Durham Technical Community College saw one of its projects to provide future housing for both students and the public gain traction this year after it secured more federal funding.
The school held a ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 2, to celebrate an additional $620,000 going toward its 124-unit affordable housing initiative at 902 South Briggs Avenue, with U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee on hand to honor the achievement. The goal of the development, which will be on college-owned land near Durham Tech’s main campus, is to provide a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units to Durham residents who earn between 30% and 70% of the Area Median Income — with 25% of the units reserved for its college students.
“I am very pleased that I could assist with this initiative,” Foushee said. “We need more affordable housing in Durham, and I’m very proud of this unique partnership Durham Tech spearheaded that could be a model for other communities in our nation.”
“Without the safe, decent, affordable place to live, it’s nearly impossible to thrive in school, succeed in work, raise a family or even stay healthy,” the NC District 4 congresswoman added.
Foushee’s office said the $620,000 is part of a total of $12.39 million in federal funding granted in the 2024 fiscal year for 15 community projects across her district, which also includes Orange County. The representative made the requests in 2023 and they were ultimately included in the appropriations package passed by Congress and signed into law this March.
According to a release from the community college, the federal funding allows for Durham Tech and its development partners to move forward with their application for a low-income housing tax credit and strengthens plans to begin construction on the apartment community next year. The project, which began in 2022 after the school announced its commitment to address affordable housing demand, is being developed in partnership with Mosaic Development Group and the Banc of America Community Development Corporation.
A 2022 site plan for Durham Technical Community College’s affordable housing project off South Briggs avenue. (Photo via ColeJenest & Stone and Durham Tech.)
Rep. Valerie Foushee speaks to a crowd at the ceremony announcing $626,000 of federal funding for Durham Tech’s affordable housing initiative. A developer rendering of a future housing facility sits toward her left. (Photo via the Office of Rep. Valerie Foushee.)
“We know that finding affordable housing is a critical issue not just for many of our students, but for the greater community,” Durham Tech President J.B. Buxton said in Wednesday’s release. “Lack of affordable housing can be an obstacle for families struggling to make ends meet and for people who want to get an education to pursue careers where they can increase their earnings. Part of the College’s mission is to remove obstacles that impede people in our community from pursuing education, upward mobility and careers.”
The federal funding comes after both the Durham City Council and Durham County Commissioners each committed their own financial support toward the project — with the city government providing a significant chunk of $5.4 million in February 2023. When the project was first announced in 2022, school leaders said it would cost an estimated $29 million.
According to Durham Technical Community College, its development partners to fully begin construction in the summer of 2025. The projected timeline is for leasing outreach to begin about a year later, and tenants will be able to move into the units by early summer 2027.
Featured image via the Office of Rep. Valerie Foushee.
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