Murchison Choice Neighborhood Plan

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Client

City of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority

Description

The last 20 years have seen significant development and changes in the City of Fayetteville including the revitalization of downtown Fayetteville with new shops, services, hotels, offices, and entertainment opportunities. Unfortunately, these positive improvements have not benefited all residents in a truly equitable fashion. The city encompasses portions of Fort Bragg, one of the largest military bases in the world, which adds significantly to the regional economy. The Murchison Road Corridor itself is known as the historic center of African American culture in the city and is anchored by Fayetteville State University, a Historically Black College and University founded in 1867. In addition, the community contains easy access to public schools, early childhood learning centers, and various community medical clinics. The neighborhood’s natural creek corridors and small lakes are underutilized assets that can be greatly improved for local recreation. Because of Fayetteville State University, along with the community’s close proximity to downtown, the neighborhood provides a potential market for additional student- and faculty-oriented housing, as well as potential retail uses that could provide additional jobs and services for residents.

In December of 2020, the City of Fayetteville, in partnership with the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority (FMHA), was awarded a HUD Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant for the Murchison neighborhood. Through the Grant, the City and FMHA are working with local residents and a variety of community stakeholders – including nonprofits, faith-based organizations, anchor institutions, supportive services agencies, businesses, and others – to create a forward-looking Transformation Plan with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Plan will be centered on redevelopment of FMHA’s Murchison Townhouses, which includes 60 units of low-income housing. The CNI Plan will seek to replace 100% of those housing units within the neighborhood, or in other areas of opportunity as part of new mixed-income developments.

Murchison residents were engaged through a number of meetings, events and more throughout the planning process. The Team collected valuable information on visioning for the future, program and project strategies and people, housing and neighborhood elements. Through surveys and activities, all of the information collected has been used to develop the Plan.