Marion’s housing opportunities are growing significantly as more homes are being sold and new ones are either under construction or planned to be built. This comes after Marion was ranked No. 1 in the United States as a vacation home hotspot.
That was the message to the Marion City Council during the first regular meeting for May. On Tuesday, the City Council returned to holding in-person meetings at the City Hall after meeting remotely on Zoom for the past five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All persons at Tuesday’s meeting wore face masks and practiced social distancing.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the council heard a report from Planning Director Heather Cotton about housing in Marion.
Recently, Realtor.com published an article and a study titled “More People are Buying Vacation Homes, but Where They’re Looking May Surprise You.” This article named Marion as the most popular hotspot for individuals looking to purchase a vacation home in the United States. Marion ranked at No. 1 on a list of 10 cities and towns where people are choosing to buy second homes.
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The study also stated that Marion has seen a 21.8% increase in the number of vacation homes being sold so far this year.
According to another real estate report, 96 homes in Marion have been sold since January. The average prices are $140,003 for a two-bedroom home, $227,848 for a three-bedroom home and $517,857 for a four-bedroom home.
As of Tuesday, there are 23 active listings and 55 are now under contract.
Furthermore, new homes and subdivisions are either under construction or planned to be built.
Phillips Ridge Apartments, an affordable multi-housing development on High School Road is completed and ready to accept tenants. In October 2020, Endeavor Homes received approval from the city as a major subdivision for 10 lots and now has two homes under construction.
Wayne McLaughlin has a townhome under construction on Meredith Lane and a house on Bostic Avenue. He has plans to build a second home on Bostic Avenue once he completes a minor subdivision of the parent tract. Bryce Alabaster with Peavine Creek townhomes is getting bids for grading and demolition of existing structures.
The owners of Foothills Investment property on U.S. 70 West are having some architectural plans prepared. Another project on East Glenview Street received approval from the city for a major subdivision and will have four additional units, according to Cotton.
Furthermore, Marion CDC closed on its first home on Park Avenue in March. Marion CDC, who is continuing the work of the local Habitat for Humanity, plans to partner with the Gateway Wellness Foundation for a housing project on Wilhelmina Avenue. Another major subdivision is planned for Morehead Road and this will come before the City Council on May 18.
Most ambitious of all is the workforce housing of 168 units planned next to the Universal Advanced Manufacturing Center.
Last year, the new housing complex with 168 units was announced by the Dogwood Health Trust and the Gateway Wellness Foundation. The complex is intended to provide affordable housing for people who work in McDowell County. It will be built in cooperation with McDowell County, McDowell Technical Community College, McDowell Economic Development Association, the city of Marion and Housing Assistance Corp.
However, the cost of this ambitious project turned out to be more expensive than planned. The project went out for bids two weeks ago and came back costing $5 million more than it was estimated a year ago. This is due to building prices going through the roof. For example, the cost of a 2-by-4 piece of lumber was $2.50 a year ago. It is now $7.50, said Cotton.
“Dogwood has promised not to abandon the project but that they do need to reevaluate their funding options,” said Cotton to the council. “The options include delaying construction until prices come down, approaching HUD for a larger loan, doing a 4% tax credit plan, having higher rents on some apartments to offset the higher loan cost. Once these options are hashed out Gateway will reach back out to local partners to discuss next steps.”
Gateway has acquired the former Johnny Banks trailer park and is now studying the redevelopment of this site. Gateway will look at other affordable housing projects but the size and the scale will depend on land availability and access to utilities.
And intern Kathryn Ladnier with the city of Marion is preparing an affordable housing study and is working with the McDowell Health Coalition’s housing committee to address this issue.
After hearing from Cotton, the Marion City Council also discussed pending legislation in the N.C. General Assembly. City of Marion officials said this legislation might eliminate local control over where single-family residential developments, such as townhouses or apartment complexes, can be built.
House Bill 401 and Senate Bill 349 would eliminate single-family residential zoning districts in North Carolina by requiring duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and townhouses to be allowed as permitted uses in all residential zoning districts.
Cities throughout North Carolina are expressing opposition to this bill, as it would eliminate local control over which areas of a city or town should be zoned for single-family residential development. Marion has only 7.6% of its land area zoned for single-family residential, but Mayor Steve Little said at Tuesday’s meeting that property owners in those areas expect their neighborhoods to remain single-family residential.
City of Marion officials said they support the development of housing of all types, including townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and multi-family, and has ensured that large amounts of Marion are zoned to allow for such housing.
After a discussion, the City Council voted to send a letter to state lawmakers, to be signed by Mayor Little and all council members, opposing House Bill 401 and Senate Bill 349.
“It is supposed to promote affordable housing but there are better ways to do that,” said City Manager Bob Boyette at Tuesday’s meeting.
In another legislative matter, city of Marion officials talked about the possibility of the interbasin transfer or IBT controversy coming back.
Around 15 years ago, the cities of Concord and Kannapolis wanted a massive transfer of water from the Catawba River basin. This resulted in an enormous amount of opposition from local government and residents alike in McDowell, Burke and Catawba counties.
Boyette said he and County Manager Ashley Wooten were notified by the Burke County manager that House Bills 640 and 687 would limit objections to and increase opportunities for more interbasin transfers.
City Council members agreed to watch these bills and to consider further steps in conjunction with neighboring cities and counties. Boyette said N.C. Rep. Dudley Greene is opposed to this legislation. Little said the return of the IBT controversy would be “potentially a major, dreadful thing.”
In other business, the Marion City Council:
Heard a report from Finance Director Julie Scherer that the Lincoln Avenue culvert replacement work had gone out to bid. The city hopes to award a contract for this project by early summer and have it completed by late summer or early fall. The Lincoln Avenue bridge/culvert was severely damaged during Hurricane Florence in September 2018 and has been closed since then. The city has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on this project. FEMA is funding 100% of the project costs, but the city must follow their process, which has led to the project taking three years to complete.
Adopted a resolution accepting the Governor’s Highway Safety Program grant of $25,000. Police Chief Allen Lawrence said this grant is used for new equipment for the police force.