Deadly Durham gas explosion damaged downtown properties worth over $100 million
The 18 buildings damaged by the blast and fire, including two now condemned, have a total assessed tax value of about
They include buildings as far from the site as the N.C. Mutual building on
A total of 23 businesses sustained damage, according to
With state and local investigators still on the scene, assessors for many local companies are only now starting to get access to the properties.
Condemned buildings
Wednesday's explosion left one person dead -- Kaffeinate coffee shop owner
The companies most affected by the blast were Kaffeinate and Prescient, a construction technology company that moved to
In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, the children of Lee wrote that the coffee shop's future is uncertain.
"Kaffeinate is closed indefinitely," the post said. "It always was and always will be for our dad. We've been discussing it and hope one day to be able to rebuild and re-open and bring his memory back to life."
On Friday, Prescient said it wasn't ready to discuss its future plans for its headquarters. The office, which had dozens of employees and housed the firm's executives, is now rubble.
The company's employees are now being asked to operate out of the company's manufacturing facility about a half hour away in
The city also condemned the building that houses the Ingram Collection, a famed collection of antique
Other buildings on the 100 block of
"We want to continue what we do every day: turn the lights on, cook and be hospitable," Kelly said Friday.
However the
Business community rallies
In the hours after the devastation, business owners in downtown
Longtime Durham restaurant owner
He said he ran across the
"I saw people lying in the street, bloodied and cut up," Bradley said.
Since then, Maverick's has become central to the recovery effort, feeding first responders over the last couple days and the rallying point for displaced residents of the nearby apartments seeking information and hotel vouchers. Bradley's restaurants, including The Federal and Irish pub
"Between our restaurants, we have 70 employees working on an hourly basis who rely on this for income," Bradley said about reopening. "This tragedy is terrible, but we wanted to bring some normalcy back to people's lives. ... The best thing for the businesses affected by this is for the community to show support by shopping and dining."
Starting Saturday morning, Bradley said there will be a two-block event on
With street closures possible for the foreseeable future, the financial hit to small business owners near
Rozier added that DDI is hoping to put together a consortium of local lenders to provide financial assistance to businesses. The project is still in the planning phase, but DDI has already seen "an interest and willingness to participate" from
"We are awestruck and yet not surprised by the way the downtown community has come together to support each other during this crisis," Rozier said in an email.
Here is a list of the affected buildings and businesses:
Prescient HQ
Kaffeinate
800 & 802 West Main
Torero's
800 &
806 West Main
The Ingram Collection --
700 &
Duke Medicine Development Office
Duke Real Estate Office
WEST VILLAGE
Rambler's
BRIGHTLEAF SQUARE
Fifi's
Other End of the Leash
WEST MAIN ST.
900 Block of
The Federal
Shooters
New Goorsha Coffee Shop
Maverick's
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