What we do

The Community and Economic Development department fosters an equitable community and economy. We work to preserve and increase the availability of affordable housing, improve access to services, create paths toward economic mobility, promote resiliency, and support sustainable growth. We collaborate with community partners, other government agencies, businesses, and residents to enhance the quality of life and availability of opportunities for all in Asheville.

The department includes four divisions, Affordable Housing, Community Development, Homeless Strategy, and Economic Development; and three programs, Business Inclusion Office, City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA), and City Real Estate Office.


Contact: Megan Owens, Business Services Administrator.



Announcements

Check back for current announcements.

Related Services

Business Inclusion (ABI)

The Business Inclusion Office for the City of Asheville actively seeks to identify minority and women-owned businesses for an opportunity to participate as providers of goods and services to the city.

Find cold weather emergency shelter

When extreme cold weather is expected, the Asheville Homeless Coalition issues a Code Purple Alert. Participating homeless shelters voluntarily add space beyond their normal capacity to keep as many people as possible out of the cold.

Related Projects

Asheville Buncombe Continuum of Care logo

Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care

The Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care (CoC) is the collaborative planning body responsible for developing and overseeing a comprehensive and well-coordinated system of effective services designed to prevent and quickly resolve occurrences of homelessness in Asheville and Buncombe County. The CoC has four components: A membership body of individuals and organizations with an interest in understanding homelessness [...]

Affordable Housing Plan

The project will update the 2008 Affordable Housing Plan that was created by the Mayor’s Taskforce on Affordable Housing, which was last updated in 2015.

hands holding house icon

HOME-ARP Program Funding

The City of Asheville has prepared the Allocation Plan for the HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) Program. The HOME-ARP Allocation Plan sets out how the City of Asheville and the Asheville Regional Housing Consortium propose to use an estimated $4,699,862 in federal HOME-ARP Program funds.

Community and Economic Development News

Long-standing climbing wall on Wall Street removed to make way for new beginning

If this wall could talk!  After standing tall for more than 30 years, the climbing wall located on the plaza at 43 Wall Street is being removed to make space for a new chapter.  Climbmax Climbing Gym moved into the city-owned space in 1993. The City was strategic in activating this location as part of a downtown [...]