{"id":4675,"date":"2026-07-15T12:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T12:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4675"},"modified":"2026-07-15T12:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T12:35:08","slug":"what-raleighs-midtown-boom-means-for-the-immigrant-enclave-tucked-behind-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4675","title":{"rendered":"What Raleigh\u2019s Midtown boom means for the immigrant enclave tucked behind it"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

At the far end of Navaho Drive in Raleigh\u2019s North Hills, where the road dead-ends inside The Pointe at Midtown<\/a> apartment complex, residents of \u201cLos Navaho\u201d drift home in the late-day light.<\/p>\n

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Construction workers pull into parking spaces still in dusty boots. Children play on the sidewalks. Neighbors gather in stairwells to chat.<\/p>\n

Around 5 p.m., many end up at \u201cLas Delicias,\u201d a Latin food truck parked near the end. From behind the register, Jos\u00e9 Rutilo Bautista Hern\u00e1ndez, 30, watches the neighborhood where he also lives come together. When the phone rings, he rarely needs to ask who is ordering.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust by hearing someone\u2019s voice, I already know who it is,\u201d he says in Spanish.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a nice place,\u201d he adds. \u201cEverything is close by. Nobody bothers us here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Los Navaho has long been a first stop \u2014 and a rare community \u2014 for immigrant families along Navaho Drive. But the 365-unit complex, one of Midtown\u2019s last pockets of low\u2011cost housing, is set to be cleared for Kane Realty\u2019s 28\u2011acre expansion that will bring more than 1,200 homes, offices, trails and retail to the North Hills Innovation District. As redevelopment advances, the neighborhood\u2019s daily rhythms \u2014 and the community that holds it together \u2014 will disappear.<\/p>\n

Bautista Hern\u00e1ndez has worked in the food truck since before it moved to Navaho Drive three years ago. Originally from Mexico, he has lived in the complex for about a decade. But he knows time is running out.<\/p>\n

By March, residents must leave the complex, and many of those familiar voices will scatter. Some have told him they plan to move to Casa de Luna, a nearby apartment complex. Others are searching for trailer parks or apartments near Buffaloe Road and Capital Boulevard. Most will end up farther from the city center and from one another.<\/p>\n

Some customers have already stopped by to say goodbye. Many, Bautista Hern\u00e1ndez said, tell him the same thing: \u201cWherever you go, we\u2019ll go buy from you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many residents of Los Navaho emigrated from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and other Latin American countries in search of work and opportunity. Though their journeys differed, many arrived through family connections, friendships and word of mouth.<\/p>\n

A 40-year-old Guatemalan resident, who asked not to be named due to immigration status concerns, arrived in North Carolina at age 14. His parents remain in Guatemala, and while he speaks of one day returning, that day remains undefined.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all come with a dream of wanting to do something and going back home after a while,\u201d he said in Spanish. \u201cBut with time, you get used to being here. You never really make the decision to go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many of his neighbors, he built a life in Raleigh while maintaining ties to family back home. He works in construction, painting and remodeling homes, a job he has had for seven years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost all of us work in construction,\u201d he said. \u201cSome do only painting, others do framing, others do flooring. Each one finds their role.\u201d<\/p>\n

The apartments themselves were never the reason people stayed. Many residents describe aging buildings, recurring maintenance issues and long-running pest concerns.<\/p>\n

The Guatemalan man has moved between three different units since 2012, always searching for better living conditions. Still, he never left Los Navaho.<\/p>\n

The neighborhood worked then for the same reason it does now, he said. Work, groceries and friends were close by, and the price was within reach. Rents at The Pointe typically range from the low $900s for a one-bedroom to the mid-$1,500s for a three-bedroom \u2014 well below today\u2019s market and firmly in the category of \u201cnaturally occurring affordable housing,\u201d or NOAH.<\/p>\n

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Several residents said neighbors often keep to themselves, focused on work and family obligations during the day. But it\u2019s also a close-knit community where residents often stop to greet, chat with or check in on a neighbor.<\/p>\n

That informal network became a lifeline last November, when Border Patrol agents swept<\/a> through the complex as part of Operation Charlotte\u2019s Web.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought that kind of thing only happened at the border,\u201d said the Guatemalan man. \u201cWe had never seen it around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several residents said neighbors relied on one another and a WhatsApp group that shared live updates from different areas of the complex. Many stayed indoors for at least two weeks after receiving alerts.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what country we come from,\u201d the resident said, \u201cwe\u2019re all friends and neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alicia Hernandez, 33, came from Mexico and has lived in Los Navaho for nearly four years. Her apartment sits near the edge of the complex. It\u2019s among the first buildings slated to be demolished.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, her daughters\u2019 school bus stop, once steps from her door, was moved to the entrance of Navaho Drive, just outside the complex, a small sign that change is already underway.<\/p>\n

Hernandez first moved to the complex because of work. At the time, she was commuting about 20 minutes each way to her job at Las Delicias food truck before a coworker helped her apply for an apartment.<\/p>\n

Now, Hernandez runs her own business, also selling food. As families have begun moving out, she said, her sales have already declined.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I move, I\u2019ll have to start from zero, find new customers. And there are areas where they don\u2019t give you permission,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is a little worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n

She still does not know where she will move. Rising rents, large deposits and documentation requirements have narrowed her options. The combination of affordability, location and the network that made Los Navaho work will be difficult to find elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo find something more affordable,\u201d she said, \u201cwe\u2019ll probably have to move farther away.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story is part of a reporting partnership between The News & Observer<\/b> and Enlace Latino NC<\/b> to better cover the displacement of Latino and immigrant residents in Raleigh. Enlace Latino NC\u2019s deep relationships in Spanish\u2011speaking communities, combined with the N&O\u2019s housing and development reporting, allowed us to spend time inside \u201cLos Navaho,\u201d speak with residents in their preferred language, and document the human impact of redevelopment with greater care and accuracy. The collaboration ensured that residents\u2019 voices \u2014 often overlooked in major land\u2011use decisions \u2014 shaped the story from the ground up.<\/p>\n

Read more When will new raises for NC teachers and state employees show up in paychecks?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Raleigh\u2019s Midtown expansion will displace residents of Los Navaho, altering daily life, affordable housing and tight-knit immigrant networks along Navaho Drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Raleigh\u2019s Midtown boom means for the immigrant enclave tucked behind it - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4675\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Raleigh\u2019s Midtown boom means for the immigrant enclave tucked behind it - 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