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DURHAM -- The crowd of about 50 people at Monday's night's kickoff charrette for the controversial Rolling Hills project consisted mostly of developers, architects, Self-Help Credit Union representatives and organizers, but the residents got their word in anyway.
The crowd was split into two tables to discuss the services that are lacking in the area and brainstorm visions of what the project should be.
"Rolling Hills has been ridden with problems for years. That's not Southside's concern," could be overheard at one table.
"I think this community could be another good example of what Self-Help has done on the west side," could be overheard at another.
The Rolling Hills/Southside project, which has had its ups and downs since the late-'90s, is in its current planning stage with St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar and Silver Springs, Md.-based architect Torti Gallas and Partners Inc.
In October, the Durham City Council voted to kick in an additional $355,000 when McCormack couldn't come up with the funds, which means that the city will ultimately pay for all $745,000 of the planning effort.
The goal of the Rolling Hills/Southside Steering Committee is to prepare a plan by the end of January. The plan will encompass Rolling Hills and the adjacent Southside neighborhood.
The redevelopment could include as much as 350 or more units of housing and retail space and cost about $80 million to build, according to the city.
Hosted by Durham City, McCormack, Torti Gallas and McCormack's nonprofit partner Urban Strategies, the charrette was held in the Hayti Heritage Center on Monday night.
The center will be open for the rest of the week for residents to comment on the designs and offer their input in person.
The charrette attempted to address issues with abandoned homes, problem spots in the neighborhood and amenities and services preferred by the residents.
Tom Gallas, executive vice president of Torti Gallas, was in attendance and said they hope to build a mix of uses and property values in the neighborhoods.
The emcee of the event, Sandra Moore, president of Urban Strategies, said the purpose of the charrette was to find common ground and compromise.
"We need to talk about amenities, and services as well," she said. "Some people might need subsidies for taking the bus. Other people might need a place to take their daughter to ballet lessons."
"If we can talk about that, then that breaks up the silos of, 'They have that over there and we have this over here,'" she added.
Steven Williams, who ran for mayor this year, said his group wanted to have 50-50 affordable housing and market-priced housing.
"When you're building a community, you don't want to push people out. You want to bring people together," he said.
Williams brought up his grandmother's neighborhood, Walltown, where she lives in a $60,000 home down the street from a $600,000 property.
"You want to walk that border of gentrification, but you don't have to go over," he said.
"I wish we had more residents here," said Becky Winders, a member of the Southside Neighborhood Association Board. "The thing that is most important to people, I believe, are: public safety, and the employment and economy aspect. They could hire residents to help with the redevelopment."
