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FAISON — Like many other towns in the county, the northern Duplin County town of Faison is experiencing growth, according to Mayor Billy Ward. Much of the growth is not directly within the town limits, but just outside within the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). One of the projects is a new subdivision being developed known as Everwoods.
“They’re building the subdivision off of Highway 403 between Faison and North Duplin High School,” Ward said in an interview with Duplin Journal. “It’s actually in our ETJ, so they’re going to be hooked up to our water. The water is in, the fire hydrants are in and they’re building the roads.”
Ward said the plans call for 18 half-acre lots, each with a house. He said he noticed that while equipment remains on the property, work seems to have stopped a few weeks ago. He didn’t speculate on what has caused the pause in construction.
On the commercial front, Ward mentioned that development is progressing but at a slow pace. One notable incoming business is a truck stop being constructed within Faison’s ETJ near the intersection of NC Highway 403 and US Highway 117.
“It’s supposed to be a truck stop, a convenience store and a fast-food restaurant all in one building,” Ward said, adding the developer has not disclosed what brand name the truck stop or fast-food restaurant will be. The projected completion date is 2027-2028.
Ward said he finds business development and opportunities within Faison’s town limits frustrating at times. One of those frustrations involves the former Piggy Wiggly grocery store property that was purchased with the intent of putting another grocery store there.
“The building has been empty now for five years and they have been slowly working on it here or there,” Ward said. “If you walk to the front door of the store and look inside, it looks just like the day they left it. It makes you wonder what they are going to do.”
He said the only visible progress has been outside on the front of the building.
“They even put up a brand-new sign. There’s no telling what they paid for that sign to get produced and installed,” he explained. “The sign has been on the building for two years.”
Ward is also concerned about missed opportunities for new businesses due to some owners of vacant commercial properties downtown being uninterested in selling or renting them out.
“There are a couple of businesses downtown that have been empty for years,” he said. “The people who own them are just sitting on them. I do know one of our town employees (interested in opening a business) went to two of them to try and rent from them and neither one of them would rent to him.”
Ward understands that property owners have the right to manage their properties as they see fit but remains hopeful that they will eventually allow these buildings to be utilized, benefiting Faison’s economic development.
Ward understands that property owners have the right to manage their properties as they see fit but remains hopeful that they will eventually allow these buildings to be utilized, benefiting Faison’s economic development.
