At its meeting Wednesday, the Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously to sign off on the city’s grant application for the implementation of the Murchison Choice Neighborhood plan, a multi-million dollar redevelopment and community investment project for the Murchison Road neighborhood involving dozens of local stakeholders and investors.
With the city coordinating the effort, the grant application will be submitted jointly with Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority (FMHA) to the U.S Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the Murchison Choice Neighborhood plan.
The plan involves demolishing 110 existing townhomes at Elliot Circle and constructing 207 mixed-income apartment units in their place — including separate buildings for families and seniors. The project also includes the rehabilitation or new construction of 25 homes for moderate- and middle-income buyers. The housing development will 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.
In addition, the project promises to implement several other initiatives designed to improve the health and well-being of residents and positive additions to the neighborhood, such as a grocery store, pharmacy and bank, according to Chris Cauley, director of Fayetteville’s Economic and Community Development department.
The $27 million HUD grant, which would be used for a $67 million housing development plan, would be implemented over an eight-year period, Cauley said. As a part of the initiative, the Murchison Townhomes will also be demolished and the space utilized for redevelopment. Cauley said the city expects the grant to be awarded in July, from which time it will take approximately five years to complete construction of the new mixed-income apartments.
In addition to the housing developments, the city, along with its private and public partners, plans to invest in the neighborhood with:
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Council Member D.J. Haire, who made the motions during Wednesday’s meeting to approve the grant application and supporting documents, said he was excited about the financial investment in the project from various private and public partners. Haire also said he was appreciative of the level of community engagement that has taken place throughout the process.
“I have been watching this and been a drum major in moving forward for a number of years, so I do like this program,” Haire said.
“I like the support from the other organization for the $3 million for the grocery store — that's a very big plus,” he continued.
Mayor Mitch Colvin also commended the project’s plans to bring a grocery store to the neighborhood as part of the health and wellness initiatives. In surveys for the plan, residents have said having a grocery store, stocked with healthy foods, is among their top three priorities for their neighborhood’s redevelopment, in addition to a bank and a pharmacy. Project leaders have said the closest grocery store is a little over two miles from the neighborhood.
“It looks like we finally found a plan to fill this food desert that has been a huge concern over there,” Colvin said.
Cauley indicated the city was well-positioned to have a competitive application given major investment from community partners and stakeholders, and $44 million of existing leverage — mostly in the form of public parks and recreation facilities — that demonstrates the city’s dedication to committing resources to the neighborhood.
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.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
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