FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – Willow Heights is a low-income housing complex in disrepair, which is why the Fayetteville Housing Authority is looking to expand Morgan Manor, so those tenants will have a brand new place to live.
Some south Fayetteville residents said they are upset at what could happen to their property values.
“You want to protect your investment, you have to be concerned about what you have made an investment in south Fayetteville and you want it to stay of the value that you intended,” Penny Carroll said.
Housing chairman Mike Emery said they understand the concerns.
“We're getting brand new facilities for our tenants and it's only a mile from where they're at, same school district for the children who are there as well,” he said.
They plan to build most of phase two along Wood Avenue, which is just behind phase one. These 48 new units would more than double the number of units currently in Morgan Manor.
“Most of them are pushing 50 years old. They are currently not ADA compliant. It would cost several millions of dollars to renovate, bring them up to the condition they should be in,” he said.
The proposed Morgan Manor expansion will be paid for by the sale of Willow Heights and tax credits.
The housing authority does not have a set time frame for this project. The expansion proposal was on the agenda for the planning commission meeting on Monday (June 26), but it was taken off the agenda because the housing authority wants to sit down and discuss it further with the city.