Downtown Asheville is slated to get 203 new affordable housing units after a vote by Asheville City Council. Members unanimously approved a conditional zoning request for the 50 Coxe Ave. development at Tuesday night’s meeting.
The project, to be developed by Raleigh-based Harmony Housing Affordable Development, will transform 1.6 acres of Buncombe County-owned land now home to parking lots and the county’s former Election Services warehouse. All of the units will be affordable to residents making less than 80% of the area median income, or $74,500 for a family of four. The site will also feature about 5,000 square feet of retail space and a two-story parking garage with 121 spaces.
Prior to approving the project, Council members pushed for even stricter commitments to affordability. Sage Turner, for example, asked if the developer would agree to offer any vacancies first to residents with federally funded housing vouchers. Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley sought a condition outlining specific numbers of units for residents at even lower income levels.
However, Buncombe County Planning and Development Director Nathan Pennington said the project’s complicated financial picture required it to have more flexibility. Harmony Housing will rely on federal tax credits and $9.8 million from county government to subsidize the apartments.
“We are committed to providing a range of affordability; we would prefer a condition that doesn’t lock us in.” said Pennington, noting that some units would be designated for residents earning as little as 20% AMI. Council ultimately agreed to a condition that the developer would “use its best efforts” to meet deeper affordability targets.
With the exception of one resident who shared concerns over the project’s traffic impacts, public commenters supported the development. Multiple speakers affiliated with the advocacy groups Asheville for All and Strong Towns Asheville praised its affordability and proximity to transit, with the Asheville bus depot directly across the street.
“I can’t think of a single specific project that’s more of a slam dunk than this one,” said Spencer Karges. “It’s dense housing, downtown, 100% affordable. It’s the exact type of thing we need to be supporting if we’re going to accomplish our city’s goals.”
Buncombe County officials expect construction at 50 Coxe to start early next year. Work could wrap up as early as 2029.
Council discusses police tech plans
At a work session prior to Council’s formal meeting, Asheville Police Department Interim Chief Jackie Stepp shared a presentation on the APD’s planned “real-time intelligence center.”
On April 14, the APD had asked Council to accept a $1.14 million federal grant to fund the RTIC and its associated technology. In response to community concerns, however, Council members pulled the item from their agenda shortly before that meeting and asked the police to prepare more information.
“I do want to acknowledge something up front: Concerns about surveillance are real, and they’re valid. Many people worry about privacy, overreach, and how technology like this may be used,” Stepp said at the work session. “At the same time, I hope that we have demonstrated through our actions, policies, and openness that our approach is grounded in trust and transparency.”
Stepp said that the APD would retain control over access to information collected through the RTIC and would regularly delete data not associated with any criminal investigation. The capacity to access and analyze camera feeds would serve as an enhancement for regular policing, she continued, not a tool for unfocused surveillance. “There has to be a nexus between crime and when we log into a camera,” emphasized Stepp.
Representatives from Axon, the developer of the Fusus software that would power the RTIC, and camera manufacturer Flock were also on hand to answer Council’s questions. In keeping with general city policy on work sessions, no comments or questions from members of the public were permitted.
Resident Ben Spencer, speaking during public comment at Council’s formal meeting, objected to how officials chose to discuss the RTIC. “Forty-five minutes of the interim police chief and two paid representatives for private surveillance companies flown out here does not seem like a really balanced way to gauge the facts,” he said.
Council has yet to set a date to formally reconsider the federal RTIC grant. At the work session, Mayor Esther Manheimer indicated it would likely return in May.
Other tidbits
- Council members signed off on a strongly worded letter to Sam Hazen, the CEO of HCA Healthcare. The resolution alleges that HCA’s management of Mission Health had severely harmed the local hospital system’s “tradition of caring.” It also asks Hazen to “engage in a collaborative and transparent dialogue to develop a plan for long-term, permanent improvement” throughout the Mission system.
- Council approved two city contracts that will support recovery work at the North Fork Water Treatment Plant, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene. A nearly $5.9 million agreement with Florida-based Ardurra Group will support engineering work on a new main water line, while a roughly $1 million contract with South Carolina’s Morgan Corporation will repair a concrete fusegate that tipped to protect the North Fork Reservoir’s dam during the storm. Asheville officials expect the Federal Emergency Management Agency and North Carolina state government to reimburse the project costs.
- The city approved three separate contracts for design and engineering work on Helene-related stormwater infrastructure repairs. Most of the roughly $2.6 million cost will be covered by FEMA reimbursements, but the city will budget about $211,000 “for work that is not FEMA eligible.” Assistant City Manager Ben Woody said the tripartite approach to contracting was meant to speed up the project’s timeline.
- Asheville accepted $2.5 million from the North Carolina Department of Commerce to support sidewalk repairs in Biltmore Village. The city has also applied for a $2.3 million grant from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority to expand the scope of work in the historic district. At Council’s March 24 meeting, multiple Biltmore Village business owners shared their frustrations about the slow pace of Helene recovery during public comment.
Asheville City Council regularly meets every second and fourth Tuesday at the Council Chamber on the second floor of City Hall, 70 Court Plaza, beginning at 5 p.m. The next regular meeting will take place Tuesday, May 12. See the full recording and documents from the April 28 meeting.
