Christal Crouso, executive director for the Fairmont-Morgantown Housing Authority, recently told The Dominion Post the FMHA would like to take another look at developing the parcels of land it owns in Monongalia County.
The FMHA is an organization that exists to help people with housing needs. It operates public housing units in Fairmont and offers a variety of vouchers to assist with housing costs, including for veterans and Section 8 (low-income) housing, and rental assistance. It also owns roughly 23 acres of undeveloped land in Morgantown: 2.63 acres in the curve where Hampton Avenue becomes Darst Street near Sabraton, and two parcels totaling over 20 acres along the city’s boundary off Liberty and Braddock streets, near the Forest Hills Apartments, near the WVU farm.
As Ben Conley reported, the 20 acres was deeded to the FMHA by WVU in 1999 with the stipulation that it be used for low-income housing. In 2016, FMHA asked the city to designate the property as a tax increment financing, or TIF, district, which would fund the construction of an access road through WVU’s organic farm as well as infrastructure to support a 178-unit complex, including independent, assisted and memory care packages for tenants 55 and older. The city ultimately agreed, but both council votes split 4-3 and the Mon County Commission spoke out against the TIF. The project stalled and the land remained untouched.
However, now that the city is putting more focus on affordable housing, the FMHA would like to take another look at those parcels and hopefully move forward with a new project.
We’re very familiar with the small parcel in the curve of Hampton and Darst, and, frankly, that land would be hard to develop because of the steep terrain. Could something be done? Absolutely, especially since all the required infrastructure – power, water and roads – are already in place. But the lot isn’t very large and the hill there is steep, so it would be difficult to build the kind of multi-story structure FMHA would likely be planning.
We’re not as familiar with the terrain of the larger parcels at Liberty and Braddock streets, but a larger plot tends to offer more opportunities for leveling. There are already a handful of housing developments in the immediate vicinity, so getting power, water and broadband to a new housing complex wouldn’t be as difficult as it would be if the location were more isolated. The roads, of course, would need some work to accommodate the increased traffic and that can get a little … contentious. (No one likes to take responsibility for maintaining roads.)
We wholeheartedly support any efforts to develop that 20-acre swath, especially if it is done with affordability in mind. Crouso mentioned that FMHA would like to have some of the deed restrictions, specifically tied to senior housing, lifted. We hope, though, it would keep the provision that the housing be signed designed for those earning 150% or less of the area’s median income (roughly $61,000 or less).
We also hope the city and the county step up to help make this happen, whether that be with financial or regulatory support. As we’ve said before, the greater Morgantown area faces a housing shortage, especially in the low- and middle-income market, and a partnership with the FMHA could be incredibly beneficial to Morgantown and its residents.
