MORGANTOWN — Morgantown needs more-affordable housing options.
That seems to be a generally accepted statement.
And it’s being repeated more and more in recent months as a thread intertwined in a wider conversation about how the city can and should address homelessness.
The discussion inevitably leads to questions about what affordable housing should look like and — if new construction is part of the equation — where it could be located?
That leads to another question.
Did you know the Fairmont Morgantown Housing Authority — the agency for which housing in Morgantown and Monongalia County is a primary function — currently owns a little over 23 acres of developable land in the city of Morgantown?
It owns the 2.63-acre parcel inside the curve where Hampton Avenue becomes Darst Street. Milton Street marks the property’s border in the back.
It also owns two parcels totaling 20.63 acres along the city’s boundary off Liberty and Braddock streets, near the Forest Hills Apartments.
That property has some interesting recent history.
It was deeded to FMHA by WVU in 1999.
According to a 2016 The Dominion Post interview with former FMHA Executive Director John Martys, the deed stipulates the land must be used for low-income housing.
Quoting that article, “Martys said he worked with the university to further define ‘low-income’ as it relates to the deed to include anyone at or below 150% of the area’s median income.”
That same year, 2016, FMHA asked the city to designate the property as a tax increment financing, or TIF, district.
The city obliged, but it became a somewhat contentious issue. Both council votes split 4-3 and the Monongalia County Commission spoke out publicly and unanimously against the TIF.
It was explained at the time that the increment created by the district would fund the construction of a 1,200-foot access road through WVU’s organic farm as well as other infrastructure to support the development of a 178-unit complex, including independent, assisted and memory care packages for tenants 55 and older.
As time went on, talk of the project faded and the land remained unchanged.
Now, current FMHA Executive Director Christal Crouso wants to take another look. Crouso wants to look at every available option, noting her enthusiasm over the affordable housing study recently sanctioned by Morgantown City Council.
“The housing authority would like to work with developers to create more-affordable housing. We have some vacant property in the city that can be developed, but we’re going to need your help. We would like to work with the city to complete a master plan to develop some of those properties,” Crouso said, explaining the effort would likely require the city’s financial backing.
During the discussion, Crouso indicated there are additional deed restrictions tied to senior housing that came with the land now known as the Falling Run TIF.
“We’ll need to get all that worked out. There were also a lot of egress issues for that property, because it comes out on 705,” she said.
“We just need to start fresh — talk to the folks we need to talk to about getting the deed restrictions lifted and then come up with a master plan about what’s going to work best based on the deeds we have. I think the sky’s the limit there.”
The FMHA covers four counties — Monongalia, Marion, Preston and Taylor — as well as the cities of Morgantown and Fairmont.
It oversees the administration of some 1,300 housing vouchers across its coverage area representing approximately $787,057 in monthly rental assistance.
Crouso said 60% of the agency’s vouchers are spent on housing units in Monongalia County.
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