With the announcement that longtime County Commissioner Becky Heron was stepping down, we here in the BCR batcave were worried that we might lose those wonderful "Keep Her-On" signs that have graced streetcorners since the Reagan administration.

Well, OK, those signs might come down. But given the concern that City Council might lose one of its strongest female voices, there've been a lot of people, it seems, lobbying Diane Catotti to "keep her on," too.

And as of this week, as the filing period draws within weeks from beginning, it looks like voters will have a chance to do just that.

In an unexpected turn, Catotti has announced that she will in fact run for a third term on City Council this fall.

That move could have a big impact on the election -- potentially, depending on the election's outcome, even throwing a progressive wing forward to hold a majority on the seven-person board.

Driving by the beseiged Liberty Warehouse this afternoon, I was pleased to see some new signage going up on the building.

Last time someone stuck a sign on the building, it was a "CONDEMNED" sticker in light of roof damage back in May -- damage that led several non-profits paying below-market rates to have to find new digs for their organizations.

Over a contentious few weeks, Greenfire Development faced condemnation proceedings based on leak complaints by at least one tenant; saw (a few weeks later) an actual partial collapse of the roof after a rain storm; found itself in the center of the bulls-eye for public criticism over the building's condition; and pressed back on accusers, noting it has rehabbed and brought many once-dilapidated buildings back to productive use, and saying that the Liberty's collapse was related to other roof problems that weren't apparent from visible inspection.

A demolition-by-neglect hearing set for June, though, was cancelled after Greenfire pledged to restore the building's condition.

Today's signage? Banners from BELFOR Property Restoration, which bills itself "the worldwide leader in disaster recovery and property restoration."

BELFOR -- whose portfolio includes a range of residential and commercial services, including drying and dehumidification, water and storm damage remediation, mold remediation, and environmental services -- has offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Hickory and Wilmington.

BELFOR is the leading global restoration and repair company. We analyze and restore fire, water and storm damage of every kind and on any scale. We enable business and private customers to overcome the consequences of damage quickly, smoothly and cost-effectively. We invest every effort in minimizing business interruptions and getting things back to normal. We draw on more than 35 years of experience, use the latest technical equipment and employ highly qualified people. After all, our assignment is more than just a job: the survival of your assets is at stake.

For Durham, this seems to be a sign that the survival of one of the community's historic assets may be moving at least a bit forward.

A $30,000 Leaf should soon be alighting on the Great Lawn at Durham Central Park. 

“I think it’s going to energize the east side of the park,” said Ellen Cassilly. She’s a Durham Central Park board member and an advisor to a dozen North Carolina State University master’s of architecture students who have designed and will build the structure. 

It will double as a shady seating area and a performance stage, and it may also allow a projection screen to be hung from or mounted on its eastern side. The object will feature built-in wooden benches and a foundation and steps that can double as seats. The structure can also accommodate a canopy to block the sun; the canopy can be adjusted or removed as needed. 

The object measures approximately 37 feet long by 17 feet wide. The upright wooden fins that define but don’t enclose the “building” will stand some 14 feet tall. 

It’s been dubbed the Leaf due to the shapes mimicked by the collection of fins as well as the by concrete pad around which they will be arrayed. 

“Sculpturally, this thing is absolutely beautiful,” said Erik Mehlman, another advisor to the N.C. State class. 

“I’m still completely enamored of this,” he added. 

Author’s note: Today, Bull City Rising takes a two-part look at a proposed deal to convert the former Y.E. Smith School building to a home for Maureen Joy Charter School. Part 1, posted previously, examines the building’s history and the basics of the deal. Part 2, below, looks at some neighbors’ feelings about the proposal, at Maureen Joy Charter School and at changes in the neighborhood. 

There has been at least some community unease about the request to rezone the historic Y.E. Smith School property, perhaps in large part because things have come together quickly. 

“We as a community are pretty cool with the school being in a building that was formerly a school, so that’s obviously a very compatible use,” Aidil Ortiz Collins, facilitator of the community group Uplift East Durham, said last week. “For us, though, we’re pretty wary of, at this point, the process for that, because the zoning that’s up there isn’t for a school.” 

In fact, would-be purchaser Self-Help is asking for the parcel’s zoning to be changed from RU-M(D), or residential zoning with a development plan, to RU-5(2), or residential suburban. 

“What we’re doing is simply trying to change the zoning back to what it was before and what the entire surrounding neighborhood is,” Levine said.

If the reclassification is granted, a minor special-use permit will be required to allow Maureen Joy Charter School to use the facility. 

Tiffany Elder is the general manager of Coral Construction and Design, which renovates homes in East Durham. Like Collins, she was initially skeptical about Self-Help’s intentions, but she was reassured this weekend at a community meeting hosted by the organization and the charter school. 

“The explanation by Self-Help is that the full existing parcel will be used for a school,” Elder said Monday. “Nothing will be parceled off after it’s rezoned to RU-5(2) to use for any other purpose. They're only doing this so that they can get the property into the use that they need it for. But definitely up front, there was some concern, probably because there was a lack of information given to the neighborhood.” 

Author’s note: Today, Bull City Rising takes a two-part look at a proposed deal to convert the former Y.E. Smith School building to a home for Maureen Joy Charter School. Part 1, below, examines the building’s history and the basics of the deal. Part 2, to be posted later today, looks at some neighbors’ feelings about the proposal, at Maureen Joy Charter School and at changes in the neighborhood. 

It was years ago that the historic Y.E. Smith School stopped being a school and began falling into decay. Now, the building is on the cusp of returning to its original function. 

Would-be purchaser Self-Help has applied to rezone the former school property at 107 S. Driver St. to allow it to be used for education. The matter will be heard by the Planning Commission this afternoon. 

If the request is granted, that would smooth the way for Self-Help to buy the building from Trosa and lease it to Maureen Joy Charter School. By the time renovations are completed in 2013, under the supervision of local preservation-minded architect Eddie Belk, Maureen Joy could occupy a space that would allow it to expand its student body. 

“We’ve been considering a move for a while as the enrollment has grown and the waiting lists have grown,” said Alex Quigley, the charter school’s principal. “So we’ve been interested in expanding to a facility that meets the needs of our students.” 

“They serve a lot of kids in East Durham already who right now are having to ride across town to go to school,” Self-Help’s Dan Levine, a project manager, said of the charter school. “And Maureen Joy has a good track record of serving kids who for whatever reason have struggled in the school where they came from. So we feel like it’s a good opportunity to provide better education for kids.” 

The move will also put life back into a key building in a community that residents and preservationists have been working for years to strengthen. 

Cathleen Turner, the head of Preservation North Carolina’s Piedmont office, helped broker the sale of the Smith school. “It certainly is a prominent property within the context of this neighborhood, the preservation of which I think is going to be a game-changer for our project, which is to see more of the vacant houses preserved and lived in by owner-occupants,” she said. 

When Durham city officials finished rebuilding downtown's streetscape a few years back -- a move that helped not only to improve aesthetics, but to prime the district for private-sector building improvements, space upfits and a range of new businesses -- many residents in near-downtown neighborhoods pressed anew for a share of infrastructural improvements, too, to spur on the same improvements.

Five different plans were designed, ranging from the low millions in areas like West Chapel Hill St., East Main St. and Old Five Points to the $30 million-plus tab for redoing a long stretch of Fayetteville St.

But as BCR's Rob Gillespie noted here last year, City officials decided in 2010 to prioritize the Angier/Driver corridor as a sole recipient of Durham's limited neighborhood streetscape revitalization funds, in an effort to show immediate impact, as opposed to several years' worth of necessary but intangible planning studies.

That move's had supporters along with detractors. But there's no denying one thing: it sure means that the City has something to get shovel ready. And along the way, it means Durham will avoid what a project consultant told a couple of dozen Durhamites tonight called a "patchwork quilt" approach to neighborhood business district fix-ups -- a patched sidewalk here, new curb there, new streetlights elsewhere.

Assuming that City Council supports the choice of an eventual low-bidder for the $2.5 million project in a likely late fall vote, the project should be under construction this year, with a summer 2013 finish.

One multi-million question stands out, though. Residents have wanted a streetscape that brings the advantages of downtown's renewal -- but is this still-nascent commercial district ready for the possible disruption that the work can bring? And is the City ready to support businesses through the transition.

Author’s note: This is the second story in our two-part look at green construction. Part 1, posted earlier today, looked at an environmentally friendly home that’s being built in Western Durham by a new company called NC Green Build. Part 2, below, relays what some independent green building experts have to say about trends in the field. 

Jamie Hager is a green building specialist at Southern Energy Management. She reviews construction to make sure they comply with LEED and other environmentally friendly building codes. 

One of her clients is NC Green Build, which is working on what could be Durham’s first LEED-certified single-family home at 208 Regiment Way. 

“NC Green Build has been really great,” Hager said. “They’re really organized. And so I feel really confident that they’re going to get the certification level that they want the first time on a house, which is rare.” 

LEED has four certification levels: standard, silver, gold and platinum. 208 Regiment could end up very close to silver certification, Hager said. 

She praised the builders’ initial work, which she reviewed in an optional consultation visit prior to a formal inspection. Hager was so impressed with the advanced framing she saw that she took several pictures to show others. 

The specialist also pointed to a radiant barrier — a silver foil applied on the inside of a roof — as a useful and distinctive feature in the home. “It’s one of those bang-for-your buck measures where you really are helping make a difference,” she said. “You bring those [attic] temperatures down, your air conditioner’s not going to have to work as hard, therefore it’ll be more efficient, and it’s something you can point at and see as a notable difference.” 

Author’s note: Today, we take a two-part look at green construction. Part 1, below, looks at an environmentally friendly home that’s being built in Western Durham. Part 2, to be posted later today, relays what some independent green building experts have to say about trends in the field. 

In a little more than two months, Durham may have its first LEED-certified single-family home. 

A new company called NC Green Build is constructing the home at 208 Regiment Way. Physically, the site is part of the Colony at American Village on the western edge of Durham County and a short drive from Duke, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. 

But metaphorically, NC Green Build partners Steve Frasher and Duncan Lundy say, the site represents the cutting edge of home construction. 

The home’s energy-efficient features will save home owners money, Frasher and Lundy say. They are also liable to be more durable than traditionally built homes thanks to LEED, a strict certification program that the U.S. Green Building Council oversees in this country. 

“Green building is good building,” Frasher said. “The priorities they’re asking [for] is really what should be going on.” 

The new company is working to keep the price of 208 Regiment close to those of comparable nearby homes. John Whaley of Maverick Partners Realty Services is the broker for the house, which just went on the market. Encompassing 2,615 square feet and featuring five bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, the residence is listed at $320,000. 

“I think people have been a little surprised at all they’re getting for the price,” Whaley said. 

It will be years, if ever, before a Triangle Transit train pulls into any station in Durham, Orange or Wake counties. But a plan for investing more than $2 billion in regional rail and bus transit is about to pull out of the station. 

The Durham County mass transportation investment plan could be adopted as soon as this month by leaders of three key groups: the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization, which oversees transportation strategies; Triangle Transit, which operates DATA bus service in Durham as well as regional bus service, and which would likely operate any new rail system; and the Board of County Commissioners. 

The first two organizations will both consider the plan on June 22; county commissioners will hold public hearings on the plan itself and on a referendum for a half-cent sales tax on June 13. Commission action on either or both issues may come on June 27. 

Durham’s share of the plan would amount to about $1.4 billion. A quarter of the project revenue is expected to come from the government of North Carolina, half would likely come from the federal government, and the remainder would be paid by a combination of sources including the half-cent sales tax, vehicle registration increases of $10 and a rental car tax. 

The new levy would not apply to housing, food, medical, utility or gasoline purchases, thus somewhat blunting the regressive nature of the sales tax. 

The Durham City Council could be called on to decide the fate of a proposed affordable housing development Monday night. 

It would be understandable if the zoning map change that’s been requested to enable the construction of Crowne Pointe is overshadowed by other business on the agenda. After all, the other public hearing scheduled for Monday involves the proposed 2011-12 budget and the city’s five-year capital plan, both of which should affect far more people in Durham. 

But for many people living in vicinity of the now-vacant 6200 and 6300 Barbee Road, the council’s decision could have an immediate and long-reaching impacts. 

Maggie Considine, a real estate broker and resident of Auburn, near the proposed complex, has been encouraging many of her neighbors to make their feelings known to council members. 

“Most of the people that I have talked to really do not like the idea of a low-income housing project being built close to our neighborhood,” she said. “They don’t like the idea of the increased traffic on Barbee Road. They don’t like the idea of a concentration of low-income housing that close. 

“My personal feeling is that when something like that gets built in a neighborhood, the perception of that neighborhood goes down, and it means that property values tend to go down.” 

The requested zoning change would move the couple’s 7.3 acres from a low-medium density residential category to multifamily residential suburban. Despite staff having deemed the change consistent with local planning policy, the Planning Commission on May 10 voted 10-1 against allowing the 58-unit complex to be constructed. 

Jim Yamin is the president of Workforce Homestead Inc. of Chapel Hill and one of three developers of the property, along with landowners Leslie Smith and Gregory David of Cary. (The Michigan address listed on planning filings for the married couple is out of date, according to Yamin.) 

When asked about the Planning Commission vote, Yamin sighed and chuckled. He then paused before stating that he has worked on affordable housing for 25 years. “Residents justifiably are concerned with the integrity of their neighborhood and remaining crime-free, keeping property values up, traffic, and all that,” Yamin said. 

“The place where we kind of get off track in every one of these public hearings and public debates is that I think people’s fears kind of rule the day, unsupported by any kind of objective factual backup to those fears.”