NOT TOO LITTLE. NOT TOO MUCH.
(INCOME NEEDS TO BE JUST RIGHT)
‘This is not HUD Section 8 housing’ vow officials
completed in 2014.
BAYBORO – Monday night, before an attentive Board of Pamlico County Commissioners, a large crowd of skeptics and proponents packed the smallish conference room on the Bayboro Courthouse second floor. Everyone was there for an informative, but exhausting presentation on a ‘workforce housing’ initiative – first broached in August of 2023.
At that time, the nameless plan was a bit hazy and vague. Much has been decided since, including a name for the six proposed buildings, with eight dwellings in each – PAMLICO GROVE APARTMENTS
Fast forward to February 2025. There were four major players during Monday’s intense, fact-filled two hour session: 1) Beth Bucksot, the one-person staff of the county’s Economic Development Department. 2) Bobby Funk of Mills Construction Company. 3) John Nash of Brightside Ventures LLC. 4) Tracey Colores of North Carolina Office of Recovery & Resiliency, also referred to as NCORR.
Bucksot set the stage. She had done her homework. In a detailed slide show, she discussed local economic terms like ‘Average Private Sector Wage Comparison’ (Pamlico County is near the bottom of the state’s 100 counties); 48 percent of the renters in North Carolina have difficulty in affording their homes; and, the median price of a home sale in Pamlico over the last six months is a whopping $412,000 – second only to Carteret in an eight-county region.
Bucksot said the 48 apartments are expected to offer lower rents, which are otherwise unavailable.
Funk of Mills Construction made a convincing case, stressing more than once that Pamlico Grove will be far-removed from notorious HUD Section 8 tenements. Mills Construction will have plenty of skin in the game, he said, having committed to a mortgage of almost $2 million to partially pay for construction. But, of course, the lion’s share of development cost – just over $7 million – is HUD money, to be dispensed thru NCORR.
That absolute dependence upon Uncle Sam, is why Funk conceded future renters at Pamlico Grove – if otherwise eligible – could possibly present Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. Both Bucksot and Funk stressed, however, that Pamlico Grove is intended to assist with the housing needs of the local workforce. Earn too little? Not eligible. Earn too much? Not eligible. Like Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, earnings need to be ‘just right’ if you are to reside at Pamlico Grove!
Also, Funk conceded that Pamlico Grove will receive a favorable ad valorem tax rate, courtesy of obscure tax legislation previously adopted by the North Carolina General Assembly. That point appeared to catch the seven-member board a bit off guard. After all, these elected officials may be forced to consider an expected property tax increase for the next fiscal year – and will catch plenty of unwelcome flak in doing so.
The slam dunk component of Funk’s presentation focused on the amazing track record of Mills Construction, having been involved with successful apartments of this ilk since 1994. Funk offered a handout listing dozens upon dozens of developments throughout the state – all viable and compliant with mountains of federal red tape. And, the icing on Funk’s cake came from a highly favorable verbal accolade by the Mayor of Grantsboro who cited his recent visit to a nearby Mills apartment complex, River Run in Chocowinity!
John Nash of Brightside Ventures kept his remarks short and sweet, eliciting chuckles with his admonishment that “I am the landowner, not the developer.” Nash’s firm has an agreement to sell approximately six acres for the Pamlico Grove development – which will be directly behind Dollar General on Hwy. 55 in Grantsboro, “We are keeping the remaining 17 acres for residual development,” explained Nash, who mentioned a medical entity known as ‘Carolina Quick Care.’
Tracey Colores with the North Carolina Office of Recovery & Resiliency (NCORR) explained that Pamlico Grove is just one facet of a $47 million, 20-county initiative to spur affordable housing by rebuilding and replacing housing units lost or damaged from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
She addressed a big concern held by the Board of Commissioners – that overwhelming red tape and paperwork might be too much for the small staff of the county’s Finance Department. Also, she mentioned that Pamlico County in conjunction with Mills Construction had been encouraged to apply for what turned out to be millions – some of the first federal dollars ever received for housing in Pamlico County.
That financial dependence upon Washington, DC came in for some scrutiny by Doug Brinson, a veteran Pamlico County Commissioner – known for his early opposition to the subsidized Pamlico Grove project.
“If you take the Fed’s money, you’ve got to play by the Fed’s rules,” complained Brinson. “This is just one more example of the federal government spreading its tentacles like an octopus.”
If all goes according to plan, Pamlico Grove could be complete by Fall of 2026. By Spring of 2027, it will be fully leased and ‘stabilized.’
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