Redevelopment Areas in Action: Mooresville, NC

<p>In a recent post, Tyler Mulligan provided an overview of how local governments can use an Urban Redevelopment Area to attract private investment. This post will describe an example from Mooresville, NC.</p> <p>Mooresville, a small town (population 32,711) located 20 miles north of Charlotte, provides an excellent example of a municipality that has worked diligently and creatively over the past 15 years to develop and implement an Urban Redevelopment Area plan to address a once-blighted neighborhood called the Cascade Mill Village. The Cascade Mill Village, a small community (originally 67 homes) located just north of downtown Mooresville, was significantly deteriorated in the early 1990s – it had dirt roads, a high crime rate, was primarily renter-occupied, and many of its historic mill homes were in poor condition. As a result of significant public investment, strategic partnerships, and sustained focus, the Cascade Mill Village has since transitioned to a healthier, more vibrant community with improved infrastructure and a high owner occupancy rate.</p> <p>URA Planning Process</p> <p>In 1995, in response to the blighted conditions in Cascade Mill Village, the town commissioned the Centralina Council of Governments to survey and develop a redevelopment plan which, under the North Carolina Urban Redevelopment Area (URA) law, declared the area as a “rehabilitation, conservation, and reconditioning area”. In the case of Mooresville, it was decided that the Town Board of Commissioners would serve as the Redevelopment Commission. This Commission would ultimately have the authority to implement the URA plan. According to Senior Planner Tim Brown, having the Town Board serve as the Commission allowed [...]</p>