The Willow Heights public housing project was proposed by the Fayetteville Housing Authority in 1969.
Forty apartments, spread among 13 buildings, were built on land bounded on Center and Rock streets on the north and south and by Willow Avenue and the Confederate Cemetery on the west and east, the site of what had been Lincoln School.
The Teeny Tiny Preschool is also on the site and offers project-based child-directed learning for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.
The apartments were designed by architect Ernie Jacks in a low-key mid-modern style.