Community at Hardee Street

This emerging community did not appear out of nowhere. It is the product of the intentional, thoughtful design behind Hardee Street. While providing affordable housing is the primary goal, encouraging community and ensuring a high quality of life are just as central to the project’s vision. This is reflected in Hardee Street’s design: while apartments are the core, there is an assortment of amenities implemented throughout the property aimed at bringing people together and promoting their everyday well-being. Hardee Street was built not just to house people, but to give them a place to belong.

To better understand Hardee Street’s community-oriented design and its effects, we spoke with residents for their personal outlooks on the property’s amenities and its budding community.

Meet the Residents!

LaToya

By hearing directly from these two residents, we explore what the community at Hardee Street truly looks like.

Michael

Amenities

Hardee Street is more than apartment units. Implemented within the property are various amenities that both increase the quality of life but also promote community. Understanding the amenities is vital to understanding community at Hardee Street.

Club House

At the center of the property is the communal clubhouse. Besides being the office of property management, it was also designed to be a true community space for residents to enjoy and intermingle. It includes a living room, kitchen, covered picnic area, and screened porch.

As LaToya fondly shares, the screened porch is a great place for her and her daughters to work outside their apartment.

The Playground

Adjacent to the clubhouse, the playground offers a place for children to safely play under the watchful eyes of the community that surrounds it. This helps foster community not only between children but also between their parents and other adults.

Both LaToya and Michael describe the popularity of the playground among the children within the development.

Walking Trail

Surrounding the apartment complex is a trail for residents to casually stroll through while taking in scenes of nature. Additionally, it serves as another space for residents to connect.

While Michael has yet to walk the trail, he has noted that it is an area he wants to explore

Balcony/Patio

While a deceptively mundane design aspect, the balconies and patios connected to each apartment are heavily valued by both LaToya and Michael, with each naming it the best part of their apartments.

These private outdoor spaces offer access to fresh air, scenic views, and casual connections between residents (a quick wave or hello to a neighbor passing by).

Community

Despite the apartments being new, a sense of belonging and community has already started to take root among residents. Evidence of this budding community can be seen in both LaToya’s and Michael’s personal anecdotes.

In the short time that LaToya and Michael have lived on Hardee Street, both have already found neighbors to connect with. LaToya bonded with a fellow mother, while Michael enjoys regular conversations with a veteran who lives downstairs from his unit.

Local Durham Art

The art lining the clubhouse walls is not just a random collection intended only to beautify a space, but rather a carefully curated selection of art made by local artists. It was collected through a “Call for Artists” campaign that invited local Durham creatives to submit their works for possible inclusion within the Hardee Street clubhouse. As each piece was made by a member of the Durham community, the art is not just decoration, but a reflection of a shared Durham identity and culture. In doing so, the art helps create a sense of place that connects residents through their common ties to Durham and its history and culture.

LaToya and Michael do not plan to stop expanding their social circles, though. Both emphasized the importance of community and expressed a desire to become more involved in the housing complex. In this way, they hoped to help foster a true sense of connection among residents.

Artist Spotlight - Rene’e Valentine
One such artist included within the clubhouse is Rene’e Valentine, a painter who also lives at Ashton Place, another DHIC affordable housing development. Click below to learn more about her story and art.

Ms Rene'e Valentine's Art

Together, these amenities help enrich Hardee Street by offering residents high-quality resources on top of affordable housing units. The amenities help transform Hardee Street from a basic housing complex into a fully realized community of people.

“We have things put in place that I’ve always wanted to experience, so now it’s my turn to do what I have to do for my community.”

— LaToya

As LaToya shared, the desire to build community at Hardee Street is deeply connected to how the space is designed. That sense of connection among residents comes both directly through amenities like the clubhouse and playground that bring people together, and indirectly, through the overall quality of the apartments themselves. When residents feel that a space is thoughtfully built and well cared for, they are more likely to invest in it emotionally and care for it. Many, like LaToya, recognize the value of Hardee Street, and that acknowledgement is often transformed into efforts to connect with fellow residents and create a shared sense of community.

That commitment to creating community can be encapsulated in Michael’s message to prospective residents:

“It’s gonna be a great community. We gon’ be family.”

— Michael

Through the thoughtful design and implementation of various amenities, the foundation for a community was built. Now it is the residents who are currently bringing that vision to life.

The Hardee Street Apartments, through its thoughtful design and commitment to quality amenities, breaks the preconceptions of affordable housing as inferior or substandard, showing that it can offer more than just basic shelter; it can be the foundation for community. In this way, Hardee Street serves as a model for how affordable housing projects across the country can be designed to be cost-effective while still providing meaningful amenities and a sense of belonging. When affordable housing is treated as a priority rather than a compromise, it not only houses people, but affirms their dignity.