In a surprise move during Monday's Durham City Council meeting, developers for the Heritage Square development were allowed to withdraw their rezoning request for the project.
Durham City council members approved allowing Sterling Bay to withdraw their request to rezone the development on Lakewood Avenue in a 5-2 vote.
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Sterling Bay asked to pull the rezoning after they gave their presentation for the project. More than 40 people signed up to speak on the measure.
It remains unclear if Sterling Bay's request to pull the rezoning is for the taller buildings or if the developer is withdrawing the entire project.
"The reality is this does not help the denial does not help the people of Hayti," said Jamie Schwedler with Parker Poe. "But neither does two hours of public discourse when it's clear that the writing is on the wall. And so for that reason, we respectfully request that the council allow us to withdraw this case."
Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams said he wants a planning meeting in the coming weeks to discuss what will happen in the neighborhood where the project was planned.
The nearly 10-acre plot of land sits next to the Durham Freeway in the heart of the Hayti community.
Sterling Bay announced their plans for the site when it was purchased in the summer of 2022: lab science space, offices, and residential units.
However, in October of 2024 when they began to plan for construction, the company said bedrock found on the site caused a problem for the planned underground parking garage. Now, they’re asking for a rezoning that would allow for taller buildings.
That rezoning request got significant pushback and went back and forth for months; the Planning Commission voted to reject it, 10-0.
Written comments from Planning Commissioners said the proposal didn’t do enough to improve the health and well-being of current Hayti residents, expressed concern over the history in the area, and called the lack of affordable housing “egregious.”
A Change.org petition against the rezoning has more than 1,300 signatures.
Reverend Julian Pridgen, the Senior Pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church, has concern about the physical parts of the development, along with the social impact.
His current congregation numbers between 250 and 300, worshipping in a building that dates back to 1955.
"We realize there will be some blasting, some shaking near us. We're very concerned about those pipes being disturbed or broken,” Pridgen said. "We're also concerned about the foundation of the church. They've talked about rock bed. They have to blast. We're concerned about the blasting, the ripples that might affect the church."
Pridgen and others point to the history of the Hayti community, which was cut in half by the construction of the Durham Freeway.
The City of Durham is currently soliciting input in its “Reimagining the Durham Freeway” study. The road is still a painful subject for many in Durham.
"I think that a super tall building over here would be emblematic of what happened back in the 50s and 60s and 70s when the Durham freeway was paved through this black community,” Pridgen said. "It's lamentable that we're back here in this same space and it seems as though history is repeating itself."
According to the materials from a March 2025 community engagement session, Sterling Bay is planning to install a memorial, sign, or art installation honoring the Hayti community’s history.
The developer also had plans for:
- About 2000 square-feet of conference center space available to community groups to reserve free of charge
- 1 acre pedestrian mall or public space
- 2,500 square-feet reserved for affordable retail space at 50% discount
The company says the development would create about 1,500 net new on-site jobs across one million square feet of commercial space and create an annual economic impact of $190 million.
During the April Planning Commission meeting, representatives of the developer told Commissioners without the rezoning, the property could remain vacant for years.