North Star Statement
"To transform 2.5 - 3 acres of church-owned land into a faith-rooted Teacher Village that provides stable, dignified housing for local educators and strengthens the Salisbury community through long-term workforce and neighborhood vitality.”
After more than three years of discernment, community listening, and internal planning, Milford Hills United Methodist Church (MHUMC) has formalized a development partnership with New Chapter Ventures (NCV), an organization that helps churches transform underutilized property into a shared community asset. Together, we are exploring how to transform 2.5–3 acres of church-owned land into a faith-rooted Teacher Village which is stable, dignified housing for local educators and supports long-term workforce stability and neighborhood vitality here in Salisbury.
It is our intention to include our neighbors and surrounding community in this visioning process. Fostering community and relationships is a core value for MHUMC. Through ongoing conversations with our neighbors, we have heard a wide range of reactions to this potential development. We want this page to be a clear, honest source of where we actually are in the process. We want to share what we know, what we're still studying, and how you can stay part of the conversation as it develops.
MHUMC will remain the steward of this land and this mission throughout the project. NCV holds no ownership stake in the property and serves as our development partner, helping bring this vision to life.
Will this be an apartment complex? The short and honest answer is no. While an early concept we shared with neighbors at our first community meeting did include denser, apartment-style options as one of a variety of options we explored in the beginning stages, that is not the direction we're pursuing. Our current vision is a small, walkable neighborhood of homes reserved for local educators, designed to complement the existing single-family homes around us.
We are currently in the predevelopment stage of this project. During this time, we are exploring site design, entitlement strategy, and property surveying. Because the property will need to be rezoned, additional public meetings are ahead as part of that process, and we're committed to sharing what we learn, including traffic, stormwater, and infrastructure studies, as they're completed.
MHUMC's commitment to this community runs deep. Since we began building on our property in 1957, we have recognized that we are a congregation in the heart of a community and have a deep heart for our community. Members of the congregation live out their faith through involvement in many of the local ministries in Salisbury, including a dedicated partnership with Isenberg Elementary School.
This project is a natural extension of that commitment. MHUMC's Development Team has already demonstrated what is possible: a recent renovation transformed five vacant classrooms into office space for Families First, Inc. This local nonprofit moved into the space in August of 2025.
The Teacher Village represents the next chapter in that same story.
Through conversations with leaders across the city and county, MHUMC and NCV learned that educators, especially those early in their careers, are increasingly unable to afford to live in the communities where they teach. Comparable educator housing communities across North Carolina report sustained demand, including waiting lists for residents.
North Carolina has developed numerous successful Teacher Housing initiatives across the state. This is an emerging trend that has proven the positive community impact of projects like this.
The project will be guided by the principles of New Urbanism, an approach to neighborhood design that prioritizes walkability, green space, human-scaled architecture, and community connection.
As we continue the pre-development work, our goals are to have a result with purpose-built homes, professionally managed, designed to complement the surrounding neighborhood, and reserved for the educators who teach in our community. This is not speculative development. It is a neighborhood asset, built for the people who already serve this community.
We’re excited to share each step of this project with our community. If you’d like to stay informed as new phases begin, feel free to join our email list using the link below.