more inviting aesthetically, adding some benches, and a tree or two,” illustrates Lewis. WATER LINE UPGRADES AND GRANITE CITY GREENWAY EXPANSION The city has secured funding to replace the aging water lines along its historic Main Street, a project valued at over $2 million. Additionally, Mount Airy received $4 million to expand a recreation area known as the Granite City Greenway, a paved eightmile course that will connect the community, and all four Mount Airy city schools, providing a safe and scenic route for pedestrians and cyclists. “This is a 10-foot wide paved path that runs basically in the middle of our city, which is utilized by visitors and residents,” Lewis describes. “For a community, our size to have a little over nine miles of Greenway is unheard of.” GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Mount Airy is facing a housing squeeze, exacerbated by the popularity of the community, and the shortterm rental potential. Mayor Cawley details, “We’ve got a lot of out-of-town investors that are buying houses and turning them into Airbnb’s because they’re always full. So, we have a whole lot of situations in which we have to find the best opportunity. They’re not so much problems, as it is just other people seeing that this is a place they want to be. So, then we’ve got to figure out how all of that fits together.” To help address this issue, Surry County formed a housing summit, which successfully brought together developers from the local area and across the state.“We showed them the need for affordable 6 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 08
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