US Army Forces Command & US Army Reserve Forces Command HQ - Under Construction

At first glance, you would think Fayetteville, NC was the mecca of affordable living. The city was voted one of America’s most military-friendly cities and has received quite a bit of national press over the past several months; primarily, for having one of the best performing real estate markets in the country. While  most markets are experiencing double-digit declines, Fayetteville’s growth has been consistent and the city has experienced double-digit appreciation year-over-year.

Rank: 5

Metro: Fayetteville (N.C.)
Share of homes with increasing values: 53.23%
Median value: $119,800
Annual change: 13.12%
Quarterly change: 2.22%

Source: BusinessWeek “The 30 Strongest Housing Markets In the US, August, 2009

If you’ve ever driven Interstate 95 through North Carolina, chances are you’ve driven through or refueled in Fayetteville. Fayetteville, NC has been the news a lot recently; not because it’s Julianne Moore’s hometown (and mine) but because of what’s going on there. The city is in the middle of a rather significant transformation and the country has been watching. Fayetteville is a part of the Sandhills Region and is located within Cumberland County, NC, which is home to Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg is on track to be one of the largest Army installations in the world. As a result of a 2005 BRAC commission recommendation, Fort MacPherson (GA) is scheduled to close. The US Army Forces Command and US Army Reserve Forces Command will be moved to Fort Bragg by March, 2011 and some 40,000 new residents will be added to the area. That’s huge for a city with a population just over 115,000. There is a gold rush underway all to accommodate the incoming troops and their dependents. How will the city manage this growth?

FORSCOM has a $30 billion annual obligation authority for defense and other contracts and provides unmatched opportunities for enterprising businesses who want to compete for these dollars. As a result, many defense-related companies have made the move or are in the planning stage to relocate to the Fort Bragg region. ~ BRAC Regional Task Force

The Disconnect

The Wall Street Journal reported on a Zillow finding that Fayetteville was experiencing double-digit appreciation. Is it good? Maybe for the developers. See, the city of Fayetteville has been largely reactive instead proactive as it relates to this new growth. Infrastructure improvements once delayed have become priority, and a zoning ordinance that hadn’t been revised since 1974 is being revamped. There is evidence of this lack of vision all throughout my hometown. Sidewalks are almost nonexistent in the most populated areas and the public transportation is like many smaller cities, inefficient. It’s safe to assume that the variables used in measuring the increases were partial.

Not only is Fayetteville the sixth largest city in North Carolina, it is also the flattest. Development continues to go out instead of up. I have spent several months researching infill opportunities there and sought to compare and contrast other projects that had been completed. I found one. A sole project downtown that everyone points to when asked about infill development in the city. It’s a well-designed building at the corner of Hay Street and Ray Avenue. Hay Street is the Main Street for the city and an attempt is underway to revitalize the entire downtown area. I understand the project sold out before construction was complete. It wasn’t large enough to create critical mass, but it was large enough to serve as a prototype for what can be accomplished in the city.

I’m not certain I follow the logic in repeating the history and development model that’s proven to be unsustainable but, as far as the city is concerned, there is no other model to follow. Largely, the prevailing housing options in Fayetteville and surrounding communities are single-family detached homes on cul-de-sacs. This model works here because land prices are still relatively cheap and construction prices have remained level compared to other parts of the country. Developers haven’t been challenged to do anything differently or engage in more sustainable development.

The Challenge

My search for sites was and continues to be pretty challenging. I have looked at three. One was in immediate vicinity to Fayetteville State University, and the other two are near Cape Fear Valley Hospital. I thought that if any area had potential for redevelopment, it was these two; the sites were located near the city’s largest employers. Well I was wrong. Growth doesn’t occur within the city limits but on the outskirts, where there is plenty of land. I was rather disappointed in my hometown because I’d assumed they’d reached a phase where they were ready to shed the image of Fayettenam and embark on a new direction; one that would retain some of the knowledge capital being produced locally and shipped out.

I met with the leadership of BRAC Regional Task Force (BRAC RTF) and if any organization locally “gets it,” they do. A quick Google search or glance through the phone book will reveal find few (if any) planners in this city that are not employed by the city (try it). I found one. BRAC RTF brought a much-needed element to the planning process. Engineers do all of the site planning and programming there, and it’s evident in the no-creativity-at-all sprawl throughout the city. It’s actually rather depressing. I left Fayetteville in 1997 and returned for a short while in 2008/9. Other than a few retailers and more vinyl-sided homes, much hasn’t changed in the All American City…the race is on to get it right.

The Opportunity

Ground has broken on Military Business Park, a planned one and half million square feet project located along the All American Defense Corridor. Some predict this  Southeastern North Carolina corridor could be the equivalent of Research Triangle Park, located about an hour and a half away. Smaller cities around the country have an incredible opportunity to position themselves as economic development generators once the real estate markets recover. Local leadership will have to make in-town development a priority and provide incentives for developers to do so.

If Fayetteville really leverages this national exposure, they can serve as a model for what other cities of its size can accomplish with vision and proper execution. The hunt is still on for the right opportunity in my hometown, and we’ll see how things progress over the next few months. Do you know of good examples of small towns that have made efforts to create car-free cities?