Durham considers 80 affordable apartments at former police HQ site
Durham City Council is considering a proposal to turn the former Durham Police headquarters property into 80 affordable apartments, putting a long-vacant city-controlled site on a possible path to residential use.
The proposal would allow Charlotte-based Laurel Street to develop the apartments through a 99-year ground lease. Durham is also considering more than $6 million in gap financing for the project.
The plan remains under consideration. It is not an approved or completed development, and the council’s decision will determine whether the proposal advances beyond the planning stage.
What Durham is considering
The proposed project would place 80 affordable apartments on the former police headquarters property. Laurel Street, a Charlotte-based developer, is the company identified to build the housing.
Rather than a short-term use of the site, the proposal calls for a ground lease lasting 99 years. That would commit the property to the proposed development for nearly a century while giving Laurel Street a long-term interest in the land for the project.
The city is also considering more than $6 million in gap financing. Gap financing generally refers to funding intended to close the difference between a project’s development costs and the money available from other sources. In this case, the proposed city contribution would be a significant public financial commitment alongside the long-term lease.
The exact financing structure and terms of the lease are part of the broader council consideration. The central framework currently identified is 80 affordable apartments, a 99-year ground lease and more than $6 million in proposed gap financing.
Why the property matters
The former police headquarters is a city-controlled property that has remained vacant. Converting it to housing would change the use of a public site and add apartments intended to be affordable in Durham.
The proposal also presents the city with two connected decisions: whether to make the land available for a long-term housing development and whether to provide millions of dollars in public financing to help make that development possible.
If the proposal moves forward, the site could become a residential property rather than remaining unused. The plan would also direct the site toward affordable housing instead of another type of redevelopment. Those outcomes remain conditional on council action.
For residents, the practical issue is not only the number of apartments but the public commitments required to create them. The proposed lease would extend for 99 years, while the proposed financing exceeds $6 million. Together, those terms would shape how the city uses the property and commits public resources over the long term.
What happens next
The City of Durham’s official agenda center lists an Aug. 3, 2026, City Council work session connected to pending council actions. The proposal was reported Aug. 7, 2026.
A final council vote, project schedule, affordability levels and detailed financing terms had not been established. Until those questions are resolved, the redevelopment remains a proposal rather than a final approval or construction project.
Any future council action on the ground lease or gap financing would be the next major step for the former headquarters property. For now, Laurel Street’s proposed 80-unit development remains tied to a 99-year lease and more than $6 million in city financing under consideration.
Sources
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