Making Home Ownership Possible

How Duke and Durham collaborate to create affordable housing in the city

Durham is Home

It was just after 11:30 a.m. on June 13, when the Duke Centennial Habitat for Humanity home dedication in Durham’s historically Black Hayti District kicked off a celebration filled with warmth and celebration.  

The homeowners were proud to show off their handsome, two-story Colonial-blue dwelling in the 300 block of East Enterprise Street that featured a wide front porch, rear deck and storage shed. They spoke about the sweat equity that went into building their home and their neighbors’ homes, and how their collective helped them feel a sense of community.  

Stelfanie Williams, Duke vice president for community affairs, remarked on the work that made the day possible.  

“Your home, where you will build many memories, is no doubt special to you,” Williams told the new homeowners before gifting them with a young oak tree from Duke Gardens. 

“But it is special for another reason,” Williams added. “Teams of colleagues from across Duke and Durham participated in its building to demonstrate our commitment to our neighbors. Neighbors like you, who embody the compassionate and committed spirit of Durham.” 

Three decades of partnership

Timeline from 1994 to 2025
This timeline shows Duke’s investments in affordable housing in Durham over 30 years

The Habitat house, one of two built with Duke assistance this year, is just one example of a busy year for the Duke and Durham teams collaborating to create more affordable housing in the city. Directly before the Duke Centennial home dedication, Duke Community Affairs team members gathered with city leaders, clergy members, non-profits, credit union officials and residents to participate in a groundbreaking ceremony, spearheaded by the Durham Community Land Trustees (DCLT), for three more affordable homes on Grant Street. 

All this work has been built on more than three decades of collaboration on housing, beginning with the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership (DDNP) in 1996 — expanding in the decades since. In that time, Duke University has contributed tens of millions of dollars in partnership with an array of diverse stakeholders to support community development. A priority for the university, Duke Community Affairs builds partnerships with the city, county and neighborhoods to increase access to affordable housing and help residents remain in their neighborhoods. 

Through significant investments with local Community Development Financial Institutions, including Self-Help, Latino Community Credit Union, Mechanics and Farmers Bank, and others, Duke helps fuel economic and community development and support homebuyers.  These partnerships and programs often span many years and require ongoing collaboration with the city, the county, nonprofit organizations and others to see them through. 

“We can get our community back. I didn’t think I’d live to see it.”

Barbara Bradsher, Duke Retiree

This was certainly true for the Willard Street and Ashton Place project, which began in 2016. The project provides 133 affordable rental units — including 51 for seniors — in the heart of downtown Durham. Last month, at the Ashton Place ribbon-cutting ceremony, elected officials, partners, and President Vincent Price joined residents and their families to celebrate the peace of mind that is possible with stable, affordable rent. 

Community building

This work is not just providing homes for families; it’s also helping to strengthen communities. At the DCLT ceremony, Grant Street resident Barbara Bradsher, a retiree who worked as a secretary in Duke’s nursing department, said the Grant Street initiative redevelopment represents the first significant development in the community since construction of Highway 147 ripped apart Hayti in the 1970s.  

Bradsher has lived on Grant Street her entire life. Prior to urban renewal, Bradsher said Grant Street was a community of ministers, teachers, nurses and beauticians. 

Duke President Vincent Price at the Ashton Place ribbon-cutting ceremony

“It was like a family,” she said. “Everybody knew everybody.”  

She remembered “Mr. White,” who after urban renewal’s broken promise to rebuild returned to Grant Street twice a day to see “if they would ever put the homes back. 

“They didn’t,” she added. “He died of a broken heart. 

“We know we can’t get it back the way it was. But we can get our community back,” Bradsher said. “It’s been a long time coming. I didn’t think I’d live to see it.”