The Town of Elon is making new strides in land development with its comprehensive, planned project, Envision 2040. Through this new plan, the town hopes to combat the issues of population growth, housing and non-profit ownership over the span of the next 22 years.
According to the Town of Elon, the town and university together are growing at a rate of 3 percent each year. The town hopes to develop more than 3,000 acres of undeveloped land in response to this projected influx through their new plan.
Students make up the majority of the population of the town, and over 70 percent of the population of the Town of Elon is associated with Elon University. A high student population can directly affected rental prices. The national rent average is $949 per month, but in the Town of Elon, the monthly average is $1,126 according to the consulting firm Nealon Planning PLLC.
High prices tend to push out working-class or middle-aged residents, creating what was described as a “gentrification problem" by community members at the forum.
Nealon Planning PLLC, assessed out of the 10,000 people living in the Town of Elon, only 199 both live and work in Elon. Though there are many different factors to cause this, the cost of living and neighborhood choices are the top concerns.
Sean McMahon, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Elon University, will be moving from Burlington to Elon in a few months. He said the town should reach for more staff to come to the Town of Elon.
“Elon [University] is fantastic. But you’re going to live in Carrboro or Chapel Hill or Greensboro. And I don't think it would be terribly difficult to change that scenario,” McMahon said.
Nealon Planning PLLC reported Elon University is expecting to build a new northern entrance on O'Kelley Ave. with a campus-ran hotel, pointing visitors and developers north.
The southern parts of the town, mainly downtown Elon and the university, is either land owned by the university or land that already has been developed on which creates challenges for developers and the town. Maintaining the town-gown relationship often means for the Town of Elon not interfering with the universities plans for future development.
Not all members of the community are happy with these new plans. Though excited for the opportunities the Town of Elon has, physical therapist Joseph Libera was disappointed with the consultant's presentations. The words “Elon University” did not appear once.
“Everybody in North Carolina wants their very own ‘Southern Village,’ and consultants can’t go wrong with the proposal,” Libera said. “Can you even imagine a 20-year planning horizon in this town without using the words ‘Elon University’?”
One goal Meg Nealon of Nealon Planning PLLC had that aligned with the general publics’ concerns was “maintaining the small town character.” This phrase is also one that appears frequently in town documents and development ordinances.
“We still need to dig a little more to what ‘small town character’ means,” she said.