Richard Franks, Mayor, City of Gastonia
Invest: met with Gastonia Mayor Richard Franks to discuss the city’s recent growth, innovative strategies for affordable housing, and future development plans, while highlighting key achievements and addressing challenges.
What were the key milestones and achievements for the city over the past 12 to 18 months?
Our most significant development has been in growth, not just in housing but also in industrial development. We’ve seen a number of manufacturers move to the area. For example, we have a company that has been here for about two and a half years. They bought an existing business and have been expanding it, planning another $10 million investment. With this, they’ll grow from 450 to over 500 employees.
We’re also expanding our city boundaries with a new development near Crowders Mountain. It’s set to be a major introduction for Gaston County and beyond, though I can’t reveal all the details yet. Growth is happening across all sectors, including education. Gaston College, for instance, received a $60 million investment from the state to expand its nursing program. This growth benefits Gastonia and the broader county alike.
What do you see as the main drivers behind the city’s rapid growth?
We’re the “pearl” of the region, an undiscovered gem. We have a lot of natural assets, like the water in the eastern part of the county, along with ample green spaces. We’re developing a 150-acre park called Linwood Springs, and our downtown is thriving with new restaurants and a vibrant foodie scene. The area offers a more relaxed pace compared to Huntersville or Cornelius, and while we have traffic, it’s not as congested as in some neighboring areas.
We also have beautiful outdoor spaces, including Crowders and Rankin Lake, a range of amenities like a community theater, and plans for a performing arts center. Altogether, we offer a well-rounded community experience that appeals to families.
How do you see the city’s new microtransit model impacting accessibility for residents?
As a fiscal conservative, I was initially concerned about the costs. But when I saw it was only slightly less than the fixed-route buses, I wanted to explore it further. It’s been a tremendous improvement for our residents. Previously, people had to wait at bus stops, sometimes in poor weather. Now, with the Go Gastonia app, people can get picked up right at their door, making it like a government-provided Uber or Lyft. We’ve expanded service from covering 22 square miles to the entire city — over 50 miles.
It has been so successful that we’ve allocated an additional $300,000 to add more vans to the fleet. Residents have told me it’s life-changing, allowing them to get to work, attend appointments, and not wait in adverse weather. I hope to see this program expand further.
It really is life-changing, and we’re hoping to expand the service hours soon to accommodate even more people. Right now, service ends around 6:30 p.m., but we’re looking to extend it to 8 p.m. to help more residents.
What is the city’s strategy for addressing housing affordability and how it ties into economic growth and workforce retention?
Affordable housing is crucial, especially for attracting and retaining employees. The company I mentioned earlier is even considering developing its own multifamily housing as a recruitment strategy. Not every business has the resources to do this, but we’re exploring various ways to address the issue. For example, some minority builders are constructing affordable homes in infill areas, and we’re selling land at a reasonable price to facilitate this. However, the starter home market has shifted, with prices now between $230,000 and $250,000.
There’s a lot of talk about affordable housing, and while we aren’t builders, we can offer support, like providing lower-cost electricity through the City of Gastonia’s grid. It’s challenging, as market forces drive much of the cost. We’re considering some innovative public-private ventures, using city-owned land to collaborate with investment banks and builders. It’s still under discussion, but we need creative solutions to make workforce housing a reality.
What is your long-term vision for the city, and how do you see it evolving over the next decade?
We’re growing fast. We have over 13,000 housing units in the pipeline, and with more applications coming in, we’re likely to add around 18,000 to 20,000 housing units in the next decade. This will push our population past the 100,000 mark and beyond. Industrial growth is also a major focus, thanks to efforts from local leaders like Donny Hicks.
One of our goals is to retain more of our younger population. Too many graduates leave and don’t come back. We’re working to build relationships between local industries and high schools and expanding CTE (career and technical education) programs. The trades — HVAC, plumbing, and electrical — are on the rise, and I want our youth to see Gastonia as a place where they can build a life, raise a family, and grow their careers.
