SALISBURY — Even though Planning and Neighborhoods Director Hannah Jacobson said “there’s still a long way to go,” the 12-acre Kesler Mill redevelopment site project located at the intersection of North Martin Luther King Jr. and Park avenues will be reaching major milestones as the year progresses. 

Earlier in the month, the city organized three community input sessions where Jacobson as well as representatives from JDavis Architects and the Development Finance Initiative of the University of North Carolina School of Government spoke to the public on where everything stands with the Kesler Mill project and what plans are on the horizon. 

“These most recent series of meetings were to share what we have worked on over the last several months and see if we were on the right track, if we were following the right path, or if we needed to slow down and think about things differently,” Jacobson said. 

The “guiding public interests” that have formed over time involve the site providing housing for “low-to-moderate income households for a mixed-income community,” honoring “the character and history of the Park Avenue neighborhood,” installing “multimodal connections to the existing streets and sidewalks,” having “a greenway or trail through the site that promotes safety and is accessible,” and rely more on private investment than public investment. 

There is a survey on Salisbury’s website open to the public until April 5 that according to Jacobson, “helps us to inform ideas about the housing types, the density (and) the layout.” 

There are two different options that the city could decide to construct. At the in-person input session on March 7, DFI Project Manager Sonyia Turner said they are both “fairly similar,” but with a few key distinctions. 

Jacobson said both options will have a “mix of different housing types and have it be family and multigenerational.” 

The rental amount will range from $550-$1,150; sale values will go from $230,000-$250,000; and mortgage payments will cost $940-$1,325. Units will only be available for those earning 80 percent of the area median income or less or what are called “low-to-moderate income households.” 

Option one will have 148 units and will cost an estimated $43 million with $9-$10 million in public investment if the project receives competitive tax credit financing. 

Option two will have 158 units and will cost an estimated $41 million with $8-$9 million in public investment if the project receives competitive tax credit financing.

“Option two, is called the higher density option. It has more garden style, walk-up apartments versus option one which is our lower density option. It has some townhome units and a few more duplex units as well,” Turner said. “There are a few efficiencies gained by building multifamily units versus the townhouses, so that’s why the price is a little lower.” 

After they have all the public feedback, Jacobson said staff will present both of the options to the Salisbury City Council at some point in May and advise on which one “the community preferred.” City staff and DFI will then take what is endorsed, along with the survey responses, to create a request for proposal to send out to potential developers during the summer. 

“It’s quite likely that this redevelopment will occur in phases over a period of time. We don’t know exactly what the phases will look like, a lot of that will have more clarity once we’ve got a developer that we’re working with,” Jacobson said.