Project leaders for the Murchison Choice Neighborhood plan shared the latest updates — including stakeholder pledges and planned initiatives — for the neighborhood revitalization plan in a meeting attended by community members, various stakeholder and city officials at Fayetteville State University.
The Jan. 25 meeting was centered around a grant application to be jointly submitted by the city and Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority (FMHA) to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the Murchison Choice Neighborhood plan.
As an expansive redevelopment and community investment project, the Murchison plan is centered on replacing distressed public housing with mixed-income developments at the Murchison Townhomes and Elliott Circle sites. Project leaders at the meeting said the housing portion of the grant aims to erect 207 mixed-income units in place of the Murchison Townhomes. The housing development will also include neighborhood enhancements like green spaces, walking trails and public art displays, as well as facilities for communal use with a kitchen, laundromat, fitness center and computer rooms.
The city and FMHA were awarded a planning grant for the project in 2020. The second phase of the project is the implementation grant, due Feb. 13.
In addition to rebuilding the Murchison Townhomes and supporting other housing projects, organizers said the plan aims to implement several other initiatives on topics including health, wellness and early education, with the goal of improving the residents’ lives and the neighborhood as a whole.
At the meeting, Chris Cauley, the director of Fayetteville’s Economic and Community Development department, said the grant — in addition to millions in investments from community partners — has an estimated value of $27 million, but this may increase depending on calculations by HUD. Current investments from partners in the plan is around $130 million, Cauley said, excluding the grant funds. Several private and public partners have pledged large investments in the project, including Fayetteville State University, the N.C. Dept. of Transportation and Cumberland County Schools, among others.
With the grant, the project hopes to have $160 million in funding with a breakdown of:
Cauley described the grant as extremely competitive, with only three to four awarded annually across the country. Still, he seemed optimistic about Fayetteville’s prospects, saying the city has produced an “incredibly strong application” and his team is “working as if we're going to win this grant.”
A special meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday for Fayetteville City Council members to review options and possibilities for the grant. At the council’s Jan. 22 meeting, council members said they wanted more time for discussion and to consider options. The meeting will be held at City Hall, 433 Hay St.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
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