What's Your Vision for Durham 2044?

In the next 20 years, could Durhamites harness their innovation and drive to turn a chunk of Durham Freeway into a park and amphitheater and rebuild connections between downtown and the Hayti neighborhood?

That’s just part of the vision unveiled in the 20-Year Destination Master Plan released by Discover Durham, developed with input from more than 2,300 residents and stakeholders. Primary recommendations of the plan include:

• Redeveloping the Durham Convention Center.
• Creating a green connection over the freeway.
• Developing a major annual festival and new family attractions.
• Launching a community foundation to support funding tourism-related development.

“There’s a shift happening here in Durham,” wrote Susan Amey, president and CEO of Discover Durham in the report. “Durhamites already know exactly how inclusive, innovative, and inspiring our community is, and now, we’re looking to the future to ideate all that it can be. Following years of economic recovery, a time where Durham displayed incredible acts of compassion and resilience, we are now looking for ways to maintain Durham’s position as the act to follow and build upon the foundation we have now to create that vision for tomorrow.”

Major findings reported in the master plan:

• Durham has “a significant opportunity” to grow the city’s meetings and conventions market, especially if it redevelops the convention center (possibly a complete rebuild to ensure it can have the necessary amenities to attract larger conferences).
• The city should continue to “enhance perceptions around safety.”
• Durhamites want more events and festivals.
• The city must address transportation, mobility, and accessibility issues.

When it comes to retail, the report lists The Streets at Southpoint as the city’s “strongest shopping asset” because it “provides not only indoor shopping, but also outdoor walkable elements. Plans to become a more diversified mixed-use district, with additional surrounding development in multifamily, hotel, and additional restaurant and retail will help ensure The Streets at Southpoint remains competitive in the market, given ongoing struggles with big-box retailers.”

The plan also laid out four strategic goals:

• Enhance tourism infrastructure: “Expanding or redeveloping the Durham Convention Center (DCC) with an adjacent headquarter hotel is a critical element of this mix.” The plan notes that comparable destinations have exhibit space and larger singular ballroom spaces along with meeting rooms. Feasibility and funding studies to explore this possibility already have begun.
• Develop attractions, events, and experiences: “Durham is encouraged to consider attractions that will engage multiple members of a family, including entertainment destinations that will drive long-distance visitation.” Among the recommended initiatives in the plan: a major annual music festival (possibly at the Carolina Theatre), a SXSW-style event that showcases the city’s technology sector, and “large-scale, iconic family attractions, potentially adding a satellite visitor center adjacent to a new attraction.”
• Support purposeful placemaking: “In Durham, numerous unique historic buildings have converted into mixed-use entertainment and dining nodes around the City Center. These districts drive long-distance visitation to Durham very effectively. However, the lack of a ‘strolling’ retail cluster (or other activities or attractions) in these districts often leave visitors with little to do between meals.” Possible initiatives include developing cultural or thematic districts, connected experience districts, and promoting walkability with a freeway cap over the Fayetteville Street overpass to connect downtown with Hayti.
• Accelerate community alignment: “A critical aspect of this will be to address opportunities to fund the strategic initiatives recommended in this plan. That work will involve strong advocacy amongst governments, as well as educating those in office, their administrations, and residents about the benefits of tourism and the positive impact of the visitor economy on Durham. This may include exploring public-private partnership to achieve shared goals and initiatives for the benefit of the community. Among other things, the plan calls for exploring the development of a community foundation to underwrite initiatives to pursue federal grants, private donations, and public funding.

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