Story originally published in The Sylva Herald, Sept. 9
The Webster Board of Commissioners meeting opened with an update on Webster Village, a multi-income housing community for seniors in Jackson County, developed through a partnership between Mountain Projects, Inc., Givens Communities and Western Carolina University.
Andrew Crosson, Executive Director of Affordable Communities, explained the importance of affordable housing communities that allow seniors to transition between in-home care and assisted living, citing the high cost of assisted living facilities in North Carolina. According to Yourpath.care, the average monthly cost of assisted living in the state is $4,850, with an annual cost of $58,200.
“They want to be in their homes as long as possible, so we make sure our communities have social workers and nurses who are involved with the residents,” Crosson said. “And that’s the model that we’ll also be bringing to Webster Village. We’ve got the partnership itself, we’ve got Mountain Projects, and they’re going to do upper 30s of single-family workforce housing. Western Carolina will be in a range of 50 to 80 market rate apartments with 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units that will target adult working professionals and their families.”
Also present to share input on Webster Village were Tiffany Henry, Director of Jackson County Economic Development, and LeNay Shuler, Housing Project Manager from Southwestern Commission.
Crosson detailed that the reason Western has been tasked with 50-80 apartments is because they have a shortage problem recruiting new nurses and staff and making sure that employees have a place to live and not have to live in adjacent counties to then commute to work.
Their plans include having 120 senior living apartment units in an L-shaped building closest to Little Savannah. On the other side of Cloverdale, Mountain Projects plans 35 single-family homes for low-to-moderate-income families. Lots range in size from about 7,500 to 26,000 square feet. There are also plans for the construction of an EMS substation.
Some recent good news was also shared at the meeting when they revealed the securing of a $10 million capital advance grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which comes with a 60-unit HUD subsidy contract. This means that Webster Village is able to serve seniors with the lowest incomes and that they will pay proportionately to their household income. HUD will then subsidize the remaining amount of their rent. Low-income tax credits will also be a factor courtesy of the IRS.
It means if people are in a block, they pay a certain amount of rent rather than it being very individualized by the home.
Webster Village received approval last month from Jackson County for building permits with the closing packets to HUD usually taking upward of 30 to 60 days for final review/approval.
“Because you have to have a lot of money to get assisted living in North Carolina, you have to essentially meet the health needs of a skilled nursing facility,” Crosson said.
Two years after its re-establishment, and following news of its renewed nonprofit status, the Webster Historical Society has asked the Town of Webster to fund a Halloween-themed movie night on the lawn to kick off its membership drive, continuing a longstanding precedent.
The requested funds – totaling $495 – would cover concessions, the physical media for the film, and decorations and advertising for the event. While no movie was officially confirmed at the meeting, the 1993 classic “Hocus Pocus” was mentioned as a major contender.
Before the vote was cast Vice Mayor Brandon Core abstained from voting since he’s also a member of the Webster Historical Society which would be a conflict of interest if he was allowed to vote.
“The historic society has really proven itself in the last couple of years as they try to get established to really offer some value for our community in these kinds of smaller events,” Core said ahead of the vote. “There were movie nights and in the summer of ‘25 there was a separate little Summerween in July and I feel that they, as an organization, have really committed themselves to improving and embedding themselves into the social fabric of Webster and improving the kind of opportunities to convene as residents and neighbors.”
Southwestern Community College’s rezoning request payment has been officially completed. For background, in late March 2026, SCC’s board of trustees, with support from Jackson County commissioners, purchased a nearly 27-acre plot of adjoining land off Webster Road from the Allman Family Estate for $529,200, mainly to secure future room to grow rather than for any immediate building project.
College officials said the more immediate plans for the current campus are a new learning commons (including a library) and additional classroom space. The next step will be John Jay presenting the request to the planning board who will then give a recommendation so they can move forward from there.
In other news, the board recently submitted a grant application for the mural subcommittee. The estimate for the mural was on the lower end, but no figures were mentioned.
The way it works is that a request for proposal would be sent out and there would be a mural subcommittee if the board chose to proceed. The theoretical mural subcommittee would consist of one member from the Webster Historical Society and then two other board members from within Jackson County. Although no members have been confirmed for the subcommittee, one of the vice presidents of the society, Meredith Shafer, was mentioned for the Webster Historical Society spot.
The board also recognized Westbridge, an employer for people with disabilities, in their community impact acknowledgement.
Westbridge will be celebrating their 50th anniversary from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16 at Bridge Park. The board will likely award them with a plaque or a public acknowledgement, although nothing was confirmed in the meeting.
