Residents packed Senior Center East on Thursday as Fayetteville officials outlined a plan to demolish and rebuild two aging public‑housing complexes along the Murchison Road corridor.
The city hopes to fund the proposal with a $26 million Choice Neighborhood Implementation (CNI) Grant. The federal grant would fund the demolition and one‑for‑one replacement of 60 units at Murchison Townhouses and 110 units at Elliott Circle. Both aging public housing complexes are near Fayetteville State University.
If awarded, the project would launch an eight‑year redevelopment effort to replace the units with mixed‑income housing, including both rental apartments and homeownership opportunities.
Chris Cauley, Fayetteville’s economic and community development director, told residents he learned on December 9 that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) unexpectedly opened the application window. That was a surprise, he said, given recent federal cutbacks that had cast doubt on whether the grant would be offered this year.
“We were not sure that this grant was going to come out,” he said. “So we have a lot of ground to cover.”
The Fayetteville City Council voted on Feb. 9 to authorize staff to apply. The deadline is March 9.
The city last applied in 2024, when the maximum award was $41 million. The city made it to the finalist round but was ultimately passed over. Cauley told council members that the prior application cost between $300,000 and $400,000 to prepare, mostly covered by a planning grant. This time, Cauley requested $100,000 to complete the work.
Cauley said HUD’s feedback from the previous round gives Fayetteville “a very strong chance” this time.
What Redevelopment Would Mean for Residents
The city is partnering with Pennrose, a nationally recognized mixed‑income housing developer. Randy Clack Jr., Pennrose’s regional vice president, emphasized that HUD requires a one‑for‑one replacement of public housing units.
“Essentially, what that means is that you will have a unit exactly like you live in now,” Clack said. “So if you live in a three‑bedroom unit, a replacement three‑bedroom unit.”
Under HUD rules, every household that moves out during construction has a guaranteed right to return to a new unit once it is built. Residents would be temporarily relocated into other public housing or provided vouchers to relocate..
Construction would begin in late 2027 if Fayetteville is selected, and would proceed in phases over eight years.
Crystal DePietro, assistant executive director of the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority, said residents would move in stages—starting with new units at Elliott Circle and ending with Murchison Townhouses.
“All households will continue to pay 30% of their income toward rent” during their relocation, she said.
The city has also partnered with Urban Strategies, a national nonprofit with extensive experience in Choice Neighborhood projects.
Nicole Brown, operations director for the nonprofit, said each household will be paired with a staff member who will help them understand their rights, maintain eligibility to return, and access services related to education, employment, and health.
A Corridor Shaped by Segregation, Disinvestment
City documents show the history of the Murchison Road community includes segregation from the 1950s through the 1970s when Black residents were forced to live along the corridor. The area once supported a thriving network of Black‑owned businesses, including grocery stores, nightclubs, beauty shops, and mom‑and‑pop stores.
Integration led many of those businesses to relocate. By the 1970s, drugs and disinvestment took hold, and the stigma has persisted.
Today, the corridor is home to a high concentration of low‑income residents, many of whom live in aging public‑housing communities like Murchison Townhouses and Elliott Circle.
The townhomes, according to city records, were built in 1970. The 60 units are spread across nine two‑story buildings and two one‑story buildings, all of which the city describes as being in “poor to fair” condition and in need of significant rehabilitation to provide “safe and sanitary” housing.
At Elliott Circle, the buildings are one‑story, barracks‑style apartments. Many of the 110 units are vacant, and the site “doesn’t meet modern living standards,” city records said. It is also considered a “hotspot of negative activity.”
The area also remains a food desert, which is an area with limited access to fresh food. It’s a concern raised repeatedly by residents. Cauley said the city’s previous CNI application included a grocery store, but HUD pushed back.
“They expressed skepticism around the grocery store,” he said. “The city is still actively working toward recruiting one.”
Residents Voice Concerns About Displacement, Rising Costs
Some residents pressed speakers for clarity on what it would take to qualify to return once the new housing is built. They asked how vouchers would work, what barriers might prevent them from coming back, and whether the city could guarantee that every household would be able to reclaim a unit after years of construction.
Anthony, who asked to be identified by first name only, said those questions weighed heavily on him. He told CityView he is worried about finding a landlord who will accept a voucher and fears being pushed into a worse situation during relocation. He does “not trust the government to keep its promise.”
“What if I cannot find a landlord that will accept a voucher? What if I end up somewhere worse? Will they really let me come back?” he said. Still, he added that he believes the project “probably needs to happen,” given the condition of some of the existing units, and said he appreciates the city’s efforts to involve residents early.
Stef Coachman, who lives near the two public housing complexes, said she is concerned about the lack of amenities already straining the neighborhood.
“How are we going to accommodate these people? We don’t have a grocery store in the area,” she said.
Coachman also fears that new single‑family homes could accelerate property tax increases. She said her taxes have tripled in three years.
“They’re pricing a lot of people out of their homes just from taxes,” she told CityView.
Government reporter Rachel Heimann Mercader can be reached at rheimann@cityviewnc.com or 910-988-8045.
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