Seven-story, $72 million Homeless Service Center proposed to Durham leaders Tuesday

Religious and community groups are partnering to ask city and county leaders to fund a new homeless service center in downtown Durham.

Members of Urban Ministries of Durham, St. Philip’s Church and other partners went to the joint meeting between Durham City Council and Durham County Commissioners on Tuesday to ask for a commitment to help with the cost and eventual operation of the facility.

Supporters of the project, like Executive Director of Urban Ministries of Durham Sheldon Mitchell, said the facility would be more than a shelter.

“This service center would be something that would be a vital resource to address those who are homeless and most vulnerable in the community,” Mitchell said.

According to Mitchell, the center would offer day services such as laundry, showers, phone charging and mail delivery. The building would give emergency shelter for up to 300 men, women and children.

In addition, the center would house those experiencing homelessness, making it a one-stop-shop for those in need.

“It also enables us to expand the capacity of our current emergency shelters, for not just singles, but also for families,” Mitchell explained.

According to St. Philip’s and Urban Ministries of Durham, the project would cost around $72 million. The group said they need 18 to 24 months to design the facility and another 24 months for construction.

The group said the building would be six to seven stories tall and roughly 85,000 square feet. St. Philip’s would contribute the land, and UMD would fundraise. The facility, when completed, would have “substantial” future development with community-focused partnerships on the ground floors and affordable housing on the upper floors.

The need for housing in Durham is growing

Before the meeting, Durham leaders heard from the Homeless Services Advisory Committee about the current numbers in Durham.

According to the group’s Point in Time (PTI) count, which they conduct every January, over 370 people were experiencing homelessness.

As of Monday, Dec. 11, the committee said 51 families reported they were unsheltered and waiting for a bed, with another 26 families saying they are at risk of homelessness in the next two weeks.

“We have a waiting list that has probably more than 300 individuals who are either already homeless or stating that they expect to be homeless in the next 10 days,” Mitchell explained.

Additionally, UMD shared information from the North Carolina Housing Coalition that showed 215 families in Durham County faced foreclosure in 2023, and over 4,700 families faced eviction.

That same group also said fair market rent in Durham is $1,315 per month, meaning residents must make $25.29 per hour, or $52,600 annually, to afford to live in Durham.

Out of North Carolina’s 100 counties, Durham ranks 20th for evictions among renters, with 48% saying they have difficulty affording rent.

“Unfortunately, our capacity is not able to serve all those individuals and families within our system,” Mitchell said. “So we know that a facility such as the one we’re proposing would be able to help us accommodate those needs, and better engage some who are unsheltered in the community.”

County Commissioner Wendy Jacobs said the plan was “visionary.”

“I want to applaud St. Philip’s,” she said. “Because this is the kind of leadership and partnership we have in our community. You are willing to provide an asset that you have – land – and the plan we just saw is [the] completely innovative, outside-the-box thinking we need.”

While there was enthusiasm about the project, none of the city council members and county commissioners definitively said yes.

“We need a unified strategy,” City Council Member Javiera Caballero said. “Not just on homelessness, but on housing, because we are all naming similar issues.”