RAEFORD – The Hoke County Board of Commissioners met Monday, Feb. 5, signing off on new affordable housing, a new soup kitchen, and a new subdivision that could see more than 300 new homes in Hoke County.
A contract with J&K General Contractors will see construction of five duplexes, a total of ten units, as affordable housing on county-owned property. The units will be constructed at the corner of Doc Brown Road and Steele Road.
“We wanted to build some affordable housing for our citizens and their children,” said board chair James Leach. “We’ve got the land to put them on and we’ll put the homes there so those that cannot afford a home will be able to move into one of these affordable homes and live within their means.”
Leach emphasized the challenges of finding affordable housing in Hoke County. “This is a good start and we’ll continue to add and build onto this so that our citizens and their children will have a place to sleep at night and a place to get up in the morning.”
Vice Chair Harry Southerland expressed a desire for the board to start a housing authority in order to target US Department of Housing and Urban Development dollars.
A contract with G&K Consulting and Construction Services for design of a new soup kitchen was approved.
“We need a soup kitchen here in Hoke County,” said Commissioner Bobby Wright. “We’ve got one now, but it can serve no hot meals. We think that our elderly folks deserve hot meals and we’re in the process of trying to build one.”
According to emergency management director and grant manager Andrew Jacobs, the new operation will be 4,500 square feet with a full-service, commercial kitchen and a walk-in freezer, located near the DMV office.
“There’s nothing more important in our county than making sure our seniors and our youth are fed,” Southerland said. “You can’t learn on an empty stomach. So this whole board stands with the county in creating this soup kitchen.”
The board granted approval to a preliminary plat request covering a 293-lot subdivision named The Homestead Subdivision located on Philippi Church Road.
According to the developer, the initial plan is for the development to begin with two phases totalling 130 lots. Further construction beyond that would then depend on supply and demand and current problems with water and sewer availability.
The board then dealt with various grant and funding matters, starting with a Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Grant.
According to Jacobs, Hoke County was awarded approximately $1.2 million from FAMPO’s Locally Administered Project Program which will be used to support phased efforts over the next 3-5 years to make Hoke County more accessible across various means of transportation.
Projected projects include the expansion of electric vehicle charging stations and various trails and accessibility features for pedestrians and cyclists along the 401-Corridor.
“A lot of these were unmatched, federal grant dollars that we can bring to the community for infrastructure, for walking trails and just things that make the area more suitable for people to move into,” Southerland said
The Hoke County Board of Commissioners will next meet Feb. 19.