Year in review: Shoppes at Marion still in the works

Early in 2009, local officials were talking more and more about a major "commercial project" for McDowell with a "big box" store as the centerpiece. It did not take long for folks to figure out that what they were talking about was a new shopping center in Marion with a Walmart Supercenter as the anchor store.
And by year's end, an entire mobile home park had to be relocated in order to make way for the new shopping center, which is scheduled to open in 2011.
In February, the McDowell County Commissioners held a public hearing about an ongoing "commercial project" that would be located on Sugar Hill Road near Interstate 40. County officials declined to name the anchor store for the new 60-acre shopping center. But it was expected to employ an estimated 400 workers. "We've been working on this project for nine months," said County Manager Chuck Abernathy, who is also the county's economic development director.
And after the sad year of 2008 that saw a series of plant closings and lost jobs, this came as welcome news.
"It's great to be able to talk about something positive like this," said Commission Vice Chairman Barry McPeters.
That same month, the Marion City Council talked about the "commercial project" as well. Both the city and the county worked together so water and sewer lines could be run along Sugar Hill Road where it would be built. The city was able to get a $1 million grant from the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center for the water and sewer lines.
WRS Inc., a realty company in Mount Pleasant, S.C., is the developer working on the new shopping center, to be called Shoppes at Marion. The firm's Web site displays a map of the development with a 195,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter as the anchor. WRS has also built shopping centers throughout the Southeast that feature a variety of restaurants, stores and banks.
However, Blue Ridge Mobile Home Park occupied the land along Sugar Hill Road. About 40 families in the mobile home park were notified by their landlord in February that they had within 180 days to move out. The last day that the mobile homes could be on the property was Aug. 21.
Thirty-year-old Enrique Morales was one of those who got the notice. He lived in the mobile park with his mother and his three children. And he had also been without a job since Dec. 5, 2008.
"We had no money and the mobile home is too old," said Morales. "Nobody wants to buy it. Some people say it is junk. For us and my kids, it's our home."
Just up the road, 54-year-old Wanda Cornwell lived with her elderly mother. She was on disability and had been a resident of the park for 11 years. Her disabled daughter lives nearby in another mobile home.
"It's devastating," she said. "There's no one who will accept the trailers, as nice as mine is, because of their age."
The mobile home park was owned by Diversified Asset Development Inc. Cliff McLarty is the executive vice president of the company.
McLarty told The McDowell News that the residents in Blue Ridge Mobile Home Park got a "change of use" notice. State law requires that the notice must be issued 180 days, or six months, before it takes effect.
McLarty said the residents had four options. If a family moved out within 30 days, the company would pay them $300 as an incentive. If a family moved out within 60 days, they would be paid $200. Likewise, if they could move out within 90 days, they would get $100 as an incentive.
The fourth option would be for them to contact the company's office and McLarty would talk to them about purchasing the mobile home.
"We are trying to make it as easy as possible," he said. "We regret it has to take place this way but when you rent there's always the possibility that the owner would change the use of that property.
"We are looking to bring 400 to 500 jobs in this county that are desperately needed. This (shopping center) might be the place where those displaced people would work. I am working with them as much as I can. We are taking it one step at a time."
In order to help these folks find a new place to live, some caring McDowell residents and organizations stepped forward.
A fund was set up at a local bank to help folks living at Blue Ridge Mobile Home Park find new places to live.
Diane Gouge and her friend, LaVonne McClure, set up a fund at Fifth Third Bank to help with the relocation of Blue Ridge Mobile Home Park residents.
Any organization, church or civic group or individual could contribute to the fund by stopping by the bank or mailing in a donation. Gouge also contacted the Blue Ridge Baptist Association to get its help in the effort.
"We need to get the word out and make sure everyone knows," she said. "It's been a burden on my heart. These are local people and they need our help."
In addition, the good folks at the local CVS store raised money to help the people find a new place to live.
By July, they had raised more than $7,500. And by August, all of the tenants of Blue Ridge Mobile Home Park had moved out.
"Everybody is gone," said McLarty. "The engineering work has started right now. The developer is doing work now on the project. It's really going to be a boon for McDowell County."
As of this week, WRS Inc. still plans to close on the land by early 2010 and construction will start soon after that.