Attorneys Bill Thomas and Jay Ferguson were two of the attorneys for Scarborough and Hargett Funeral Home, Inc., a funeral home in Downtown Durham. The property adjoined a U-Haul business immediately adjacent to the Durham County Jail, which had been condemned for the purpose of construction a new courthouse.

The County of Durham paid $3,750,000 for the land and historical building on the site after an initial offer of $1,300,000.