At 1001 Corporate Drive in Hillsborough, NC stands a property with a story most people don't know — but should.

The Beard Farm is a 1922 farmhouse and barn on 11 acres that was once home to Dr. Joseph W. Beard and his wife Dorothy — pioneering Duke researchers whose work advanced vaccine and cancer science. After their deaths, the Beards left the property to Duke University. It became a place of healing, serving our community for years as the Duke Hospice and Unicorn Bereavement Center. A brick path on the property still bears the names of those who found comfort there.

Now the property is pending sale to Wood Partners, a developer planning to demolish the farmhouse, barn, and surrounding structures to build a 333-unit apartment complex called Altera Meadowlands. This includes loss of several mature oaks and other trees. 

We understand Hillsborough and Orange County need housing. We are not asking to stop development entirely.

We are asking for one thing: a pause — before demolition begins — to genuinely explore whether preservation and housing can coexist on this site.

Adaptive reuse is possible. Other communities have done it. A 1922 farmhouse with documented medical history and deep community roots deserves more than salvaged materials.

We ask Wood Partners, and other stakeholders to come to the table before this history is lost forever.

Sign if you believe our community's story is worth preserving.

Learn more by watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wcdbA6YKng

• Consider leaving a comment on this petition about your connection or why it's important to preserve. 
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