City leaders and community partners broke ground Wednesday on a major affordable housing development planned for Durham’s historic Hayti neighborhood, marking the start of construction on a long-vacant site along Merrick Street.
The Villages of Hayti is planned for the former Fayette Place site and will bring 252 affordable housing units to the area.
Developers say the community will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for households earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income. Plans for the site also include a community building, playground, walking paths and a picnic pavilion…