News Features:
Return to Erwin Mills Cemetery for 2000 Spruce Up
Duke and Shodor Volunteers Clean Up Neighborhood
OWD Focus of E.K. Powe/Duke Center for Documentary Studies Neighborhoods Project
[Sixnewthings.com helps you get a monthly bead on the many new things there are to see and do in 70 locations across North America... and beyond. In October, 2004, Old West Durham was featured.]
Diversity, Harmony, Community Come Alive in Durham's Ninth Street District
Durham took quite a few hits when the tobacco economy crumbled. Now, in anticipation of a 2007 light rail connection that will connect Durham with Raleigh and Research Triangle Park, sleepy and sad areas of the central core are beginning to perk up.
We're particularly impressed by the way in which the developers have worked sensibly with the established Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. Neighbors, in turn, have supported neighbor-friendly development in the nearby Ninth Street District.
The district, in particular, has seen an influx of energy and people thanks in large part to Station Nine, a 323-unit apartment complex located on the site of the former cotton mill. Now open.
Column:
Is Duke trying to isolate itself?
(Herald-Sun,15 March 2004)
Over the past year, the Duke-Durham partnership neighborhoods have met dozens of times with Duke officials. We've devoted hundreds of hours to Duke's campus rezoning and Central Campus plans.
We supported the rezoning for the Medical Center, East
Campus and West Campus. We support the re-development of Central Campus.
We support all the new dorms. We support the new restaurants and the
performing arts center. We support the 99-room hotel, bowling alley,
Duke clothing store and on-campus book store with coffee shop.
We have been quite reasonable in supporting Duke's needs. Retail use supporting the university mission is appropriate. But we voted to oppose retail on Central Campus which is above and beyond the school's academic mission.
We're troubled on-campus retail would have an unfair
advantage over nearby businesses because they wouldn't have to pay property
taxes. Were troubled the on-campus retail would undermine surrounding
neighborhoods and also create an on-campus retail cocoon -- further
isolating Duke students from Durham.
We are opposed to any on-campus retail beyond the agreement
we worked out with Duke Executive Vice President Tallman Trask (i.e.
three restaurants to serve the new student dorms, a bowling alley, maybe
a
performing arts center, 99-room hotel, Duke clothing store, on-campus
book store with coffee shop). That's it, no more retail. The partnership
neighborhoods then voted on and endorsed this agreement.
At Wednesday's meeting, Duke showed plenty of "conceptual" drawings, but proved evasive with specific retail figures -- not committing to anything.
When pressed, Mr. Trask acknowledged Duke was seeking
an additional 10,000 square feet of retail (or five shops). And, he
acknowledged it might be more. This extra retail is a violation of the
retail agreement worked out with the partnership neighborhoods zoned
under the "university" category but raised the possibility
it might be "general commercial." Going
with general commercial is consistent with Duke's actions a year ago,
when the university architect went behind our back to actively lobby
for removal of the term "limited retail" from Durham's university
ordinance. That Duke would even consider zoning part of its campus as
general commercial is stunning news.
Duke recently decided to lower its parking lot gates
during off-hours. The University just built an eight-foot fence along
sections of its southern
boundary.
Last year, Duke officials privately insisted on being
able to build a future eight-foot fence and gates with card readers
around East Campus if they wanted to. Now, one of Duke's most senior
officials has stated a
desire to build even more on-campus retail.
This troubling pattern raises a serious question. Is
Duke trying to isolate itself from Durham?
--John Schelp is president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association.
Civil
rights leader's son visits E.K. Powe
Martin Luther King III visits with science class and signs 1968 Life magazine with his father on the cover.
Students at E.K. Powe Elementary School bubbled with excitement Thursday as Martin Luther King, III, son of late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., toured their school as part of Duke's Neighborhood Partnership Initiative. As King walked around the school, he met with students and talked to administrators and teachers.
Among the stops King made at E.K. Powe was a third grade science laboratory that the University helped design and develop.
E.K. Powe Principal Brandon Patterson said he hopes the visit will help children have a concrete vision of someone who symbolizes the ideals teachers try to reinforce at the school.
"We hope this experience becomes a conversation point for children and their parents at home," Patterson said. "If families start talking about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s message, they will ask themselves, 'What are we doing as a family?'"
MLK III meets new E.K. Powe principal, Brandon Patterson
E.K. Powe is one of four elementary schools that has become a partner with Duke University as a result of the Neighborhood Partnership Initiative. The NPI was developed in 1996 to coordinate Duke's often inconsistent efforts in Durham. The initiative now streamlines Duke's aid and advice through one main office and focuses on 12 nearby neighborhoods and seven schools within the areas closely surrounding the University.
Last year, Duke helped coordinate with local museums to help build a science courtyard at E.K. Powe, which is located on Ninth Street.
Two of the classes with whom King visited had been studying his father's work. He received letters from fifth graders who explained what they were doing to make the world a better place
courtesy of the Duke Chronicle (8/23/02)
Artist Donates Iron Art Sculptures for OWD Island on Ninth and Hillsborough
 |
OWDNA successfully sought permission from the NC DOT and the City of Durham to place two sculptures of bird figures on island at Ninth & Hillsborough. |
Letter to Mark Ahrendsen, Durham Transportation Director:
As you know, the island at Ninth and Hillsborough is the City property but State right-of-way (when we placed our Old West Durham sign there, we needed and secured permission from both jurisdictions).
FYI, a Durham artist has donated two bird figures to go in the middle of the large garden island ($10,000). The artist (who also crafted the iris sculptures at the new Duke Gardens center) is an Old West Durham resident who wants to give back to his community.
We have permission from the NC DOT:
"You have our permmission to erect the subject art objects" (07/02/02 email from Tom Gould, NC DOT)
DOT has seen the attached jpgs and wanted to make sure the figures did not pose a serious hazard if hit by a car.
FYI, each figure is six feet tall and six feet wide. We will not place the figures on brick pedestals and will place them far back from either street (ie. not on the grass). The artwork can easily be removed if the City has to do any roadwork in the area.
Just spoke with Betty Pittard at Real Estate. Since the site is a traffic island, she thought the decision would rest with your department.
I'll follow-up with a call to discuss (and hopefully invite you and Council to the unveiling). :-)
thank you,
John Schelp
Old West Durham
Letter from OWDNA to the Mayor and City Council Regarding Upcoming Development on Ninth Street
Mayor and City
Council
City Hall
Plaza
Durham, NC 27701
11 August 2000
Dear Mayor Tennyson and members of City Council:
The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association strongly supports the development plans, and the requested variance, for the 800 block of Ninth Street.
We applaud the Dickson family for working closely with the neighborhood association on its plans. We offered a number of suggestions that are reflected in the submitted plans (including red brick exterior instead of stucco -- to reflect the history of surrounding Erwin Mills and EK Powe Elementary). We are very excited about the planned renovation of this block of Ninth Street which has stood vacant for too long. We are absolutely delighted that the new buildings will serve as a bridge between the Ninth Street shops and the residential areas of Old West Durham.
This is a plan for which we should all feel very proud. The City and the Dickson's are to be commended for working with the community on a dream that will be a shot in the arm for the neighborhood and for all of Durham.
Sincerely yours,
John Schelp,
president
Betty Greene,
vice-president
cc: Lamont Ewell, City Manager Norm Standerfer, Planning Department
South
Ellerbe Creek Natural Area
The Durham City Council voted
to commit $150,000 toward the neighborhood green space across from EK
Powe.
Broad
Street BP
Working
closely with Watts-Hillandale and Trinity Heights, OWDNA succeeded in
asking the Board of Adjustment to rule that the BP gas station at Broad
and Markham not to be a six-island space ship (like the Ninth Street
BP design but only bigger). Instead, the owner has agreed to renovate
the existing design, add more appropriate lights on shorter poles, and
build a pitched-roof over the pumps (rather than the larger, flat canopy).
Four-way
stop signs
Thanks to suggestions posted
on the neighborhood listserver, OWDNA worked with Duke, St. Joseph's,
Blacknall, Bull City Market, Ninth Street Merchants Association and
the City to have a four-way stop sign installed at busy Perry and Iredell.
OWDNA also supported a resident-initiated effort for a four-way stop
sign placed at Rosehill and Knox. Working with Watts-Hillandale and
the City, a four-way stop sign was placed at Georgia and Englewood.
This measure was deemed more desirable by OWDNA than blocking off Georgia
-- which would have resulted in higher traffic levels in Old West Durham.
Finally, responding to resident concerns about pedestrian safety near
the ABC store, OWDNA succeeded in getting the City to install a four-way
stop sign at the corner of West Knox and Alabama.
Traffic
circles
The City
has promised to include 3 traffic calming measures for OWD in its next
construction contract: traffic circle at Oakland/Knox, traffic circle
at Green/Hale and a small traffic island in the mouth of Lawndale Avenue
(to slow cars coming off Hillsborough Road).
Pyne
Award
The Historic
Preservation Society of Durham presented the 2000 Pyne
Award to OWDNA for the innovative use of its web site -- including
its neighborhood history pages and photographs.
Revolving
Fund for Old Houses
The Historic Preservation
Society of Durham's Revolving Fund will allow HPSD to purchase threatened
historic properties, add protective covenants to the deeds, then resell
the houses to buyers dedicated to historic preservation. The proceeds
from sales would subsequently be invested in other properties.
If you know of a threatened historic property, contact Jeff Burdette
of HPSD at (919) 956-9729. Likewise, if you are interested in buying
a threatened property, or if you own an historic property to which you
would like to attach protective covenants, contact HPSD at 682-3036
or hpsd@mindspring.com for assistance. HPSD can also provide you with
information on tax credits for the restoration of historic properties.
