Hayti project developer pulls proposal before Durham council can vote on it
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sterling Bay withdrew its rezoning request for a Hayti life science project.
- The Durham City Council accepted the withdrawal by a 5-2 vote after debate.
- Community opposition cited displacement, affordability, and project relevance.
Developers who wanted to build a life sciences campus with apartments in Durham’s Hayti neighborhood withdrew their rezoning request for the project Monday night.
The surprise move came two hours into a packed City Council meeting, with almost 100 people in the City Hall chambers and about 40 people signed up to speak.
The council voted 5 to 2 to accept the developer’s request to withdraw and effectively end the public hearing, which had started in June. Council members Javiera Caballero, Chelsea Cook, Mark-Anthony Middleton, Carl Rist and Mayor Leo Williams supported the request. Council members Nate Baker and DreDreana Freeman opposed it.
Sterling Bay, a Chicago-based developer, had sought to rezone nearly 10 acres at 401 E. Lakewood Ave., in the Fayetteville Street corridor just south of downtown. Rezoning the former shopping center would have allowed buildings up to 500 feet tall.
The rezoning request sparked controversy for many residents in Durham and in the historically Black Hayti neighborhood, which was decimated by urban renewal and the construction of the Durham Freeway in the 1960s and ‘70s.
Many feared the large project, which proposed no affordable housing, would displace longtime residents and price out others. Some residents questioned the need for a life sciences project.
Jamie Schwedler, a representative for Sterling Bay, told the council the decision to withdraw was made just hours before the meeting.
“We mourn the loss of what could have been had this community been willing to accept millions of dollars for its young students and its Black entrepreneurs,” Schwedler said, referring to scholarship money for N.C. Central University and Durham Technical Community College and other promises the company had made part of the deal.. “We respectfully ask that the council withdraw this case.”
But Schwedler only made the request to withdraw the rezoning application after spending about 10 minutes summarizing the project and listing what she said were $2.3 million in benefits the community was now losing.
Freeman called that “disrespectful” to the people who had come to meetings to express their opinions about the project and what the neighborhod needs.
“I don’t think that anyone in the community said they didn’t want to see a development. They had very specific requests if a development should happen, how a developer should be coming in like a neighbor,” Freeman said.
Schwedler also could have told the city before the meeting that Sterling Bay wished to withdraw its application.
“It’s disrepectful of folks’ time,” Freeman said, turning toward the mayor. “At some point, she could have texted you.”
Middleton said the withdrawal was a “reflection of the efficacy” of the organizing of local advocates in Hayti.
“It seems like you’ve gotten your victory,” Middleton said.
History of the project
Sterling Bay bought the shopping center at 606 Fayetteville St. for $62 million three years ago. It wanted to redevelop it into a life sciences campus with a 325-unit, high-rise apartment building. Originally, the proposal featured an underground parking garage, but bedrock discovered beneath the property last year prompted Sterling Bay to seek a zoning change.
If approved, the rezoning would have allowed buildings 300 to 500 feet tall, though Schwedler said Sterling Bay had agreed to cap the tallest building at 250 feet. The company also promised that the project would bring 1,500 jobs with average salaries of $80,000, and investment to both the city and the Hayti neighborhood.
Sterling Bay said the redevelopment would honor Hayti and build “toward its future” with the life sciences campus. Sterling Bay proposed installing a commemorative marker on the grounds, as Heritage Square would be renamed Carolina Research Park.
Since purchasing the property, Sterling Bay said, it has spent three years in talks with community members like former state Sen. Floyd McKissick, Hayti Reborn leaders Henry McKoy and Anita Scott Neville, and others about the concerns raised by a large project in the middle of the neighborhood.
This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Hayti project developer pulls proposal before Durham council can vote on it."