Item:
Title
Approval of Budget Ordinance Amendment No.26BCC052 Appropriating $112,400 of General Fund Fund Balance to the Engineering Department and Authorizing the County Manager to Execute an Agreement with the UNC School of Government's Development Finance Initiative for Phase I of the Pre-development Process for the Former Lowe's Grove School Site located at 4505 S. Alston Avenue for a total not-to exceed $72,400.00
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: February 2, 2026
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve Budget Ordinance Amendment No.26BCC052 appropriating $112,400 of General Fund Fund Balance to the Engineering Department and authorizing the execution of a contract agreement with the UNC School of Government's Development Finance Initiative for Phase I of the Pre-development Process for the former Lowe's Grove School Site located at 4505 S. Alston Avenue for a total not-to-exceed $72,400.00.
Durham County and Durham Public Schools (DPS) requested technical assistance from DFI in November 2025 in evaluating the redevelopment potential of a former school site, Lowe's Grove, that presents a strategic opportunity for the County and DPS to meet their community development goals. The 1.41-acre former Lowe's Grove school site is located at 4505 South Alston Avenue, near Highway 54. DPS owns additional parcels surrounding the Lowe's Grove site; these parcels would also be the subject of DFI's analysis. County and DPS leadership would like to explore a range of redevelopment scenarios for DPS-owned properties in the area that align with their mission and local community development goals.
DFI proposes to conduct a community scan, market and community-driven assessment of the redevelopment potential of the property, including the adjacent DPS owned properties. This analysis will prioritize potential strategies for the redevelopment of the project in collaboration with the County, DPS and key stakeholders. In this phase (phase ...
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