typd> cid:image007.png at 01D1100C.6D329AE0

From: Brandon J. Williams <brandonjhudson at gmail.com> 
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2021 6:14 PM
To: Jeff Furman <jfurman at nwravin.com>; Jonathan Stewart (jstewart at northwoodretail.com) <jstewart at northwoodretail.com>; Schewel, Steve <Steve.Schewel at durhamnc.gov>; Council at DurhamNC.gov; Young, Sara <sara.young at durhamnc.gov>; Dobrzenski, Bo <Bo.Dobrzenski at durhamnc.gov>; Stelfanie Williams, Ed.D. <stelfanie.williams at duke.edu>; Mayme F Webb-Bledsoe <mayme.webb at duke.edu>; Eliza Mathew <eliza.mathew at duke.edu>; Commissioners <commissioners at dconc.gov>; DurhamPlanningCommission at durhamnc.gov
Cc: Audrey Mitchell <msmayor44 at gmail.com>; Diane S. <diane1009 at gmail.com>; Emily Rhode <emilyerhode at gmail.com>; Marcus southern <marcus.southern at gmail.com>; eunora mangum <eunoramangum at me.com>
Subject: Invitation to Walltown Press Conference on Northgate Mall

Dear Northgate Mall property owners and key stakeholders,

On Saturday, April 24th at 10am, the Walltown Community Association is holding a press conference to:

·  Provide updates on our Northgate Mall organizing efforts

·  Reaffirm our vision for neighborhood growth without displacement

·  Amplify the voices of residents negatively impacted by gentrification

·  Share survey data on community design goals for the redevelopment

·  Give a call to action for those who want to join us in this struggle

At the end of July 2020, the WCA formed the Northgate Mall Neighborhood Council (NMNC), which includes 12 residents representing seven neighborhoods: Walltown, Northgate Park, Duke Park, Trinity Park, Trinity Heights, Watts Hospital Hillandale, and Old West Durham. The purpose of the NMNC was to spatialize a collective community vision-- <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fdataworks-nc.org%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2fWCA-Strategic-Vision-for-Northgate-Mall.pdf&c=E,1,75CkRaPL0y3ll6O-U1piE9tHJ_fnPS3l1jk45PRfHGsAmldqewGXMPpvN0HIyeGYvNyIh6-ZchYTgIfa9EbkRPZhra9JqvtL7lVVByZo&typo=1> centered around Walltown’s strategic goals--for the redevelopment of the mall property by creating a set of alternative design maps. We recently surveyed Durham residents (November 2020 thru January 2021) and received 386 responses providing feedback on our design goals and alternative maps.

The event will be held at Walltown Park in the baseball field close to Guess Road. Parking is available at the recreation center (1308 W Club Blvd, Durham, NC 27705). You can walk over from there. Masks are required to participate. If you do not have one, we will provide one for you. We will also have hand sanitizer.

Please check out the history of this initiative at our website <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.dataworks-nc.org%2fwalltown&c=E,1,fkYUvVMMXOLJyC-RbyUUZem_nyFKjgDTDChFT_FMIJS5D8Wd7W_cEZUQDtcFhYT2eG4O5__Pp0i9B5jwlkvWwWmG3gukmlluMAX5t0Inv83GFAw-iCHsP3xQ_S0,&typo=1> . Let us know if you have any questions.

We hope to see you there!

Peace,

-- 

Brandon J. Williams

he/him/his

919.308.3900

"From beatboxers to beat breakers, like the yellow brick road we go where the beat takes us..."

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