Potential development concepts near downtown for city-owned site
Published on January 05, 2026
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The City’s Economic and Community Development department (ECD) presented City Council with three development concepts for the Blount and Gillespie site during the Jan. 5 City Council Work session.
The Blount & Gillespie site represents one of Fayetteville’s most significant opportunities to expand Downtown’s footprint through new housing, retail ground-floor uses and community public space.
In June, ECD and City partner HR&A Advisors conducted a study to collect resident feedback to help determine the highest and best use of the property and understand what the community would like to see in the area.
Residents shared a strong support and desire for mixed-use development with public spaces for outdoor dining, plazas and cultural entertainment uses that would increase more experiential downtown activities like art, music, and games. Residents also voiced interest in family-friendly and youth-oriented amenities and a broad support for new housing options near walkable amenities.
The three redevelopment concepts vary in multifamily, retail and public realm density. While concept one favors open space and retail, concepts two and three prioritize dense multifamily development.
- Concept one reimagines the site as a mixed-use development with a large central community green space and cultural center.
- Concept two reimagines the site as a mixed-use development with a community park anchored with by a pavilion.
- Concept three reimagines the site as a mixed-use development with a small neighborhood park or community green on a realigned Chase Street.
Public investment is likely necessary to deliver the public amenities in this project, which will ultimately yield new tax revenues for the City of Fayetteville. Without the public amenities, Scenarios two and three are feasible.
According to the presentation, Downtown Fayetteville has experienced slow population growth (+11% since 2010), in part due to the lack of new homes being built Downtown. Despite this, the combination of healthy vacancy rates Downtown (4.3%) and consistent absorption city-wide (240 units annually since 2015) demonstrates the potential for the Blount and Gillespie site to spark a new move towards Downtown.
While no concept has been selected, ECD and its partner will move forward with drafting a request for qualifications (RFQ) so vendors are vetted for the project before a request for proposals (RFP) is released. This two-stage process will enable the City to gather a set of interested and qualified development partners before selecting one from a shortlist of developers to respond to a full RFP.
City Council will review the RFQ prior to issuing.
ECD will also work with the zoning commission to make zoning improvements to enable dense, mixed-use development to occur on the site. The site’s current zoning prevents a unified development plan.
Click here for more information about Blount & Gillespie site project.
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