What a year! This special Year in Review issue of the mayor’s Fayetteville Forward newsletter highlights some of the most positive stories from 2011 as reported in the Fayetteville Observer. Take some time to enjoy the special things that are happening in our city.
We continue to get great response on the newsletter. Please forward it to your
neighbors and friends and share the good news.
You can also visit my website at [1]www.mayorchavonne.com to see all of the
newsletters from the past year and other exciting news about our city.
2012 is shaping up to be an equally exciting year for Fayetteville. Joanne and
I thank you for your continued prayers and support.
SEE, CHAT, & INTERACT…
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“What’s Going On” with Jeff Thompson
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Mayor’s Hotline
(910) 433-1992
Contact Info:
Mayor Anthony G. Chavonne
433 Hay Street
Fayetteville, NC 28301
mayor@ci.fay.nc.us
tony@mayorchavonne.com
Military keeps Cumberland County near top in pay growth
Continued increases in pay and benefits for military and federal civilian
workers kept Cumberland County in the top 10 nationally for growth in average
worker compensation last year.
New data for the 170 largest U.S. counties show that average compensation per
job – pay, plus employer medical and retirement contributions – was $69,168 in
Cumberland County last year, up 4.4 percent from 2009. That rate of growth
ranks Cumberland ninth in the nation among counties where pay and benefits
totaled at least $10 billion.
In North Carolina, only Mecklenburg County’s average compensation grew more
last year, up 4.6 percent.
Over the past decade, total compensation for government workers in Cumberland
County – including military and federal, state and local government jobs here -
has ballooned 123 percent, from $3.9 billion in 2001 to almost $8.7 billion
last year.
Total compensation in Cumberland County was $12.4 billion in 2010, up almost
$600 million from 2009. Last year saw Cumberland County ranked second
nationally in total compensation growth. This year, it dropped to 12th, still a
higher gain in total compensation than anywhere else in the state.
Fayetteville’s Economy Grew 4% in 2010
Fayetteville’s economy grew 4 percent in 2010, swelling to $15.25 billion,
according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
That outpaced the 2.5 percent increase in real gross domestic product averaged
by the nation’s 366 metropolitan areas. The metro areas’ real GDP totaled $11.7
trillion, up from $11.5 trillion, according to the bureau.
The national figures marked a turnaround following the recession when the
average metro’s economy shrank 2.8 percent. Only 76 metro areas saw their
economies grow between 2007 and 2009. Among them: Fayetteville, whose economy
has grown steadily since 2001.
Fayetteville Named All-America City
Fayetteville won its third All-America City Award in Kansas in June. Officials
say the award culminates efforts to improve the local economy and the
community’s image.
About 55 people from Fayetteville and Fort Bragg leapt from their chairs,
cheering and giving high-fives when Fayetteville captured the All-America
designation. The group members waved miniature American flags on sticks, and
many in the audience shouted “USA! USA!”
Joining Fayetteville representatives were 20 uniformed soldiers from the 82nd
Airborne All-American Chorus. Everyone walked onto a stage, smiling and shaking
hands with the judges and officials with the National Civic League.
In all, 10 cities received the award, including Eden, the only other North
Carolina community that had reached the finals at the Hyatt Regency Crown
Center. The league has been giving them out since 1949.
Fayetteville’s bid focused on its patriotic spirit and a good economy
benefiting from growth at Fort Bragg. Children who have participated in a
literacy-improvement program in the county schools were part of the
presentation as well.
Fayetteville won another, albeit less prestigious, award for the most popular
video highlighting its presentation. The city’s entry into the All-America
Stories video contest on Facebook captured the most fans by people who said
they liked the nearly 90-second clip.
Fayetteville Outer Loop Speeding Up
Work on two more segments of the Fayetteville Outer Loop is getting a
jump-start, state officials announced recently.
Gov. Bev Perdue said the state would use anticipated federal highway
construction grants to accelerate work on urban loops around six N.C. cities,
including Fayetteville.
Fayetteville’s loop, also known as Interstate 295, is being built in phases.
Three segments – roughly between the All American Freeway and Ramsey Street -
are under way.
The loop’s first section, linking I-95 south of Wade, opened in 2003. Two more
sections of the Outer Loop in western Fayetteville will have accelerated
schedules.
A section from east of Yadkin Road to south of Cliffdale Road is now scheduled
for construction in 2019 at an estimated cost of $102.4 million.
Right of way acquisition for a section from south of Cliffdale Road to south of
Raeford Road, east of Lake Rim Park, will begin in 2019. The estimated cost is
$9.6 million.
Previously, both sections were not funded or programmed by the N.C. Department
of Transportation, which sets long-range timelines to design highway projects,
buy land and build them.
Last December, the Board of Transportation approved $234.6 million to construct
two segments of the Fayetteville Outer Loop that are under way. Those sections
are expected to be complete in 2015.
In May 2009, the project received $52.5 million from the federal stimulus bill
to build everything but travel lanes between Bragg Boulevard and Murchison
Road. A revised schedule calls for work to be completed in December 2012
Growing Fort Bragg creates hotel building boom
Since 2005, Cumberland County’s supply of hotel rooms has grown about 12
percent. But demand for rooms has surged nearly twice as much, leading to a
recent construction boom including the $30 million Embassy Suites going up near
the mall.
The Fayetteville Observer analyzed five years of data from Smith Travel
Research, a hotel performance research firm in Tennessee. The results show
Fayetteville’s hotel and motel industry has far outpaced North Carolina’s other
large metropolitan areas – Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro and Durham.
Demand for Fayetteville-area rooms grew by 23 percent from 2005 to 2010, and
overall lodging revenue was up 50 percent to more than $96 million.
By comparison, demand in Raleigh grew 7.6 percent over the same period.
Charlotte hotel bookings grew by less than 2 percent.
And while average occupancy rates of Fayetteville hotels has increased in five
years, it has dropped in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Durham.
According to Smith Travel Research, the average occupancy in Cumberland County
climbed to 67 percent last year from 61 percent in 2005. Hotels and motels
fetched on average almost $70 a night last year – up 22 percent during that
time, though still below average rates in the other N.C. metros.
To meet ever-growing demand, six hotels in Cumberland County have opened in the
past two years, and ground will be broken on three more this year, said John
Meroski, president of the Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. They
are a Courtyard and Candlewood Suites in Spring Lake, and a Holiday Inn near
the mall.
Overall, there are 71 hotels and motels with a combined 5,974 rooms across the
county. Occupancy peaked last year at 74.8 percent in October, but dropped to
57 percent by December. The average rate was back up to 68 percent last month,
however.
North Carolina Veterans Park Opens
North Carolina’s long-awaited park honoring veterans opened July 4th in
downtown Fayetteville, paying tribute to those from all 100 counties who have
worn a uniform for their country.
Following the 10 a.m. ceremony, officials snipped a ribbon to the $13 million
park that is more than a decade in the making and represents a significant new
phase in the downtown revitalization.
On 5 acres near the Airborne & Special Operations Museum on Bragg Boulevard,
the site is adorned with fountains, columns, granite walls shimmering with
cascading water and steel panels that reflect light. Every aspect of the park
symbolizes the journey of a veteran, and literally represents the state from
the mountains to the coast.
In a community plaza, bronze hands cast from a veteran from every North
Carolina county symbolize the oath of service. The hands sit on gently curving
concrete walls that contain soil samples from each place the veterans represent
The park has seven original commissioned sculptures made from discarded
military materials, such as vehicles and weapons.
The visitors center has high-tech exhibits, a fused glass wall of service
ribbons from every conflict since the Civil War, and a unique chandelier forged
out of 33,500 dog tags
The park has other areas demonstrating the life of a veteran. The service plaza
features tall, firm walls and a Pride and Purpose Tower, together representing
military life. A quieter reflection garden, festooned with flowers along the
banks of Cross Creek, signifies a veteran’s return to civilian life and
retirement.
Parking Deck Contract Awarded
Six companies submitted bids to build a five-story parking deck in downtown
Fayetteville. Construction should be completed in early January.
The public parking deck, to be built on what is now a parking lot at the corner
of Franklin and Donaldson streets, would contain 298 spaces — a net gain of
220. Backers of the plan have said additional downtown parking is essential if
the area is to continue its economic growth.
The cost of building the deck has been estimated at $6.2 million. In June, the
city council voted to borrow nearly $6 million over 15 years for the project.
The loan’s effective interest rate would be 2.81 percent after factoring in
funding through last year’s federal stimulus project.
It would be paid off through revenues from a tax on the downtown district. PWC
would also contribute $2 million to the deck’s cost. PWC owns the Robert C.
Williams Business Center to which the deck would be attached and the city-owned
utility has been trying to sell the building since moving its customer-service
center elsewhere. PWC officials have said the parking deck will make the
building more marketable.
Increase in basic housing allowance for Fort Bragg soldiers is above average
The military’s basic housing allowance will rise an average of 9.6 percent for
service members stationed at Fort Bragg next year, an increase far above the
nationwide average of 2 percent.
The increase rivals that of soldiers in Washington, D.C., where a 9.9 percent
bump in housing allowance in 2012 is one of the biggest in the U.S.
The rates, which were released by the Department of Defense this week and take
effect Jan. 1, are calculated based upon the median current market rent,
average utility costs and average renter’s insurance, according to theDefense
Travel Management Office.
The market in the Southeast also has long been behind the rest of the nation in
construction costs and rental rates, and increases like this can help the
Fayetteville area catch up, local appraiser Tom Keith said.
“I don’t know if they just kind of felt like we were behind the times and
needed to do some things or what, but we were certainly blessed,” Keith said.
“It certainly will most likely improve the quality of housing in the North
Carolina markets.”
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Comes to Fayetteville
ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” came to Fayetteville in July to rebuild
one lucky family a dream house.
The weeklong building blitz started and involved volunteers and donated labor
and materials from local companies, said Chip Smith, president and chief
executive officer of Blue Ridge Log Cabins of South Carolina.
First Lady Michelle Obama came to Fayetteville to film an episode of the ABC
reality series featuring Barbara Marshall, founder of the Steps N Stages
Jubilee House for women veterans in transition.
The moment culminated the 106 hours of work by a team of volunteers who built
Marshall a new home for her ministry.
Marshall’s 1,288-square-foot home was demolished to make room for a much bigger
one so she can help more veterans. Local businesses contributed supplies, food
and volunteers
Fayetteville ranked No. 1 among best cities for college graduates
Fayetteville has plenty of 20-somethings who move here on the Army’s orders.
But according to one media company, the city should be No. 1 on the list of any
young adult looking for a place to live and work.
The Daily Beast, a sister company to Newsweek, puts Fayetteville at the top of
its list of 25 Best Cities for College Graduates.
This is the second year that the news and opinion website has ranked cities in
terms of what they offer to those entering the job market.
The Daily Beast said it “looked at the cities through the lens of the basics of
quality of life: housing, employment, affordability and relationships.”
The top 25 cities “have relatively low unemployment, high average salary per
capita, a low cost of living, a high portion of housing units devoted to rental
properties, and a large population between ages 22 and 24,” the website says.
Economist sees bright future for Fayetteville
While it will be years before the United States returns to robust employment
levels, Wells Fargo chief economist Mark Vitner reports that he’s “very
optimistic” about the Fayetteville area’s economic outlook because of the
Army’s decision to consolidate some key operations here. As part of its Base
Closure and Realignment plans, the Army is moving its largest command, Forces
Command, and the Army Reserve Command to Fort Bragg from Fort McPherson in
Georgia.
Vitner said the new commands, which are supposed to be in place by fall, will
create plenty of opportunities for new and existing businesses.
“More purchasing decisions will be made here,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said, he expects more money to be spent by the military on
training personnel for the more specialized missions they are facing in the
post-Cold War era. He said he doesn’t expect troop levels to be cut.
Cumberland housing market among elite
Cumberland County ranks fifth on the list for least amount of negative equity,
out of 386 urban counties in the country. Only 4.2 percent of homeowners in
Cumberland County were stuck in a bad mortgage situation last fall, according
to the stats.
The top four counties are in New York. In Manhattan, only 4.2 percent of
mortgages had negative equity. Property values there certainly didn’t crash.
Suffolk County, N.Y. (the Hamptons end of Long Island) had 2.1 percent of
mortgages under water. The other two counties are in New York state.
The only other North Carolina county in either of those two categories was
Buncombe, home to Asheville, where only 6.4 percent of mortgages were under
water.
Hope VI project rolls on
Fayetteville’s Hope VI project to replace public housing in an impoverished
neighborhood is 60 percent complete, the lead developer says.
Murray Duggins, chairman of United Developers, said four of the seven planned
housing developments are finished, and the remaining three are on schedule to
be completed toward the end of 2013.
In 2008, the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority won a $20 million Hope
VI grant to bulldoze and replace 249 apartments reserved for public housing.
The targeted area is along Old Wilmington Road, about six blocks from the city
center.
The overall project will cost about $113 million, most from private investment,
and consist of 642 apartments and up to 105 single-family homes. The city,
county and city-owned Public Works Commission also made contributions.
To help move work along amid a recession, the project received an additional
$6.5 million from the 2009 federal stimulus package.
The Hope VI grant came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and the city was given a five-year deadline to finish the project.
Two World War II-era housing projects, called Delona Gardens and Campbell
Terrace Apartments, were razed in early 2010, and about 200 families in public
housing were relocated.
About 170 of those families remain in the program who are allowed to return to
the new housing for essentially the same subsidized rent as before. Other
families who meet income guidelines but don’t necessarily qualify for public
assistance can live in the new housing, too.
The new apartment complexes have amenities such as gazebos, fitness rooms and
common sitting rooms with big, comfortable sofas and large paintings on the
walls.
Overall, a total of 270 residents are living in the new housing, and about 50
more are expected to move in within the next few weeks.
The first complex built was Dogwood Manor on Alfred Street in February. It has
36 apartments reserved for tenants who are at least 62 years old.
Hickory Ridge, with 72 apartments off Bunce Road in western Fayetteville, was
completed in March.
In the Old Wilmington Road area, Sycamore Park opened on Volunteer Drive in
June, and in August, Oak Run I opened on Campbell Avenue.
The formal groundbreaking ceremony for the Old Wilmington Road Hope VI
revitalization project was held on April 21st. The project includes a $20
million grant from HUD and is expected to have an economic impact in excess of
$113 million in the area.
Complete details of the Hope VI project are available at http://www.fayettevillehopevi.org
