319 Biltmore Development Process

Happening Now

On February 5, 2020, City staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a mixed-use development on 5.3 acres of City-owned land at 319 Biltmore. The City’s goal was to choose a development team to create an affordable, mixed-income community that fits with the recent redevelopment of nearby Lee Walker Heights. Homes Urban was selected as the top finalist to develop this site and has started to design the project.

In the coming months, Homes Urban will engage with community stakeholders on the design and function of the project. This will build on previous community engagement done at the beginning of the process, as you can see in the “Supporting Documents” section below.

Background

Affordable housing has become a serious issue in Asheville, but the City is working to increase the number of affordable homes. It’s part of the City Council’s vision for Asheville’s future because it helps our community to be stronger, more livable, and more equitable. To help reach this goal, the City developed its Policies for Implementing Affordable Housing on City-Owned Land last year. They direct the City to look at the different properties it owns and pinpoint which ones could be used to build affordable housing. After properties are identified as potential sites of affordable housing, the City usually sends out a Request for Proposals, or RFP. After that, it chooses a finalist based on the criteria laid out in the RFP, including how well they can meet the City’s goals of affordable housing. This is the process that was followed for the development of 319 Biltmore.

To get ready for the future development of 319 Biltmore, the City did site analysis, due diligence, and engaged the community in 2018 and 2019. You can see the results in the “Supporting Documents” section below.

Timeline

2018 – Site Analysis & Community Input

2019 – City Council Work Session and Policy for Affordable Housing on City Land

February 2020 – Release of Request for Proposals (RFP) for Developers

Fall 2020 – Selected Homes Urban as developer

Winter 2021 – Site Planning

Spring 2021 – City Council votes on selling land to Homes Urban

2022 – Construction could begin

Frequently Used Terms

Due diligence: a process to investigate a piece of property to make sure that important information is known about it before a sale is completed. Part of it could include appraisals, land surveys, title and deed research, environmental assessments, soil sampling, etc.

RFP, or Request for Proposals: a process that asks organizations or businesses to submit their plans and prices for completing City projects

Site analysis: a process the City uses to look at the context and possible uses of a site. The site analysis looks at things like the location, neighborhood, history, zoning, topography, utilities, legal issues, and other important elements.