Durham Reporter

As residents in Durham watch luxury apartments being built, they sometimes realize the rent is likely to be out of their price range.

Finally, however, downtown Durham is getting some affordable housing, with the goal being to offer some of the perks the luxury complexes offer renters, but within a more reasonable budget.

It is welcome news that Durham will be turning county-owned parking lots into tracts for affordable housing.

“When you look at the architectural design of the building and you look at the amenities, which include on-site leasing, storage units, a fitness center, a resident’s lounge, it’s a higher-end living experience but at an affordable price,” Ronn Stewart, senior vice president of Laurel Street Residential, told CBS17.com. Laurel Street will start construction on 105 units at 300 East Main Street this fall. 

“Rent for a one-bedroom will probably start in the $750-per-month range, and for three bedrooms it will go up to $1800 a month,” Stewart told CBS17.com.

To qualify for a unit, a person must fall within specific income parameters, making 30 to 80% of the area's median income. That should be a help for those who want to live near their places of employment but previously couldn’t afford to, said Clarence Laney, pastor at Monument of Faith Church and a representative of Durham Congregations Associations and Neighborhoods.

“If you drive in downtown Durham, you will see these wonderful high-rises and all of these upscale apartments, but what you will not see is affordable housing,” Laney told CBS17.com. “So those who work in the service industry downtown cannot afford to live in downtown.”

While the project is a start, Laney said that’s all it is and he hopes other such developments are in the works soon. 

“I think it’s a drop in the bucket when you think of the number of units in downtown Durham and the number of units that are affordable,” he said. "I certainly do believe it is the beginning to a great partnership.”