The city of Fayetteville has big plans for the Murchison Road corridor, a historically under-resourced part of the city. On Thursday evening, city administrators gave updates about those plans to the public.
Residents nearly filled the council chamber at City Hall to learn more about what the city is doing to invest in the Murchison area, one of the least wealthy parts of Fayetteville.
The median household income of the census tract that includes most of the corridor is $26,535 a year, about half of what it is for all of Fayetteville, according to Census Reporter, a project of Northwestern University that analyzes the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“We know if you’re familiar with this community that resources have not always gone to the places that need them,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said to open the meeting. “Finally, resources are making it to the place that it makes a huge difference.”
Along with Colvin, other members of the City Council were in attendance, including Shakeyla Ingram, Kathy Jensen, Mario Benavente, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin and Deno Hondros.
Ingram, Jensen, Benavente and Haire each represent districts in and around the Murchison corridor.
“Like myself and the mayor, we both grew up right off of Murchison Road, a stone’s throw from Murchison Road,” Haire said. “It is very, very dear to our hearts as it is for all of our council members.”
Murchison Choice Neighborhood Initiative
City officials presented updates on the Murchison Choice Neighborhood Initiative, efforts to support small businesses, parks and recreation services, and construction and renovation projects at Fayetteville State University.
The initiative is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD awarded the grant to the city and the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority in December 2020.
With part of the early grant funding, the city has installed little free libraries and a community garden in the area as well as public Wi-Fi at Murchison Townhomes.
The larger investment is the renovation of Murchison Townhomes and Elliott Properties. These renovations, according to a market study commissioned by the city, would result in 240 to 440 affordable and market-rate housing units by 2027.
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The HUD grant awarded to the city, however, would not cover the housing renovations. The next step for the city is to apply for HUD’s choice implementation grant, a separate grant that could yield Fayetteville as much as $35 million. According to city officials, Fayetteville could likely apply for the grant in early 2024.
To make the plans for the renovations become a reality, funding from this grant or another source will be needed, said Chris Cauley, Fayetteville’s economic and community development director.
“It’s going to take money,” Cauley said. “It’s also going to take partnerships, and it’s going to take community input. We need nonprofits, we need leaders who are willing to step forward and say, ‘Hey, I’m willing to take on this kind of a project, get the resources.’”
Cauley also said that he will present to the City Council at its next meeting plans for the $12 million housing bond package, an initiative approved by Fayetteville voters in November’s midterm election.
Cauley also cited city programs that assist small businesses with obtaining loans.
Parks and recreation
Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation Director Michael Gibson gave updates on many projects in the Murchison area.
Gibson reviewed plans for construction of Senior Center East, a community center that will feature a dance and fitness room, kitchen, cafe, library and warm-water pool.
He said a new tennis center is slated to include clay, hard and pickleball courts as well as a clubhouse.
Gibson said the city also plans to expand Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
Fayetteville State University
The Murchison corridor is home to Fayetteville State, and Darrell Allison, the university’s chancellor, spoke at the meeting to review ongoing construction projects on campus.
In all, the projects total more than $130 million in investment.
The projects include a $63 million building for the college of education; a $44 million residence hall with 368 beds; a $10 million parking deck with about 400 spaces that Allison said is desperately needed; an $11.1 million health and wellness center; and the $1.4 million renovation of Bronco Square, which will go by the new name Bronco Midtown.
Allison also mentioned completed projects like the $700,000 in renovations to the FSU Aquatics Center completed in November and the $2.7 million Fayetteville-Cumberland Regional Entrepreneur and Business Hub completed in September.
Ben Sessoms covers Fayetteville and education for CityView. He can be reached at bsessoms@cityviewnc.com.
