Nicholtown residents skeptical of proposed townhomes in historic Black neighborhood

Nicholtown residents expressed skepticism when they learned of plans for new proposed townhomes in the neighborhood last week.

The Arbor Land Design Company held a meeting at the Miracle Hill Ministries Headquarters to inform residents about the possible development of 39 townhomes on E. Faris Road and McAlister Road. Currently, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhomes will sit on 2.5 acres of land and will be sold starting at $350,000.

Residents of the historic Black neighborhood murmured in disapproval once they heard the price point.

"We don't want this area to be gentrified," one resident said.

As previously reported by The Greenville News, Nicholtown's white residents have more than doubled as of 2020, while the Black population has declined nearly 42% since 1990, according to census data compiled by a team of researchers at Furman University.

As of May 2023, Nicholtown home prices were up 9.5% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $364,000, according to Redfin.

Yet the median income for a Black household in census tract 43, including the Nicholtown neighborhood, was $27,937 and $71,964 for white households, according to census data compiled by a team of researchers at Furman University.

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"I think it's going to be a very nice development and it's honestly a very attractive price point for the city of Greenville," Austin Allen, a developer with Arbor Land Design, said.

Calvin Hailstock, president of the Nicholtown Neighborhood Association said the decision to not include affordable housing is "preposterous."

"In this end of the Faris community, there has to be multilevel of income in order that people on this side of town can remain on this side of town, where they have been forever and different people with economic levels can approach this area," Hailstock said.

Residents' concerns expressed concern over rising property taxes and voiced a need for a traffic study for the development's potential impact on the busy McAllister Road.

According to developers, the city informed them that a traffic study wasn't required. It's also very expensive to conduct, Allen said.

"The traffic impact analysis is not necessary for this project based on the scope of the project," City of Greenville representative, Loren Thomas, said.

Nicholtown residents concerned by lack of transparency, information about townhomes

Residents also voiced concerns about how little information was provided at this meeting.

"They came in with the bare minimum of information and sometimes that can be received as you're trying to sneak something through," Hailstock said.

There needs to be a broader sense of understanding of property taxes and financial implications given to the community, according to Hailstock.

"Usually there's more than one of these meetings. Usually, there's renderings. There are traffic studies and, in this meeting, there's really no information except for that poster," Paula Fulghum said.

Fulghum, a Greenville native, announced a run for Mayor of Greenville as an independent last month. If she can get enough signatures on a petition, Fulghum will be added to the November ballot.

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Fulghum said she was in attendance to listen, and the most important feedback she heard was, "Please respect our neighborhood and build something that will complement our neighborhood, not change it."

According to Allen, for the next steps, the developers will submit the initial site subdivision plans. The tentative schedule moving forward is to have the plan submitted to the city on or before July 17, then it will have to be approved at the Planning Commission meeting on August 17.

The project is considered a major subdivision, which requires approval of a preliminary subdivision plat by the city’s planning commission prior to any construction, Thomas said.

A plat is a map or plan that is created as the result of the subdivision of a piece of land into smaller parcels of property. Now that the developer conducted their neighborhood meeting, an application can be submitted to an upcoming planning commission meeting.  The application includes a copy of the preliminary subdivision plat.

The planning commission will review the subdivision plat, a staff report and comments received at the public hearing prior to making a decision.

Allen said he will have to discuss the possibility of an additional neighborhood meeting with his unnamed client.

Royale Bonds covers affordable housing and gentrification for The Greenville News.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Nicholtown residents skeptical about proposed townhome development