Latest news with #oftheCounty
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tenants given 90 days to leave Gwinnett extended stay slated for affordable housing
People in an extended stay hotel are facing displacement after Gwinnett County purchased the property for conversion into affordable housing. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'It came as quite a surprise to all of us,' said Jim Pettway, who has lived at the Jimmy Carter Boulevard property in Peachtree Corners for two years. The $13.2 million project will create 73 affordable units primarily for seniors, homeless youth and young adults aging out of foster care. Ironically, these are demographics that include Pettway himself. 'I'm a veteran. I'm 67 years old. I'm on Social Security. I make less than $50,000 a year. That's their mandate,' Pettway told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson. Despite fitting the profile of those the project aims to help, Pettway faces displacement with what he describes as inadequate support. 'I'm kind of upset that we're not being treated a little bit better,' Pettway said. TRENDING STORIES: Body of beloved teacher found a month after vanishing on Lake Oconee After-prom party shooting kills former Cobb County student Man 'allowed' 3-year-old to be attacked by aggressive dog The county has offered relocation assistance under federal guidelines, according to a letter given to residents March 6. Additionally, current residents are expected to be eligible to apply to move back in once renovations at 7065 Jimmy Carter Blvd. are done next spring. 'It's a 10-minute drive away to work, so it was very convenient for me,' Pettway said. 'This building was a relatively safe building compared to some of the other places around here.' The situation affects more than just Pettway. 'There's eight families that live here,' he noted, adding that 'some of these people have been here longer than I have.' County officials, meanwhile, have touted the project as transformative. Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson called it 'more than a housing project' after her State of the County address last week. 'It's a win-win for the community,' Hendrickson said last Thursday. 'Now you don't have a property sitting vacant, attracting crime. We can repurpose it into something meaningful.' The county is investing $7.7 million in the initiative, which aims to address critical housing needs in an area with the highest concentration of extended stay rooms in the nation. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rutherford County mayor addresses new safety facilities in ‘State of the County' address
RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Rutherford County mayor Joe Carr gave his second State of the County address Tuesday. One of the most critical needs Carr highlighted was the need for a forensic center in Rutherford County. The Rutherford County coffee shop that does it all 'We must provide Rutherford County residents with long-term, sustainable, cost-effective means of delivering high quality forensic autopsy services for a rapidly growing population,' Carr said. 'We don't need to be at the mercy of the forensic center in Nashville.' Carr said Rutherford County had identified an 'ideally located' 17-acre plot of land between Interstate 40, Interstate 24 and Interstate 840. In addition to the forensic center, a new EMS station would be located on the same site. The construction of the facilities would be completed without raising property taxes or borrowing money, Carr added. In addition to the need for a forensic center, Carr said he had been working on a statewide coalition to secure 50% of real estate transfer revenue back to the county where the revenue was collected. He expressed optimism about the passage of House Bill 649, adding that state legislation is key to achieving that goal. READ MORE | Latest headlines from Murfreesboro and Rutherford County If passed, it would generate $9 million in re-occurring revenue for the county without introducing a new tax. That revenue, Carr said, would support initiatives like roadway upgrades. As Rutherford County has experienced continued growth, those expansions and improvements are crucial to support the new population. 'For many of us who have called Rutherford County home all of our lives, it is essential to remember that this is no longer the sleepy little rural community that we grew up in and I have to confess, I've missed a large part of that sleepy, rural community,' Carr said. 'But Rutherford County, over the last several decades, has experienced phenomenal growth. This growth may be the biggest challenge we face in the coming year.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
