Old North Durham Park Brief History

Since moving to its current building in 2003, the board of Central Park School for Children, a charter school adjacent to the Old North Durham park, has derailed the park’s improvement, especially the park’s much-needed full-size athletic field. In 2005, the City Council passed a resolution reaffirming its earlier decisions and funding commitments for the upgrade of OND Park’s full-size athletic field among other improvements, emphasizing the dire lack of such fields in the city, especially the downtown area. City council, in November 2007 rejected an attempt by CPSC to lease OND Park for $10/year for ten years in order to develop it for the school’s purposes. Since 2008, the City and the Durham Department of Parks and Recreations, has not sponsored any public meetings for local residents to discuss the park’s development. Instead, CPSC has held private meetings attended by Durham Parks and Recreation employees with other private entities to finalize a Master Plan that doesn’t include a full-size athletic field. Under the organization “Friends of Old North Durham Park,” CPSC expects to privately finance, manage and develop OND Park in a way that continues to marginalize and displace low-income residents in our neighborhood.

FAQs | Timeline | Photos | Documents | 11/9/07 Memo | 12/10/07 Memo | 10/21/10 Memo