Guilford County should feel delighted that the county is suddenly in recent years the belle of the ball, with major companies opening shop here – at the megasite, at the airport megasite, all over High Point, and in structures in unincorporated Guilford County.
Of course, there’s a problem with the influx of people to the county – the infrastructure of what used to be a quaint little county is being stressed to the max. It can be seen, for instance, in the ridiculous amount of traffic on Greensboro roads, and it can also be seen in the current giant housing shortage in Guilford County.
Well, City Manager Nathaniel ‘Trey’ Davis is introducing a plan to help address that problem. He has unveiled his “Road to 10,000” plan in order to respond to the continued population growth in the region and what the city is calling an “urgent” need for increased housing.
The goal of Davis’s plan is to create 10,000 new housing units in Greensboro by 2030.
According to a Thursday, Feb. 13 statement from the City of Greensboro, “This initiative aims to foster a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable community by ensuring access to diverse housing options that support all income levels, attracts new workforce talent, and strengthens neighborhoods.”
Davis said the City of Greensboro is already doing a lot to promote more housing in the area.
“The city is working to address the housing shortage, most recently dedicating $11 million for housing and supportive services for the unhoused,” Davis said this week. “Additionally, 3,313 residential building permits were issued in Greensboro last year.”
Implementing the Road to 10,000 plan involves creating a workgroup – and the city plans to be quick about it. That group will launch within a month.
The group will be made up of city staff and “key stakeholders,” and it will be tasked with the following:
- Conducting a scan to identify existing inventory of properties, areas of potential development, and interested developers
- Evaluating barriers and where the city may better support development
- Providing recommendations for next steps, to include stakeholder participation.
The housing shortage in Greensboro and Guilford County is on full display in numerous ways these days. The homeless problem remains recalcitrant, housing prices have gone through the roof, and, whenever people point out that you can sell your house for a lot of money, right after that they also point out, “Yeah, but good luck finding an affordable house to buy after you sell.”
According to the Guilford County Tax Department, currently, based on data being collected for the 2026 revaluation of all property in the county, the average tax value of homes – a value established four years ago – now only represents 68 percent of the actual market price of the property.
The housing shortage will also be evident when people get their 2026 property tax bill. The average increase in value, assuming no big changes between now and December 31, will mean an average property tax increase of 32 percent.
Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said this week that, with so many projects underway and $2 billion in school bond debt to pay back, the county will need all that revenue and therefore there will be no reduction in the tax rate when those higher housing prices are recorded in the Tax Department’s books.
The Greensboro city manager’s new plan may help ease some of the demand pricing on housing, however, even if successful, it will take a good while to add thousands of housing units in Greensboro.
The February 13 statement from the city adds, “The desired outcome of producing 10,000 dwellings in the immediate future will be accomplished through strategic partnerships, thoughtful planning, and a shared commitment to innovation. To support this housing expansion, the city will also explore enhancements to transportation infrastructure, transit access and transit-oriented development, ensuring seamless connectivity for all residents.”
Here`s a thought. Rezone the corner of Hobbs and Friendly BACK to residential instead of retail space which is not needed. Think how many townhomes could be built there!
Hers another thought Why was Smith Homes torn down it was in decent condition home to over 300 families and was low rent. It’s gone over 2 years now nothing but a big empty lot and no one will say why it was demolished
Clap clap! More taxes! Love the buzz words inclusive and diverse.
Don’t forget to include “stakeholders “ as a buzzword. Translate that to mean “one who will profit the most”,
Sadly, any plan put forth is doomed. Another 32% property tax increase coupled with interest rates over 7% will not work mathematically for any builder. Look for builders to add housing in the surrounding counties, not Guilford County, or Greensboro.
The commissioners should be mandated to provide a line-by-line expenditure on the county budget. Where does the money for each department go? If 50% of the budget goes to schools, just who gets that money. Consider your tax bill, half goes to failing schools. Let’s say that your property tax bill is $3,000, $1,500 goes to failing Guilford County schools. You may have no children in a Guilford County school for whatever reason. Most children cannot perform at grade level, which means this deficiency continues through to graduation and beyond. In the past, it was believed that even without children attending school, there was an obligation to support schools because children are our future. Well, our future is grim if the product of our education system cannot adequately function in society. Therefore, the social contract between our schools and our taxes needs to be undone. Property taxes should no longer be used to pay for schools. There should be money given by the state and used locally to fund schools. Using property taxes to pay for schools is antiquated. The use of money for schools has become too political. School administrations have developed their own little fiefdom. Their concern is not for the students. Schools have lost their mandate, which is to educate and prepare students to be ready for what lies ahead. More and more parents with children are turning their backs on public schools and sacrificing to provide a better education for their children. Yet, the property taxes continue to rise to pay for the failing Guilford County schools.
What “Trey” has overlooked is the concomitant need for more and bigger roads. Those people need to move around; they don’t just live at home like rabbits in a hutch.
So more roads are required, and the capacity of existing roads needs to be enhanced. Unused bike lanes can be removed to return roads to 4 lane status (e.g. English St.), instantly doubling their capacity, speed limits can be raised back to sensible levels (e.g. Cone Blvd, which suffers an absurd 35mph limit because of political lobbying), and quaintly silly decorative features that obstruct traffic can be cleared away. And fresh new high capacity roads need to be built.
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You think they’ll do this? Nope. The Left resents and despises the private automobile, and is doing everything possible to make our personal mobility as frustrating, costly, and aggravating as they can. They coyly call these plans an attempt to make Greensboro “Car Optional”. That’s LeftSpeak for cars prohibited.
I love my Suburban and my convertible. Your conspiracy theory is hollow lacks facts. The left just supports transitioning to cleaner more efficient energy because we believe in science and know that climate change is a major problem that is man made. Can’t wait until electric trucks are affordable and the infrastructure exists for them to go mainstream.
The fact is that more people and more vehicles require more roads.
Sorry you can’t understand that.
Funny how libraterians love tax expenditures that benefit themsleves but hate tax expendetures that only benefit other people.
Sit in your conggested traffic and think about that some time.
You can’t even SPELL Libertarian, genius boy.
Chris, what do you think will happen to those gargantuan-sized batteries in electric vehicles when the battery dies? You know the batteries do not last forever, right? Talk about a climate disaster. Should we send the spent batteries to outer space to pollute the heavens? Think, Chris, think.
The Newer batteries are fully recyclable amd last well over 300k miles.
You climate change hypocrite, you spout off about global warming and you personally drive one GM’s worst polluting vehicles ever made. You sir are a true buttwipe
So how soon are you going to sell your Suburban and your convertible and and go to an all electric car Chris? How about putting your money where your mouth is.
How could anything go wrong?
How about less people? Who wants Greensboro to turn into Charlotte or Raleigh?? Is that the goal of every politician – more jobs, more houses, more freaking roads?
If they want that then I suggest they move to Charlotte or Raleigh.
How about more peace and a higher and quieter quality of life?
If this joker Skippy raises the valuation from 68% to 100% without reducing the tax rate, that’s a FORTY-SEVEN percent tax hike – not 32%. He can’t be serious about trying to impose a 47% Property Tax hike?
There will be rioting in the streets. He will be forced to resign. We must fight back.
Al, I worked through the numbers carefully with some tax officials and as it stands now, the tax increase will “only” be 32 percent on average, not 47 percent. However, I also learned in those conversations that housing was one of the sectors where property prices increased the most, so many people will come in over that 32 percent and a few could even see something like a 50 percent increase.
Okay, but I think you said earlier that Alston plans to fully embrace the results of the coming revaluation, without reducing the tax rate. Therefore if current property is valued at just 68% of its true value and the revaluation assesses property at its full value, that will result in a 47% hike in our tax bills, won’t it?
100 over 68 = 1.47
The math is indisputable. Am I missing something? Or was math not your strong subject (!). No offense.
I stand corrected. I am now convinced you are correct. The increase will average 47 percent. I ran it through chat gpt as well and it comes out to 47 percent. I have asked the county for some clarification based on the chat GPT findings. Maybe some math smart Rhino Times readers can verify that if they read this, but right now I am convinced you are right that it will be a 47 percent tax increase.
Thanks for your honesty, Scott. There is really no need for Chat GTP or whatever; it’s just elementary arithmetic.
Good job unearthing this shocking development. If people don’t rally to oppose it, we’ll all suffer a massive tax bill next year. This needs repeated and vocal reporting, so the citizens can fight it.
And please compare notes with those local tax officials who are claiming it’ll be “just” a 32% hike. Maybe they need new calculators. Or gray cells.
Al, the one good thing of this shocking development is that at that level, EVEN THIS BOARD may be compelled to lower the tax rate at least a little. Still property owners are not going to be pleased.
Yes Scott, and given the tsunami of money that has flooded Guilford County’s coffers in the last 5 years, these tax hikes are even more indefensible.
I have a request, but it will take a real journalist to spend a little time on research.
I want to see a graph of Guilford County’s total income over the last decade or so, year by year. I think people will be shocked at just how much more money they’ve gotten, every single year. And still they demand more.
The graph will say it all, in an instant.
I had a few beers last night, but I could have sworn it was John Hammer whose comment I replied to….
Tell me I wasn’t THAT drunk… please.
Lol. You weren’t drunk. John is happily retired buy still in our computer software and occasionally a mistake is made. After I caught it, I figured it was easier to just change the name back to me rather than make a long response. Scott. Drink on with confidence.
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Oh, thank goodness! For a minute I thought I might have to cut back…
Cheers! Al
Just read that Florida is considering eliminating property taxes. If NC tried this, Skippy’s sandbox would be taken away.
As it should be. This isn’t taxation, it’s extortion.
Blah, blah, blah. Same old story to make headlines. People will say anything to get their names in the paper. Wake me when it actually happens.
A significant percentage of greensboro voters are renters so they are not affected by property taxes. Until actual homeowners show up in mass to vote, the current city and county leaders will stay in power and continue to raise your taxes
Renters will pay in increased rent. Rents in Greensboro are extremely high.
It’s interesting that the CITY Manager is worried about the housing in the County. Sounds like Greensboro is intent on annexing the entire County to build its 10,000 houses by 2030. If they keep attracting more businesses, then 10.000 houses won’t be enough as there’s currently a shortage. A supply of diverse and inclusive housing wouldn’t be the issue since most of the housing would be for the new workforce talent attracted by the companies recruited by the City to strengthen neighborhoods.
Homeless people don’t want homes. Low-income people want housing and don’t work to pay for it but are supported by taxes. The City’s plan to purchase land they lease to people who would then build a house on is financially dangerous since not owning the land your home sits on means you’re at the mercy of the City’s pricing of the land from year to year (land ownership is more important than home ownership).
These people are still intent on planning 15-Minute Cities where reliance on bus transportation and walking/biking is paramount. They expect citizens to live within walking distance of their work, shopping, doctors, friends, church, and social groups, not using cars to move about. They want more multi-housing structures and fewer single-family homes and are not planning for continuing care communities which are greatly needed now and in the future.
Pay attention to the City/County goals. The interesting deal made between the City, County, Berger, and Couch to de-annex land in the middle of Summerfield to build “diverse” housing is a clue to their plans for the rest of the City and County. They will use whatever means is needed to achieve their goals regardless of what the people of this County want.
*** So true! It’s heartening to see that someone else gets the big picture! They are going to herd us like cattle into “public transportation” by making our cars impossible to own, and use. They are going to confine us in concentration camps which they are calling “15 Minute Cities”. They are going to emasculate what political power we have by offering us a binary “choice” between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. They are going to price beef out of our reach.
In short the Globalist Elitist Left, as embodied by the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, is trying to reimpose feudalism and we will be their serfs.
“You will own nothing – and be happy!” Penniless peasants we shall be.
If skip Alston is involved then we need to follow the money to see if it lands in his or his minions bank account . 2 billion in school debt ? Seriously? I thought the lottery was to pay for all that
Here is a thought to consider…
Without the ability to involuntarily annex more property Greensboro will soon run out of room and will leave only one option, that being a “partnership” with the County. And as was pointed out in the article, Skip is looking forward to bleeding county residents dry then feeding on the desiccated flesh left behind.
The only ability to combat this to move out of the County (not a viable option at this time) or continue to try to make voters see and understand what is being done to them.
More and more I’m seeing why Alan has started to referring to the Board of Commissioners as the “Board of Commissars”.