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1 min read Development

Durham Council Approves Brickworks Rezoning

“I think the Planning Commission got this one right,” said Mark-Anthony Middleton, the city’s mayor pro tempore.

Durham Council Approves Brickworks Rezoning

The massive new Brickworks project is moving forward with Durham City Council approval with a unanimous vote after Tuesday’s meeting.

Brickworks, proposed by Charlotte-based SpaceCraft, is expected to include 1,880 units – both apartments and townhouses – and mixed-use commercial space.

The critical step achieved Tuesday was getting approval for a zoning map change from the old light industrial designation from the era when the 95.48 acres was used to quarry materials to make bricks. The proposal had come from the Durham Planning Commission with a 9-1 vote recommending approval.

“I think the Planning Commission got this one right,” said Mark-Anthony Middleton, the city’s mayor pro tempore.

Council Member Nate Baker found much to like in what he described as a “transformative” proposal, but seemed worried about what may come during the design phase.

“It’s so large I don’t want folks to feel rushed,” he said. “Get questions asked. This is a big rezoning case.”

But perhaps design work is best left to the architects, said Council Member Javiera Caballero. She warned against going the direction of towns like Morrisville that become “overly fussy” about façade designs, for example.

“In general, I don’t want to go in that direction,” she said. “Let the professionals design.”

She said she looks forward to the project.

Some good news for Durham Public Schools related to this project: the original Brickworks proposal indicated that developers would give the school district $60,000 to compensate for its impact, but Council Member Chelsea Cook asked them to reconsider that amount. They agreed to double the contribution to $120,000.

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