Post #1456838
2025-07-23 16:26 UTC
@bkeegan @boulderreportinglab
Here's historical imagery from 1985 from Google Earth. The "old" city is easily visible along the railroad/US-70 corridor, plus the suburban-like growth to the north. The major housing growth from 1975-2000 was all along I-40 and 15-501 (Hope Valley Farms, Woodcroft, near RTP)
During this time, city leaders were literally begging developers to build more in the old city center, but it didn't happen.
Replies (1)
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@MichaelTBacon@social.coop 2025-07-23 16:28
@bkeegan @boulderreportinglab The 2008 housing finance crisis convinced developers nationwide that spec houses in 1/3 acre parcels were now a bad investment, and in Durham as elsewhere they all turned en masse to the 5 story stick built deck wrappers that up until then had been like pulling teeth to get them to build.