212-218 NORTH DILLARD: TO HELL WITH THE EAST

As I get close to the 1 year anniversary of this website, it's probably fitting to return to Dillard St., site of my first post.

Dillard St. dates to the early days of Durham as a wagon road connector between the through roads connecting Raleigh, Hillsborough, and Fayetteville. A first wave of nice, but simple, one and two story homes developed in the East End during the 1860s, 70s, and 80s, which were supplanted by large ornate homes during the 1880s, 90s, and 00s. The presence of Somerset Villa and the EJ Parrish House helped cement the street's "Mansion Row" nickname. Eight mayors of Durham, multiple city council people, S. McPherson (founder of McPherson Hospital), a president of Erwin Mills, school superintendents, a solicitor general under FDR, a lieutenant governor, and a Governor (William B. Umstead) have lived on Dillard St.

Today's post focuses on the northern end of Dillard St., on the east side of the street - the two houses to the right on the below map.

No photo exits of the corner house, 218 Dillard, located on a triangular piece of land formed by Dillard, Holloway, and Peachtree. It's outline can be seen in the below Sanborn map, with an evident tower and wraparound porch.

The odd story, perhaps emblematic of the preservation ethic in Durham, is that Mrs. Sally G Brown, who lived in this house into the early 1950s ordered in her will that the house be demolished immediately upon her death. And it was, in 1952. The land was developed into a gas station.

Looking south from Holloway and N. Dillard, 1956.
(Courtesy Wayne Henderson)

Looking northeast from Dillard St. towards Holloway St., 1963.

I have little information about the house next to it, also visible on the Sanborn Map = at 214 N. Dillard St. (now called 212 N. Dillard.)

Looking southeast from Dillard St., 1966.

A closer view of 214 (212) N. Dillard, 1964

The gas station was taken and demolished using urban renewal funds, along with all the properties on the west side of Dillard. However, the houses on the Sanborn map above, including the one at 214 N. Dillard were not - 214 N. Dillard was demolished privately (as was 210 N. Dillard, the Manning House) leaving two large parcels of vacant land. (210 N. Dillard, the site of the Manning house, was absorbed into the property of 206 N. Dillard, the CC Thomas house, and now the Durham Crisis Response Center.)

212 N. Dillard St., looking east, 2007.

218 N. Dillard St., looking southeast, 2007.

This land has sat vacant for 30 years now, and has at times (as vacant lots are wont to do) hosted various illicit activity. People may remember as well that a cross was burned on the land 2 years ago, in 2005.

This land sits in the middle of the Holloway section of the Cleveland-Holloway National and Local Historic District, which extends from Liberty, up Dillard and east of Holloway to the railroad tracks. For many years, the former gas station parcel was owned by the city, and the parcel with the pictured house, above, was owned by Brent Lockwood, who renovated the CC Thomas house at 206 N. Dillard.

Mr. Lockwood reported to me that he tried to buy the city land on several occasions, but could not get the city real estate office to return his phone calls. I contacted the city real estate office on 2 occasions over the past two years to inquire about the plan for this land, as it was listed as surplus property. It was evidently "not for sale, but a notice would be sent to non-profits when the city decided to dispose of the property" - which would occur at some unknown time. I expressly asked that the Historic Preservation Society (now Preservation Durham) be notified, as this was a crucial location in the middle of a historic district. I also asked that I be notified.

In the wake of the Housing for New Hope Deal on Roxboro it also became clear that the city was planning a similar transfer of land (for $1) on Dillard St. to another organization. As with the Housing for New Hope Deal, no one in the neighborhood was consulted, notified, or asked to give input on a desired neighborhood use for the land, despite specific requests to be kept in the loop. Nor was Preservation Durham notified.* (See correction below) Nor was the preservation planner for the city of Durham.

Details have now come to the surface about this deal, which would give the $155,000 (quoted intended sales price) land to Dominion Ministries for $1. Dominion Ministries would combine the donated parcel at 218 Dillard with the adjacent parcel, which they have already purchased to conctruct:

"a 12-bed Residential Level IV facility serving Durham youth with severe behavioral and emotional problems. Dominion was selected by The Durham Center through an RFP process to develop the facility and the Center has allocated $200,000 in FY 06-07 funds towards its construction. Dominion has already purchased the adjacent 212 Dillard Street. The acquisition of 218 Dillard Street would complete the necessary site assembly. The project architect and development consultant for the project is CLEARSCAPES, P.A., which has been the project architect for nine comparable facilities. Dominion Ministries itself did not indicate any previous development experience. Dominion projects a June 2008 project completion"

No mention is made in the city recommendation for $1 purchase that the parcels are in a historic district.

This makes me livid on so many fronts - the disdain for the neighborhood, the disdain for the historic district, the disdain/ignorance of the comprehensive plan, the disdain for people who were interested in the future of the property, the disdain for neighborhood businesses, such as the Blooming Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast, directly across Holloway St., and the sheer stupidity of repeatedly concentrating poverty and social problems in a very small area, when we know, with certainty, that this leads to a snowball of neighborhood social ills.

A partial map of the area, below:

Our downtown boosters are in absentia for everything in the east. Why do you think they want the library down on Corcoran St.? Then most folks would never have to go through the border fence at Roxboro.

Not so lucky the people who live in the Cleveland-Holloway neighborhood. The city evidently could not give a damn about their houses, their lives, the sweat that many of them have put into fixing up and maintaining their historic houses while dodging the crime around them. Nah, don't ask them what they want in their neighborhood; don't offer the neighborhood a chance to use the land. Don't hold a fancy charrette over here for the neighbors to envision their future - one with parks you can play in (rather than drunk men passed out on the play equipment in Oakwood park), grocery stores (rather than the vacant lot that DOT is going to create when they demolish the neighborhood grocery on Alston), revitalized housing (rather than another NIS teardown, such as that planned for 501 Oakwood,) families, children, elders (rather than even more more homeless people, drug addicts, and people with severe behavior/emotional problems.) They have ideas about what their neighborhood will look like, and they've put their hard work into making it happen.

But who cares about them?

* Correction: Officials at Preservation Durham initially stated that they did not receive notice, but informed me after publication of this post that, upon review of their past email, they did receive a general notice of available surplus property forwarded to them by the Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, but not from the city.