City Council Paves Way For Major Durham Housing Project

Bull City

is about to get a little more crowded.

The Durham City Council approved a rezoning plan that paves the way for one of the biggest housing developments in the city.

Tuesday night, council members approved rezoning 678 acres just south of Sherron Road and north of Highway 70.

Not everyone is happy about the plan.

In this eastern section of the city, cows still graze along the roadside and neighbors are not piled up on top of each other. However, things are about to change.

The city council gave the go ahead for what will be one of the biggest housing developments in Durham.

"It's just so beautiful and peaceful," says Linda Hoffman, a lifelong resident of Sherron Road. "When I was a child it was a dirt road. It's beautiful land and we enjoy it."

Village Creek will sit on nearly 700 acres between Highway 70 and Sherron Road, adding more than 2,500 homes, town houses and apartments to the area.

"I'm concerned about traffic congestion on Sherron Road and overcrowding in the schools and the wildlife," says Hoffman.

While people who live in the area worry that the development will forever change the landscape, city leaders say it is the perfect example of smart growth.

"What we've got is an opportunity to have housing within three miles of RTP. It's a place where people can live and work and not have those 30-, 40-, 50-minute commutes every day," says councilman Dan Hill.

That is of little comfort to many lifelong residents who says a giant housing development is not their idea of progress.

The developer, Triad Homes, has promised to donate 27 acres to Durham Public School for a future elementary school.Village Creek is expected to be completed in 10 years.