On Monday evening, the Durham City Council unanimously voted down Hayti Properties LLC’s request to close down Hayti Lane, a 229-foot street that intersects with the historic Old Fayetteville Street. Numerous residents voiced their opposition to the proposal during the council’s public hearing on the issue.
Hayti, once the thriving “Black Wall Street” in East Durham, declined in vibrance due to predatory urban renewal initiatives and the construction of the Durham Freeway. The area has remained largely undeveloped in the last few decades, but the Durham City Council recently approved a proposal to invest over $40 million into the now-abandoned 20-acre site to build affordable housing.
Hayti Lane runs through about 19 townhome-style homes. Hayti Properties LLC, which owns the properties on which the townhomes sit and the vast majority of the surrounding area, argued that because these structures were not built until around 1987, they do not qualify as historic…