Duke University got a large chunk of land rezoned this week, paving the way for a big redevelopment of its Central Campus in the coming years, though the university says nothing is planned yet.
The rezoning adds Duke’s 155-acre Central Campus to the university’s custom zoning district, a widely permissive category created for Duke and N.C. Central universities about two decades ago.
It’s called University and College, or “UC,” and allows Duke to build nearly anything that could conceivably serve a college campus, from dormitories to utilities to hotels to stadiums.
“The primary benefit of the UC is it allows for planning and zoning elements — such as stormwater, parking, sidewalks, tree coverage — to be considered holistically at the campus scale, rather than on each building site,” said Adem Gusa, director of planning and design at Duke University.
The vote passed the Durham City Council by 5-2 vote Monday night, with the city’s two newest council members, Nate Baker and Chelsea Cook, voting against it.
Baker said specific plans should have come first.
“UC is a privilege. It is a very unique zoning district that allows great latitude to those who own land,” Baker said. “I always seek planning before zoning.”
It was the second time this year that the City Council heard the case, with leaders hesitant because the university has yet to say what it will do with the property.
But Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton noted that the Planning Commission supported the rezoning 8-1, despite the lack of specifics.
“The UC designation isn’t particularly controversial to me for a university,” Middleton said.
What will happen to Duke’s Central Campus?
Central Campus is the area near Duke University Medical Center that is home to employee parking lots, a handful of buildings and lots of trees.
It spans from the medical center to just past Swift Avenue, and is sandwiched between Erwin Road and Duke Gardens.
Duke’s development plan says Central Campus may include “all uses under the zoning district,” but promises not to build structures above 90 feet, or roughly eight stories.
UC zoning allows:
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Dorms and co-living
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Educational and research facilities
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Stadiums and auditoriums
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Hotels
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Hospitals, shelters and care centers
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Parks and museums
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Places of worship
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Utilities
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On this acreage, up to 50,000 square feet of restaurants and shops.
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A golf course, though Duke committed Monday night not to build one here.
Durham resident Mimi Kessler said Duke should build workforce housing on Central Campus.
“That is, the hourly people who work at Duke and in Durham,” Kessler said. “Right there on Erwin Road. Employees can walk to the hospital.”
The area for decades was home to student apartments, though the university tore them down in 2019.
