Workforce housing development moves forward despite planning board denial
The development will cater to workers like teachers, firefighters, and nurses
NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — On Monday, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of a planned workforce housing development at the 3100 block of Blue Clay Road. This comes after the county’s planning board voted unanimously against the project last month.
County Commissioner Jonathan Barfield Jr. said that the development would help alleviate the high demand for affordable housing in the county.
“The challenge that we have right now, we have teachers, we have firefighters, sheriff’s deputies that can’t afford to live in the community that they work in,” Barfield said.
Many residents in the nearby neighborhood Rachel’s Place fear that the development could bring unwanted traffic, and lower property value.
“Yeah we need affordable housing, but not there,” One Rachel’s Place resident said at the meeting. “It needs to be in the right place. This is not the right place.”
An arial view of the planned 11-acre development. (Courtesy Cindee Wolf)
The development will have 128 units and will cater to workers making between $31,000-$74,000 annually. According to ZipRecruiter, that would make roughly 66% of Wilmington’s workforce eligible.
While some residents were opposed to the new development, several people spoke in favor of it at the meeting.
“We need more workforce housing in our community for our first responders, our teachers, our nurses, the people who work in food and hospitality,” a Wilmington resident said.
But despite the need for affordable workforce housing, many residents remained undeterred during public comment.
“With all do respect to everyone that supports affordable housing, I do too, they don’t live in my neighborhood. I do,” a Rachel’s place resident said.
Commissioner Barfield said the issue of where to put affordable housing is an ongoing issue among homeowners.
“What we constantly hear is that ‘we are definitely for affordable housing, just not in my backyard.’ No one wants it by them, but they’re all for it,” Barfield said. “At the end of the day, things have got to go somewhere.”
Now that the Board of Commissioners has approved the project, New Beginnings, the church behind the project will start securing financing and permitting, with a groundbreaking in two to three years.
