5th Annual Community Appearance Awards Program

The City-County Joint Appearance Commission is made up of members from Cumberland County and the nine towns in Cumberland County. Continue reading “City of Fayetteville Appearance Awards”

Fayetteville City Council
Work Session
May 6, 2013

Absent Council Members: Robert Massey

What Happened:  Jami McLaughlin (Downtown Development Manager) and William Grimes (Consultant with Studio Cascade) presented the 2013 draft Downtown Fayetteville Renaissance Plan.  The draft plan is part of the City Council’s strategic planning goal.  The FRP will guide strategic visioning for the next ten years.  The City Council will have a formal vote on the plan at the May 28 meeting.

Below are some of the highlights of the plan.  You can also access the entire FRP plan at www.ci.fayetteville.nc.us

The Plan Area:

At more than 3,000 acres, the planning area extends for slightly more than a mile in every direction from the Market House. It reaches northward to Fayetteville State University, eastward to the Cape Fear River and is bounded on the west and south by the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway. The downtown core is only a small part of the  entire planning area, though it represents the historic heart and commercial focus of central Fayetteville.

 Top Priorities in the 2002 FRP

• Bragg Boulevard Corridor Development
• Hay Street to I-295 corridor plan
• Reclaiming Neighborhoods
• Hope VI Business Park Development

High Priorities in the 2002 FRP

• Old Days Inn site development
• Multi-modal center
• Prince Charles Hotel
• Residential Rental Program
• North Carolina Veterans Park
• Festival Park Plaza building
• Murchison Road corridor development

The following projects are considered “Step 1” projects and they are suggested to be completed within four years.

• Prince Charles Hotel Project – potential redevelopment to create residential and office condominiums in the upper floors, with dining and retail on the ground level
• Visual and Performing Arts Center – potential partnership between the City of Fayetteville, Arts Council, Cumberland County and private individuals
• Farmers Market – Farmers market needs a permanent home
• Cross Creek Trail (Linear Park), Final Segment – The trail connection finishes the alignment along Cross Creek
• Cambleton Master Plan – potential for a river-side community
• Cape Fear River Trail
• Russell Street Design
• Hope VI Business Park
• Growth Policy/Land Use Plan Update – study for citywide strategies to encourage proposed intensity of residential development
• Zoning Amendments – this project would review and revise the City zoning ordinance and development standards to accommodate and manage desired growth
• Murchison Improvements
• Rowan Street Bridge
• Old Wilmington Road Neighborhood
• Ray Avenue Extension
• Gateway Monuments
• Conference Center/Hotel Study

What Was Said:

Consultant – “This is not a land use guide but it could help with special use permits…it’s part of a conversation in application.”

Consultant – “If your application for development is different from the Renaissance Plan the application would not be consistent with what the city wants.”

Councilwoman Applewhite – “This is a very good document…I would hope one day that people could live downtown for under “250,000 dollars.  We have 70 million invested in downtown with the city giving 20 million for example the parking garage.  How much tax revenue are we receiving back? I’d like to see how much.  I’d like to see a ratio.”

Ted Voorhees (City Manager) – “So you want a comparison with revenue?”

Applewhite – “Some people are wanting one.  You have some people that are waiting 20 years for sewer.”

Councilman Crisp – “Is the investment working?